- Ransomware attacks are becoming more and more common, prevention is the best tool we have available to protect ourselves.
- It is a threat that has not stopped growing in the last year; which has achieved that different governments around the world begin to take action on the matter.
It has been roughly 30 years since the first ransomware attack, and today it is a considerably significant threat. We must consider that even the US government raised the threat to the same level of terrorism and the numbers do not stop rising. That is why it is too relevant that we know how to prevent ransomware attacks . As the saying goes "better safe than sorry" and in this case, it couldn't be more accurate..
The ransomware works by encrypting the victim's data, making it impossible to read. If the victim wants to recover their files, they must pay an amount to the attacker in order to rescue them. However, nothing guarantees that the files will be released, even if we agree to pay. In most cases, the attacker disappears and does not allow us to access the affected files.
How to prevent or avoid ransomware attacks
Therefore, it is extremely important to avoid or prevent ransomware attacks and in order to protect our network from cybercriminals, we must implement the latest anti-ransomware solutions and be very careful when browsing the web..
Install antivirus and antiransomware program
Obviously, an antivirus software compatible with Windows 11 or the system that we use, must be a reliable program and from a reputable company, after all, we are leaving our files under their protection.
It is one of the best cybersecurity solutions today. These programs have the most advanced technologies, content filters and virus scanners which allow us to detect and block the threat before it can act on our system..
When we implement state-of-the-art antivirus, we are hardening our system and we can work with peace of mind. Additionally, it is best to accompany a good antivirus carefully. What do we mean by this? We must be sure of the websites we visit and the files we download. An antivirus program cannot do all the work for us, we must exercise caution and, at the slightest suspicion; not accessing the website or downloading the file.
Avoid unknown USB sticks
It is something quite common, many USB memory sticks can leave malicious software on our computer, including ransomware. It is a “Common” practice for many cybercriminals to leave infected devices in public places in the hope that someone will want to use them. Therefore, it is not ideal to use unknown USB sticks.
Don't open suspicious email attachments
One of the most popular and sadly effective methods for spreading ransomware is email attachments. If the sender's email address looks suspicious. Then we will have to proceed to delete the message immediately. We will never open an attachment that we have not requested, under any point of view.
Use a VPN to prevent attacks
This is something very necessary when we use a public Wi-Fi network, it is advisable to encrypt it with a VPN or virtual private network, which will keep our device safe from the vulnerability of the network we are using. In this way we avoid access to our confidential data.
Keep the operating system and applications up-to-date
This is something fundamental and basic when it comes to cybersecurity in general terms. Keeping software out of date exposes our system to vulnerabilities. That is why it is so important to keep everything we use updated to the latest version. In this way, cybercriminals will have a harder time finding security breaches in your system.
