How Dangerous is Ransomware Anyway?

Published on: 19 January 2019 Last Updated on: 09 August 2019

Ransomware alerts are a bit over-the-top. A victim might think the infection is a joke. The pop-up stating the computer owner must pay up a credit card-delivered ransom to regain access to a computer seems like something out of a sci-fi/espionage movie. Here’s some news: ransomware is no joke. The infection doesn’t exist solely in the mind of a creative filmmaker or novelist. Ransomware is real and, yes, the virus is dangerous.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a virus that locks down a computer. As the name suggests, ransomware overrides a computer user’s password access to his/her computer. Depending on the situation, being locked out of a computer proves troubling. Even a short lockout presents disasters. And the ransomware might not be the only virus infecting the computer. What if the hard drive’s contents are being stolen and downloaded? Out of panic, some may think to pay the ransom will get them out of a bad situation. Ransomware architects probably aren’t the most trustworthy of persons. Paying up money won’t automatically lead to the desired outcome or stop ransomware threats in the future.

The Dangers of Ransomware:

Anyone who doesn’t think a ransomware attack represents serious dangers should look at the 2018 attack on the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. The NHS serves as the epicenter of healthcare in the U.K.

The “WannaCry” cyber attack put hundreds of thousands of computers on lockdown. Thousands of appointments ended up canceled — a dire situation. Not everyone booked to see a doctor requires only minor treatments. With the hackers demanding a massive Bitcoin payment to unlock the computer systems, many people were left unable to see a healthcare provider. By the time the situation concluded, the NHS lost £92 million in IT costs. The NHS also learned a valuable lesson: don’t use outdated IT systems. Reliance on the archaic Windows XP system made things easier for hackers.

Take Steps to Prevent a Ransomware Attack:

Contacting a computer security expert to solve a ransomware attack makes sense. So does contacting the same experts to discuss methods to stop ransomware and prevent an attack. Keeping hackers out is a lot easier and less stressful than dealing with the aftermath of their attacks. Sometimes, preventive measures involve little more than not falling into the most common ransomware trap: opening an infected email file. Yes, the age-old concept of malicious fishing still works. So does taking common-sense security steps and updating all security measures.

Ransomware Expands Its Targets:

Although reports of sensationalized ransomware attacks may be down, the threat always looms over computer systems. Don’t think solely relying on Linux OS will save you. Ransomware may hit any operating system. The designers of the virus want to hit as many targets as possible. More targets mean more potential ransom money.

While no one should experience paranoia about ransomware-impending doom, it never hurts to be cautious. Learn about trends in ransomware and other viruses. This way, you can take steps to prevent and deal with the threat.

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Internet Safety: How To Spot And Avoid Scams

Individuals and businesses are at increasing risk from online scams. Let’s set the scene. According to International Data Corporation, there will be more than 40 billion connected devices worldwide by 2025. Cyber Ventures reported that almost four million records are stolen daily due to data breaches, which is about 45 per second. And a study from Maryland University demonstrated that there is a new victim of cybercrime every 39 seconds. Online scams are costly and potentially fatal. While many dangers exist online, raising your awareness and adopting good habits can improve your information security and internet safety. How to Spot (and Avoid) a Scam Phishing attempts are the primary ways people are scammed online. Scammers may send these communications via social media and text, but the overwhelming majority use email. While phishing attacks can be specific - known as spearphishing attacks - the vast majority are sent indiscriminately. Fortunately, this spam will tend to have some giveaways. Spotting these can help protect us and our data. Demands for Personal Information Reputable businesses don’t ask for personal information via email or social messaging. Delivery drivers that need you to confirm your full name and address are normally bogus. Banks and government departments never ask their clients to send sensitive data such as bank account information, usernames, or passwords via email. Offers Too Good to Be True (Probably Are) Be suspicious when offered extremely low-price goods, services, or holidays. If it makes you wonder how they can afford to make such a deal, the answer is that they expect to add hidden fees, or the offer doesn't exist. The sender expects to gain valuable personal information from people eager to sign up. Claims You Have Won Something It's exciting to win a contest or lottery draw but ask yourself if you even entered a competition. Messages like these generate excitement and prompt people to act quickly to claim their prize. Such communications may also suggest that you have been personally and individually selected. In a way, you have been selected, but so have thousands of other people, and not for anything good. Terrible Spelling and Grammar Spam is renowned for its major spelling and grammar issues. To avoid scams, remember that businesses spend thousands on marketing. They work hard to ensure their communications are attractive and error-free. If you notice spelling and grammar errors, it's unlikely to be from a reputable business. Fake Addresses and Other Impersonation Attempts Scams often use impersonation to benefit from a brand’s authority. People are more likely to believe a message if it seems to be from Microsoft or the Government. To avoid falling for this trick, check the URL or email address carefully. A scammer typically alters a business name slightly to make it seem authentic, such as the Facebook instead of Facebook or Microsoft instead of Microsoft. If the sender claims to be from a big organization but uses a generic email account, like Gmail or Hotmail, this is also a warning. High-Pressure Tactics Most scams work best for criminals when the victims don’t think too deeply about their actions. Communications that insist on an urgent, immediate response should be read very carefully. Verify the details where necessary. More on Avoiding Scams Now that you know how to spot and avoid specific scams, here are some more tips on how to avoid scammers in general. Use Reverse Phone Lookup Services to Verify Senders’ Details One reason the internet is such a hotbed for crime is that it’s easy for criminals to maintain anonymity. Cybercriminals can stay off the radar by using a virtual private network and dealing in wire transfers and cryptocurrency. They can pretend to be someone else, of course; your bank manager; a delivery driver; or an IT help desk technician. Or a friend or family member. If you’re not sure who you are communicating with, use the internet to your benefit. Go to PhoneHistory or any other reverse phone lookup site to verify people’s contact details. You can do this whenever you have suspicions or simply because you’re dealing with someone you’ve not met in a physical location. Block and Report Spam Don’t hit reply, no matter how much you’d like to hit the sender. Giving them a piece of your mind tells them you have an active email address and that other spammers should probably target you. Most email service providers enable you to block and/or report spam. Ideally, do both. Depending on the email system, you might need to choose “block” before you see the option to report it, or vice versa. Blocking and reporting spam helps your email provider eliminate spam emails from your inbox. And it can help them protect other users from potentially harmful communications. Do Not Interact with Potential Scammers Resist the temptation to click on a link within the message if you are suspicious about the sender's intent. Clicking a link can signal to the sender that your email address is active and cause malware to be downloaded to your device. Malware can cause many issues, including: locking you out of your machine (a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS)); encrypting your data unless you pay a ransom for the decryption key (ransomware); installing software that allows a third party to track your activities and/or keypresses (spyware). Read Privacy Notices Since the implementation of GDPR cybersecurity regulations, a pop-up frequently appears on visiting a website, inviting you to read their privacy policy and asking you to confirm your preferences regarding cookies. Most websites are reputable with good intent. Sometimes, however, they are willing to sell the information they learn about you to third parties, who may send you anything from unsolicited marketing emails to harmful, targeted scams. If you don’t have the patience to read every privacy notice, it is still worthwhile saying no to all but essential cookies. It’s quicker than it seems. And make sure to deny the company’s permission to contact you or share your data unless you trust them. Conclusion Internet safety can seem daunting, but most people don’t think twice about improving their car security, home security, and personal safety. Stay observant, check out the identities of people you haven’t developed relationships with yet, and employ a few other good internet habits to keep you, your friends, and your family safe online. Additional: What Is Zero Trust In Cybersecurity Context? Top 6 Cybersecurity Trends Everyone should Know Everything You Need To Know About PKI In Cybersecurity Top 10 Cybersecurity Features That Are A Must-Have In An Ecommerce Store

The Most Common Reasons Why You Cannot Log In To a Website

Do you know how common it is to be not able to log in to a website? Well, if you know, you wouldn’t worry at all when the site locks you out. There could be many problems that become a reason for such an issue. The good part is? Most of these have common fixes, so stay here as we walk you through the easiest guide on how to regain access to a website If you cannot log in to a website, there can be hundreds of reasons which can be the reasons. But that is not all. Even due to some technical faults, the viewers can not access the websites. 6 Common Reasons For Which You Cannot Log In Even sometimes you have queries like why can't I log in to Facebook on my phone or desktop. This is a common scenario. But when you are facing the problem the first time, you will be scared. Hence the first thing which comes to our mind is accounts are being hacked. But only hacking might be the cause of this problem. Then what are the reasons for which you cannot log in? 1. First Of All, Check Your Internet Connection When I first realized that internet issues could be the cause of can't log in error, I was trying to sign in at Cash App and it wasn’t working. After trying all the possible fixes, I figured out that a faulty internet connection was getting in the way. Typically, it helps to load a google page and see if the results come up. That would indicate how smoothly your internet network is working. 2. You May Be Using An Incorrect Username Login credentials are obviously important, and a website may not be giving you access because you are trying to log in using the wrong username. You may have made a mistake, put in the wrong character, missed an alphabet, etc. The website needs an exact username to let you pass, and therefore, it won’t work unless you provide the right information. And you will see the can't log-in signs flashing in front of you. 3. Too Many Attempts Can Log You Out If you put in a wrong password or a username, you will be prompted to try again. However, after 3 to 4 wrong inputs, the website may lock you out for security reasons. This is to help prevent a hacker from repetitively trying to log in without valid information. But these security issues sometimes become the cause of can't login errors. 4. Violation Of Site Policies Can Have You Suspended Some websites have more strict policies and terms of use, especially the ones set by the government, such as myhealthplan account, etc. When a user violates any of the rules and regulations, they may be suspended temporarily or permanently from accessing the account due to the can't log in error. Some websites do not tell you the policy that you have violated, whereas others will warn you once or twice before banning your account. 5. The Website May Just be Down For Maintenance Websites are maintained online and have complicated operations at the back end. They are frequently taken down for maintenance. So, when you are trying to log in, and the website is undergoing maintenance work, there are solid chances that you will not be able to get access. This cannot log in issue is less common with big websites. There are also a few others that actively inform their visitors that the website is not available for the time being. 6. Incorrect Password Can't you log in to any website? The first culprit may be internet connectivity. Then the second one can insert the incorrect password. Yes, this is a very common error. You are recording a separator password. But during the login, you are given another password. As a result, the website does not let you access your account or website. How to recover it? This is very simple: always use the recovery protocol to recover the account details when you can not log in to your website. A Simple Hack Before You Go! Although enabling cookies or checking that Java is enabled works for fixing some glitches in the website and login issues, there is one tried and tested method that never disappoints: Try clearing your cache and cookies! If Facebook is hacked cannot log in to the account. Then the cookies are sometimes the main culprits. Hackers can easily track the locations of the devices with the cookies, and hacking is easy when your locations are easily findable. This is something that even the can't log in due to customer support services often suggest when you are not able to access a website or online account. Or when only a portion of the website is available. This may be due to technical reasons. Once you clear the cookies and the cache, anything that is messing up the website will be automatically cleared, and you will have a blank slate to work with. Read Also: How do you choose an SEO-friendly theme for your website? How To Find The Fastest Available Internet In Your Area? 7 Advantages of Using Website Design Templates Fax Over the Internet

Common IT Security Risks in the Workplace

When it comes to your business, it is important to recognize some of the highest security risks that are present. Your security needs to be a top priority. To run your business, you will collect a lot of information about customers and even other businesses you work with. If a data breach happens, you could end up with a huge loss in reputation and other issues. There are a number of big IT security risks that can show up in the workplace. Recognizing these and finding ways to prevent them can keep that data safe. Some of the common IT security risks that can happen in the workplace include: 1. Insider Threats According to one study, about 57% of the recorded data breaches were not done by outside attackers. Instead, these were done by a threat that is inside the organization. And often this is not because someone is being malicious within the company. Negligent employees who click on the wrong link or give off information carelessly were often the cause. One of the top causes of a data breach still remains human error. Companies need to maintain focus on the inside as much as the outside to ensure data stays safe. However, it is sometimes hard to detect an insider threat. In addition to watching for these insider threats, a company needs to invest in the right training for its employees. Since most of this issue comes from negligence or carelessness, rather than malicious intent, things like security awareness training may help more than anything. 2. Social Engineering Another threat to watch out for is something known as social engineering. It can affect companies as much as it will affect individuals. Humans are susceptible to manipulation, which is why many attackers will use a variety of psychological tricks to get what they want. With social engineering, the right protection software or looking for different indicators of compromise will not be enough. It is hard to really predict human behavior all the time. All it takes is for one person to click one lucrative offer that is too good to be true, and your company has to deal with a data breach. What makes it even worse is that malicious attackers can easily find new ways to trick individuals to give up private data or granting access to critical areas. There are many different types of social engineering attacks that can be used including: Spear phishing Whaling Baiting Pretexting Tailgating Scareware Vishing Since this issue can exploit the basics of human behavior, it is sometimes hard to find the best way to combat it. Even tech-savvy users have fallen victim in the past from some of these. Educating your employees about these attacks and updating your training procedures is one of the best ways to help. 3. Ransomware Another thing to be careful about is ransomware. This can be a scary type of tactic that will make even the best in IT have to do a lot of work to prevent and fix it. Basically, this is when a hacker is able to get ahold of private or sensitive information and they demand a ransom to get the information returned. Sometimes the hacker just has the information, other times they will choose to freeze up a whole system and make it impossible to use. Even when. You agree to pay the ransom, there is little chance that the data will be returned and that the hacker will leave you alone in the future. Ransomware is simply a type of malware that can infect a network or a computer. It then encrypts the files or finds another way to deny others access to them before demanding some kind of ransom in the process. Usually, the malware will not delete the files. They will be present on the network, but without the decryption key, no one can access them. There are a lot of threats that come with this kind of attack, such as the permanent deletion of the files. But whether you pay or not, the hacker is already on the system and is the one in control the whole time. There are a few things you can do to prevent this security threat. First, teach your employees about how it works and how to not open suspicious files or attachments in their emails. This can help keep the chance of ransomware off the computer. Backing up your data and keeping records off the main part is a good idea too. This will allow you to start over with the information you need, without having to play the games, and most often lose, with the hacker. 4. Consider a Cybersecurity Audit If you are worried about some of the security risks that show up in the workplace, it may be a good idea to do a full audit of your system. A cybersecurity audit allows a professional to take a look at your network and the way it is used to determine whether there are any weaknesses that could increase your risk of an attack. Getting this audit done is one of the best ways to see where your security is right now. When it is done you should have a complete report about what is working and what is not when it comes to your network. Expect there to be things wrong with the audit. This is just a chance to fix them. When the audit is done, take some time to go through all the different recommendations and suggestions and find ways to improve your network security. Even small steps in the right direction make it less likely someone will get onto the system who should not be there. 5. Keeping Your Network Safe There are a number of IT security risks that you need to be careful about when it comes to the workplace. Planning ahead, recognizing some of these issues, and completing a cybersecurity audit can help you get the right level of security you need. Read Also: Everything You Need To Know About PKI In Cybersecurity How To Make Sure You Get The Best Service From Your IT Supplier A Few Things You Should Know Before Finalizing Managed It Services

How Dangerous is Ransomware Anyway?

What is Ransomware?

The Dangers of Ransomware:

Take Steps to Prevent a Ransomware Attack:

Ransomware Expands Its Targets:

Maintaining Productivity: The Basics of Industrial Safety

How To Replace Your Social Security Card Online

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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Internet Safety: How To Spot And Avoid Scams

The Most Common Reasons Why You Cannot Log In To a Website

Common IT Security Risks in the Workplace

How Dangerous is Ransomware Anyway?

What is Ransomware?

The Dangers of Ransomware:

Take Steps to Prevent a Ransomware Attack:

Ransomware Expands Its Targets:

Share this Article

Maintaining Productivity: The Basics of Industrial Safety

How To Replace Your Social Security Card Online

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

Leave a Reply

Popular

Follow Us

Recent

Related