{"id":1093,"date":"2014-06-04T10:36:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T10:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uktech.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1093"},"modified":"2014-06-04T10:37:13","modified_gmt":"2014-06-04T10:37:13","slug":"stop-criminals-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uktech.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/06\/stop-criminals-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop Criminals Now!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PDwood-catching-on-fire<\/a><\/p>\n

Recent TV news articles, have prompted me to help you put out the fire – and stop criminals holding you to ransom – for large sums of money.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Basics<\/h4>\n

In September last year, a new criminal threat was discovered, in the form of the Cryptolocker ‘ransom-ware’ virus. This is a Trojan virus which attacks an infected machine, by encrypting almost everything it can find, then displaying a message saying you have to pay money to the criminals – in order to decrypt your data.<\/p>\n

I won’t go into the gory details – as there is much available on the internet<\/a> – but you get the idea.<\/p>\n

Once the virus has completed it’s mission – you either pay up – or say goodbye to your data<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even worse, Gameover Zeus<\/a> has arrived in the shape of a botnet, that attempts to steal all your passwords, report these to the criminals – and they then help themselves to your cash.<\/p>\n

Cut to the chase<\/h4>\n

There are many solutions to these issues, but these are really\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0nasty viruses. Why? Because once encrypted, you are not going to get your data back without paying – so Cryptolocker has you in a death grip. Zeus can get your passwords without you even knowing anything has happened – until you start to feel poor….<\/p>\n

Learn Digital Kung Fu<\/h4>\n

Lots of articles concentrate on blocking and removal – using antivirus software and removal tools – but these are missing the point<\/strong><\/em> completely:<\/strong>\u00a0antivirus software is reactive – new versions of Cryptolocker \/ Zeus will be created which antivirus software won’t know about – and there is no way of decrypting Cryptolocker without paying.<\/p>\n

To really defend against these two, you need:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A good data backup solution that includes an offline<\/span> component<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Really good awareness of how this software attacks you<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    1. Backup, Backup and then Backup some more<\/h4>\n

    If the worst happens and you get Cryptolocker or a variant, the only way to recover is to have a backup of your files. Hugely preferable<\/strong><\/em>, is to have what’s called an offline<\/strong> <\/em>backup.<\/p>\n

    Why? Because…<\/p>\n

    Cryptolocker can encrypt files on any connected\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>device<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    So, if your backup drive is connected to your computer when Cryptolocker runs, then it’s cheerio to your backups too. Not even cloud storage is safe – unless it supports file ‘versions’ – allowing you to step back in time, to different versions of the same file.<\/p>\n

    See how nasty this is? Many Thanks all you crims!<\/p>\n

    More details on how to backup here<\/a>, or simply contact UKtech<\/a>, if you would like us to install and configure a backup for you – or indeed, talk to us\u00a0about any computing issue.<\/p>\n

    2. Become Security Minded<\/h4>\n

    These two current threats, will evolve over time and their behaviour will change. This means you need to become ‘security minded’ and always follow the best computing procedures.<\/p>\n

    I\u00a0have a list of\u00a0best security practices<\/a> here.<\/p>\n

    Resources<\/h4>\n

    Some links you may find helpful, to antivirus, anti malware and security news and alerts.<\/p>\n