There is a line of dialogue from the movie Spiderman: that always stood out to me. “With great power, comes great responsibility”. As we all know the internet has the power to change this world and it is indeed doing this job well. Using this wonderful thing called the internet, we can easily reach out to anyone in the world. Internet and computers are now used widely for everything imaginable. But the same Internet can be a threat to your valuable data. Today we are going to discuss the current ransomware attacks and how to be safe from them.
The Internet is a vast place and we should be aware that it is not always safe. You have to take care of your computer system especially internet enabled systems because there are many ransomware attacks going on currently. Now the question is what is ransomware? How can it affect you? Let us discuss ransomware and how it works. We will also discuss how to keep your data safe using antivirus products such as those offered by Bitdefender.
Ransomware is nothing but a malicious computer program that can enter into your system by any means such as email attachments or through your browser if you download anything from the internet. It will encrypt all your important data or all drives on your computer. After the encryption occurs, you will be asked for money to get the decryption keys. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is similar to a kidnapping but in the virtual world. Hackers basically kidnap your valuable data and ask for ransom. You may be asked for bitcoins since bitcoins are non-traceable. The latest ransomware viruses were “WannaCry” and “GoldenEye”. Both of them damaged many systems worldwide.
That sounds pretty bad, right? You have your valuable data on your computer and you have to take care of it. Ransomware usually comes in email attachments, so we will discuss some tips below to ensure the security of your computer.
Tips to stay safe from Ransomware and other viruses.
- Always install original software. If you have some important or business related data in your computer, always use licensed software on your computer.
- While using your browser, make sure that you are not clicking any unknown link. Always browse authoritative websites.
- Do not download attachments from unknown senders.
- Always check the extension of the attachments you receive even from known people. Do not open the file if the extension is “.exe”, “.msi”, “.bat”. Such files may contain a virus. Always make sure the file you are opening is clean.
Apart from all this, you can use a good antivirus on your system which can scan your computer periodically and also secure your online activities. Bitdefender provides great security for your system and gives you online protection too. It will scan your downloaded files immediately and notify you if it finds anything fishy. You can go for one of the Bitdefender products in order to get full security for your computer.
One of the most popular consumer antivirus products, Bitdefender Internet Security 2017, is especially designed for Internet-related threats. It will keep your system safe from any kind of malware. It even secures your online banking and payment activities. If you have important data in your system, we suggest keeping an antivirus installed on your computer to avoid any problems. Bitdefender Internet Security is the perfect solution for keeping your system safe.
If you follow all the tips along with getting a good antivirus, you should be safe from all these online threats. Prevention is better than the cure!
If you have any doubts or have any other points to add, please comment below.
Happy surfing!
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