TALLAHASSEE, FL – During Tech Smart on Sunrise Thursday, the discussion is about new types of threats to computer users and businesses.
Dowling said ‘Ransomeware’ is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
‘Cryptolocker’ comes in your email box and it appears to a reputable source, such as your bank, UPS, American Express. But once you click on it your files become encrypted. A ransome is requested, the average ransome is $300 and if you pay it, you are promised the encyption keys. Dowling’s advice is never to pay criminals because it only encourages them more.
Now for businesses, if you are an HR person and hiring for a job, you regularly open dropbox files that say ‘resume.’ Dowling says beware, because it could be a ransomeware threat.
Here’s some ways to prevent these threats from occuring: firewall/anti-virus, and a solid data backup must always be in place.
Blake Dowling is a Chief Business Development Officer at Aegis Business Technologies.
