WannaCry

[railguniz4noobz 2,394]

Some of the better antiviruses can catch the Trojan before it does damage. But once the computer is infected, there is no way the files can be decrypted without paying the ransom. 

 

This is where backing up your files off line such as a storage chip comes in handy. But how many of us home computer users do this? Corporations should do this on a regular basis, but apparently, they are not, since it's mostly corporations that are being infected. 

 

The only protections are:

 

1)...back up important files

2)...have a good antivirus and keep it updated

3)...check for any and all updates (Windows, browser, drivers, etc). Good preventative maintenance.

4)...don't open any emails, pdf's or click on any links from unknown sources, no matter how good it sounds. Instead, go directly to that website to learn about the offer. 

5)...don't click on any links for updates. Instead, go directly to the web page. A few years ago, I nearly got caught on that one. The link took me to a page that looked legitimate, but the wording was wrong and some of the words were misspelled. i clicked out and went directly to the web page. There were no updates available at that time. 

 

Bottom line, don't be lazy about keeping your computer up to date and use some common everyday common sense.

*cough* system restore *cough*