Malicious software has always been a part of the online experience. There are always people that want to steal credit card info, identities and so on. But it’s important to know what you are getting into and what you can expect when it comes to downloading stuff or visiting a website. You can end up with ransomware installed on your computer, and that can be very problematic.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a malicious software that comes with a very distinct method of keeping you away from your files. As soon as ransomware is installed on your system, it will automatically lock a file and if you want to regain access to that file you will have to pay a real money ransom. In order to avoid detection most hackers ask that the ransom is sent in bitcoin or any other untraceable currency.
Types of ransomware
There are multiple types of ransomware. You have crypto malware that will do exactly what we mentioned above. Lockers on the other hand will infect the OS and they are locking you out of the computer, so you can’t access anything. Scareware is fake software that acts like a cleaning tool and it will say there are problems with your computer and they will ask for cash to solve that problem. Obviously there’s no real problem there, it will just be a scare.
Doxware will threaten you to publish stolen info if you don’t pay the ransom. And there’s also ransomware as a service which will hackers use in order to offer data collection services in exchange for a cut of the ransom.
Is ransomware dangerous?
As you can see, you can end up locked out either out of your computer or a personal file. Either way, the last thing you want is to lose access to something that you own. So this is definitely very problematic and you want to handle this issue that best way that you can. Rest assured that ransomware is extremely dangerous and you have to find the right method of dealing with it, otherwise it can be very troublesome.
What can you do?
The first thing you want to do is to install security software, as that can help you detect any hidden threats on your device. You also want to update the security software and the operating system as well. Protect yourself from hidden spyware. While there, it’s also a very good idea to back up important data to an external hard drive and use cloud services just to keep a copy of your data in there.
Also, try to avoid opening email from random addresses and downloading stuff. That can be extremely problematic and you want to avoid it as much as possible. And of course, do not pay the ransom. Try ransomware removal tools, talk with the authorities and work hard to find the culprits.
We believe that it’s very important to know the dangers of ransomware and how problematic it can really be. It’s never easy to handle ransomware and malware in general, but you have to do it. Thankfully you now know how to prevent ransomware from entering your device, so try to do that and you will be more than ok!