How To Protect Your PC From Ransomware

Ransomware encrypts your files and ask for payment in return for a key to unlock your files. However, there is no guarantee that the said key will work. Can your files survive an infection? Yes, provided that you have the right backup strategy.

A Brief Overview

Ransomware is a type of malware that can lock you out of your computer unless payment has been made. Although most criminals consider an attack much like a typical transaction, there are a few ransomware authors who seem to enjoy in making their victims suffer. There are victims who made the payment but have nothing to decrypt since their files were already go to begin with.

These days, there is an increasing number in attack vectors. Plus, many criminals now disguise the ransomware in unvetted software and apps. Sometimes, they are transmitted through spear-phishing attacks, wherein they target people within an organization particularly those who have higher chances of clicking on suspicious links.

Protect Your Backups

When your system has been compromised with ransomware, you have the option to pay the ransom and cross your fingers that you can get your files back. Or, you can also not pay and find ways to reconstruct your computerfrom your backups. The first option is a bit problematic due to logical, financial, ethical, and moral reasons. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help make sure that you can recover effortlessly from a ransomware attack.

Three Guiding Principles

Always assume that ransomware will delete or encrypt everything you can access from your PC.

In case you back up to an external or internal hard drive that is always connected to your computer, or the cloud, think that those files are dead. They are just of value for a more conventional or old fashioned disaster such as a hard drive failure. There is nothing wrong with this kind of back up for conventional threats, however, it should not be your only line of defence to help you protect your data.

Disconnect your backup from your network.

A great weapon that you can use against ransomware is to use a backup media that you could air gap, which means it is totally disconnected from the internet and the computer. For instance, in case you back up to an external hard drive, just connect it during your regular scheduled back up. Once done, disconnect it again right away. Your local storage drive must not be kept attached to the network. By doing so, your backups will unlikely be encrypted once the ransomware executable is loaded to the network.

Rely on the versioning.

Even if you immediately disconnect the external drive, there is still no guarantee that it will be protected. It’s because your system may already have an infection with malware if you run a backup. Versioning is an important method that you can use to make sure that you can recover from a ransomware attack. It is helpful to use a backup tool that works by saving several timestamped versions of your many files. Once you restore your computer, you will have the option of going back as far as possible, at a time before your files were infected.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. in Columbia and let our team set up a comprehensive data backup and recovery strategy for your business.

SpartanTec, Inc. Columbia, SC 29201 (803) 408-7166 http://manageditservicescolumbia.com/

cities served:
Columbia, West Columbia, Cayce, St Andrews, Lexington, Oak Grove

How Can Power Outages Affect Your Computer

Are you one of those who do not turn off or unplug their computers during severe storms? If yes, then you might want to start doing it now.

It’s long been revealed that regular power outages and electrical storms could damage or even destroy electronic devices and that includes computers. Anybody who says otherwise is either misguided or lying. What’s worse is that there are other concerns aside from power outages.

What are the risks associated with electrical failure? How do they affect your computer? What can you do to protect your unit from getting fried?

Various Types of Electrical Anomalies

The electrical current that is flowing through your house isn’t constant. Generally speaking it should be, but the truth is that electricity could ebb and flow, in some cases dropping in voltage and sometimes surging with more power. All of these could have unwanted effects.

If power totally shuts off, it’s called a blackout. These happen because of problems beyond your control. However, they could also be self-inflicted.

And then there is another issue referred to as brownout, which is when the electrical voltage experiences a short term drop without going to a total blackout. In case you have ever seen the lights dim for some unknown reason, it was maybe due to a brownout. Brownouts could be intentional as a way to lower electrical loads and prevent blackouts, although they could also be intentional.

On a different note, there is the power surge, which is when an electrical device gets more electricity than intended for a minimum of three nanoseconds. Power surges could be brought on by several factors like electrical line malfunctions and short circuits. When the electrical voltage last for only one or maybe two seconds, then it is called a power spike, which is caused by lighting.

Why Surges and Blackouts Are Dangerous

Unexpected computer shutdown is the real danger linked to brownouts and blackouts. Operating systems are complicated and they should go through a shutdown sequence to ensure that all running processes have accurately shut down before it turns off. A sudden electricity loss could interrupt essential threads and leave your unit in an inoperable state.

The largest concern are the system files. Think about what takes place when the hard drive is writing data to the disk when suddenly it is forced to shut down right in the middle of the process. Let’s say the file that’s being written was a system file needed for the booting process. Now that file is going to be corrupted and you cannot boot up your computer without having to go through an involved recovery procedure.

Apart from that, regular power outages could reduce the physical lifespan of the hard drive. The read and write head, that is hovering over the platters that are spinning during operation, will snap back to its former position during the power loss. This unexpected movement could lead to small imperfections that build up over time, boosting the chances of a head crash, which is a malfunction that happens once the head touches and then scrapes the surfaces of the platter, which leads to the destruction of the hard drive.

How To Protect Your Computer Against Power Outages

The foolproof method to safeguard your computer against such electrical anomalies is to unplug your unit totally until the danger has passed. It needs to be physically disconnected. Turning off the power switch will not do any good. This is the only way to protect the unit with a 100% success rate against power surges and power outages.

Having said that, many of you will probably ignore the storm and keep your computer plugged in anyway. Even though it is not the smartest move, it is still understandable. So, there are a few alternative ways that can still help you protect your computer. Use a surge protector or invest in an interruptible power supply.

If you are running a business, you can afford any form of interruption to your operation. Call SpartanTec, Inc. and know more about our business continuity planning and disaster recovery services.

SpartanTec, Inc. Columbia, SC 29201 (803) 408-7166 http://manageditservicescolumbia.com/

cities served:
Columbia, West Columbia, Cayce, St Andrews, Lexington, Oak Grove