WannaCry Ransomware: How To Protect Yourself.
Over the las week, the Internet has gone in to meltdown over the WannaCry ransomware threat. WannaCry took the news world by storm when reports that patients in the UK were denied surgery due to their scans being locked out by the threat. Businesses in Australia have also been affected and the experts are expecting more cases.
A security analyst found a kill switch in the WannaCry threat, which was promptly updated by the hacker and re-released. It is estimated the ransomware has infected over 200,000 computers in over 150 countries, effectively shutting down major organisations such as banks, hospitals, universities and countless private businesses.
So how do you protect yourself against this ransomware attack? Well, it’s actually quite simple. Make sure you are running the latest software updates from Microsoft on your computer. Microsoft released a patch for operating systems in March to plug the vulnerability this threat uses. If your computer isn’t running updates automatically, you should ask yourself why. If you haven’t updated, you should update now. Once your computer is updated, you will need to re-start it to ensure the updates are successful and keeping you protected.
While the Windows update will repel the current version of the ransomware, there are likely to be many variations of this threat and keeping your computer updated is the best way to protect yourself against it. Running up to date security software is also recommended.
The scariest part of this threat is its ability to spread through a network with ease. There have been reports of the WannaCry threat to wipe out entire networks and infect the computers simply connected to the network. This also includes connected devices such as external hard drives & USB sticks, so make sure your data is safe by disconnecting non-required drives when not in use.
If you would like to make sure your computer is up to date, give us a call on 03 5368 2611.
We Service computers in Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Blackwood & surrounding areas.
Check out our Post: Lessons Learnt From WannaCry Ransomware.
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