Dave Taylor
Q: I’ve been reading about ransomware attacks and am unclear what they actually are all about. Can you explain ransomware and how I can protect my computer from an attack?
A: Great question. Turns out we’re all vulnerable to a ransomware attack (to a greater or lesser extent), depending on our “digital hygiene”. If you open up email from unknown senders, skip running an antivirus program because it slows your system down and often head to questionable sites to fulfill your more prurient desires, you’re definitely a high risk!
Imagine starting up your computer to have a window pop up saying “File system encrypted. To obtain the password, pay us $500”. Sure enough, you check your photos, movies, even documents, and everything’s encrypted.
If you have a good backup, you might just be able to roll back to before the ransomware encrypted your files, but most people don’t have much of any backup. (I’m not going to nag, but you really should have some sort of rudimentary backup solution for your most critical files.)
Ransomware is basically when a malicious program sneaks onto your computer and encrypts your data files. Pay the hacker the money specified and you might — or might not — get the password and unlock all your data.
Ransomware is transmitted by having an unknown program run on your computer, so the more cautious you are about what’s on your system, the lower the chance of it being infected. That’s what I meant earlier about “digital hygiene”.
Email from someone you don’t know (or do know, but there’s no actual message, just the link, file, or attachment)? Delete it immediately. Free secret online gambling or other adult-themed site to check out, courtesy of a friend of a friend? Don’t click or visit. Hack utility that will let you become a super character in your favorite online game? Skip it: It can easily install some malware, too.
Microsoft Windows has an anti-ransomware feature you can enable if you’re on a PC. Turn on Windows Security (I like Windows Defender, included with Win10 and Win11) then enable “Controlled Folder Access” to ensure unknown software cannot access your critical folders.
Worth noting is that cloud backup systems like Onedrive include antivirus and anti-ransomware scanning that keeps your
uploaded files safe from malicious code. It’s a simple way to back up your most important documents, if nothing else!
Mac systems are also vulnerable to ransomware attacks, though it’s more uncommon. Your best protection is to never run unknown programs, not visit questionable or other sketchy Web sites, and delete scams, spam and phishing email as soon as you identify it.
As always, be careful, be skeptical, be protected, backup your most precious files, and be safe out there!