You all have probably heard of the latest threat–ransomware that hit a number of countries, but hit Russia the hardest.    Are you vulnerable?

You really should have the latest version of your operating system installed.  Remember that Windows XP is an end-of-life product and is no longer supported.  It is vulnerable.  Windows 7 and 10 are safer–but they need to have all the latest updates installed.

In addition–you need to have a current version of anti-malware/internet security software installed.  Scan your system regularly.  And, most importantly, you need to have your data backed up.  Ransomware only attacks your data.  If you have a copy of all your date, you can replace the encrypted files.  BUT–that backup needs to be offline.  If you have a system that is constantly backing up your data, it will back up the encrypted data and you’ll be out of luck.  If you have a backup that is offline, your data can’t be overwritten.

We recommend having your data stored on an external drive and plug it in only when you are doing a backup.  If you are using cloud backups, talk to the company’s tech support to be sure they have a second copy of your data archived so it can be retrieved if your data is compromised.