What Is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
How To Identify?
Ransomware typically appears as:
- A pop-up message telling you that your computer is infected or asking you to click for a free scan
- Phishing emails that have malicious attachments or links to malicious websites or malicious advertising found on an otherwise legitimate website
- Infected software apps, infected external storage devices, and compromised websites
How To Protect Your Data?
It is critical to take the following measures to protect your data:
- Check out the sender of the email before downloading attachments or clicking on the attached links. An antivirus program may or may not detect a malicious attachment.
- Regularly back up your data and make sure you can restore files from backups. Ask for assistance from the IT Helpdesk by email it.helpdesk@aub.edu.lb or call extension 4000.
- Avoid using an administrator account for day to day business. In case of a ransomware attack, the cybercriminal will have the same administrator privileges as you.
- Regularly update your software with patches. A patch is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data, designed to update, fix, or improve it, one of which is security vulnerabilities.
- If you think that your computer is infected with ransomware, isolate or shut down your computer and report immediately to the IT Helpdesk.