So, if you read the newspaper or listen to the radio, it’s already too late. Cyber attackers have invaded your home and taken your children hostage. Time to give up.
First of all, most people writing for mainstream news outlets are neither security nor technology experts. One might suggest that if they were, they would be doing something different with their lives.
Here are some tips:
- Do NOT open email attachments without first vetting them for legitimacy and scanning them with a professional-grade scanning tool
- Do NOT run downloads from websites as above (vetting and scanning)
- Be wary of free tools (graphics, video, audio, etc.) found on the Internet
- Keep ALL operating systems updated with their most current security updates
- Replace any operating systems and application versions that have been discontinued by a manufacturer
- Keep a current OFFLINE backup on a regular basis
- Install and maintain a professional-grade malware protection application on every machine (particularly, those powered by Microsoft)
There are, of course, other preventative measures, but following these tried and tested methods would have prevented most (if not all) of the recent attacks.
The question is, have you done all of the above. If not, do it now. Specifically, get a USB flash disk or a USB hard drive and back up any files you cannot afford to lose.
Do it right now.
As always… having a good plan and the right equipment means the difference between irritation and catastrophe.