Our sister site, ITsafe.gov.uk, recently covered the subject of ransomware and we thought it would be worth repeating the advice here. Like other viruses, prevention is better and easier than cure. Visit Get Safe Online to find out more.
Recently, the media have reported a new kind of criminal virus: ransomware. If your computer is infected, you won’t be able to access the files stored on your computer because they will be locked away behind a password. Instead you get instructions on how to get your files back which involve buying drugs from an online pharmacy.
Fortunately, anti-virus firms have cracked the password (it’s “mf2lro8sw03ufvnsq034jfowr18f3cszc20vmw” in case you were wondering) and figured out how to remove the underlying virus. But this isn’t the first extortion virus and it won’t be the last. The next one might not be so easy to undo. The best protection is, as ever, to ensure you keep Windows current by installing the latest updates and that you have an effective, up-to-date anti-virus program and firewall.
