Windows user? Avoid ransomware attacks

Floris

I'm just me :) Hi.
Staff member
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Jan 1, 2001
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Hey, i just wanted to let you all know that there's a malware going around that actively exploits something naughty the NSA had as a tool, but leaked out to the public. And yes, it's very effective. Within 24 hours before the weekend, 200k systems, from banks, telephone providers, train station networks, and home systems etc, running Windows - any version basically - have been infected.

The ransomware will encrypt the files on your system and hold it ransom, until you pay. There is no way to decrypt it, and please don't be stupid and pay for it.

My advice in this case is, get a new hard drive, fresh install a legit windows version on it, and restore your data from your backup.

To prevent infection, read some of these links, and patch your Windows machines with the fix that microsoft provided. Then go to your parents, other family members and friends, and help them patch too. Use a firewall to block ports 139 and 445, and turn off SMB v1.

https://www.troyhunt.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-wannacrypt-ransomware/

https://blog.comae.io/wannacry-the-largest-ransom-ware-infection-in-history-f37da8e30a58

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/

Don't wait for it to fix itself, don't trust your anti virus or malware defender apps to do it.

Ignore to take action and you're not allowed to cry like a bitch about it. Please take the advice from us tech geeks and nerds seriously. If you run a Windows version, make sure you can prevent it the best you can.

And yes, get that backup up to date and complete, so when things go wrong, you can plug in the offsite backup and restore your data without having to worry too much.
 
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