Ransomware

Ransomware is currently the subject of the hour.  Attacks are happening more frequently and are costing users time and money to resolve.  Often the simplest solution is to pay the ransom to give you access to your documents again.

We at UA Technology Services believe that prevention is better than cure.  A robust backup strategy that is both offsite and incorporates versioning will allow you to recover your documents without needing to pay the perpetrators.

A new website Fight Ransomware has been launched to try and bring together news and information about the subject, to help users be aware about the current state of play and to inform them about what can be done to combat this malware.

A few Statistics about Ransomware to give you an idea about the size of the problem

$445 Billion

The amount cybercrime will cost the global economy in 2016. The primary driver of loss will be ransomware.

+300%

The increase in ransomware attacks from Q1 of 2016 compared to Q1 2015. That’s as many as 4,000 ransomware attacks per day.

60 Seconds

The time it takes a hacker to compromise a computer with ransomware.

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5 passwords you should never use

 

Create strong passwords and protect them. Get tips
for managing your kids passwords too.

Security for Home Computer Users

5 passwords you should never use

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Security
updates for September 9, 2014

Learn how
to get security updates automatically

Get updates from
Microsoft Update

Watch a video about the updates

 


 

Q&A

Can
I run more than one antivirus program?

You
should never run more than one antivirus program at the same
time. The two programs could slow down your computer, and they
might even identify each other as a virus, which could lead to
file corruption or other conflicts and errors that make your antivirus
protection less effective—or not effective at all. 

 

Get our
recommendations for antivirus protection

 


 


 

Top Stories

HOW TO: Remove the MS Removal Tool

HOW
TO: Remove the MS Removal Tool
  

Get
step-by-step guidance on how to identify and remove the “MS
Removal Tool,” a type of malicious software that restricts
you from accessing your desktop. 


What is a trusted device?

What is a trusted
device?

A
trusted device is a computer, smartphone, or other device that
you’ve identified as belonging to you. On trusted devices, you
don’t have to enter security codes to access sensitive
information. 


Back-to-school checklist: Clean up my digital life

Back-to-school
checklist: Clean up my digital life

As
you or your kids go back to school, learn how to #Do1Thing to
manage your online persona and help set yourself up for digital
success this year. 

Why do I have to update my email account information?

Why
do I have to update my email account information?

To
help protect your personal data, we ask everyone who has a
Microsoft account to make sure that the security information
associated with their account is correct and up to date.

 


 


 

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Avoid tech support phone scams

It appears that an old spectre has reared its ugly head again.

Fake tech support phone scams

We had thought that they had slowed down as we have not had one reported to us for quite some time, but it appears that the scammers are still going strong. We will not go into chapter and verse here with advice and information, so much has already been written.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx

These links are from Microsoft, but it apply equally well to other callers. In fact the call that was received today identified itself as being from BT

The same advice as always applies – Keeping Safe on the Internet

In essence, don’t click on it unless you are 100% sure it is legitimate, never click on it if it was unsolicited etc… (The callers try to get you to go to a website where they have you download and run some software that will “protect” you or will “scan” your machine. What they are really doing is using you to infect your own machine).

The links above are legitimate Microsoft sites, but please don’t take our word for it. Try Googling “Microsoft avoid phone scams” or “Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently“

Treat calls like this as you would if you bumped into a person on the street with a Microsoft or BT hat on. Would you give a total stranger your credit card information? No? Of course not. So don’t do it on the internet unless you went looking for the service and you are as confident as possible that the provider is who they say they are.

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Yes, Virginia, TrueCrypt is still safe to use

TrueCrypt, a fantastic free whole disk encryption tool has recently vanished of the face of the planet.  No one quite knows why, but everyone is wondering if it is safe to use (the last comments from the authors tend to indicate that it is not!).

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I thought I would pass on the following blog entry by Steve Gibson, a respected Tech/Security Guru, that gives his take on it and an answer to the question “Is TrueCrypt safe to use?”

Steve Gibson posted: “So opens the short editorial I wrote this morning and placed at the top of GRC’s new TrueCrypt Final Version Repository page. The impetus for the editorial was the continual influx of questions from people asking whether TrueCrypt was still safe to”

Yes, Virginia, TrueCrypt is still safe to use.

by Steve Gibson

So opens the short editorial I wrote this morning and placed at the top of GRC’s new TrueCrypt Final Version Repository page.

The impetus for the editorial was the continual influx of questions from people asking whether TrueCrypt was still safe to use, and if not, what they should switch to, and so on. By this time, one of the TrueCrypt developers, identified as David, had been heard from, and his interchange confirmed the essential points of my conjectured theory of the events surrounding the self-takedown of TrueCrypt.org, etc.

Rather than repeating that entire editorial here, I’m posting this as a pointer to it since folks here have thanked me for maintaining a blog and not relying solely upon Twitter.  And also, this venue supports feedback and interaction which GRC’s current read-only format can not.

/Steve.

Steve Gibson | May 30, 2014 at 3:05 pm | Tags: GRC, TrueCrypt | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pV3mA-7n

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