Sorry if this is a long post but it could prevent a serious problem with your computer. As you probably know, you should always be careful when opening email attachments, even those from senders you know very well. There is a new class of malware that makes it especially important to do so. I had heard of the malware previously but it must be getting relatively common because there was a good article about it on the front page of the Monday, November 4 edition of the Carroll County Times. The malware doesnt simply cause problems with your computer or sell annoying advertising through constant pop-up messages. It could destroy your data by encrypting many file types on your computer until you pay a fee to decrypt them...basically kidnapping your files then holding them for ransom. Even though the virus can be easily removed from your computer your data cannot easily be reconstructed from the encrypted files. You might have no choice but to pay the ransom and get the decryption key if you want them back. This malware will encrypt many types of documents, spreadsheets, databases and graphic files as well as files created by Adobe products. The currently best known variant is named CryptoLocker. It arrives in an attachment to an email supposedly from some legitimate company like UPS enticing you to open the attachment. The attachment is usually a zip file (a single compressed file containing multiple files). Inside the zip file is another file which might appear to be a pdf document but is actually an executable file that will start encrypting your files after connecting to a malicious server and getting an encryption key. This encryption will be done on local files as well as files on other computers on your network via “mapped” drives (a network location assigned a drive letter such as F: or Z:). Since the file extension (the last part of the file name following the last period) is normally hidden by Windows It can be difficult to tell if it is an executable file. One way to avoid losing your documents and have them restored in case there is a problem is with a good file backup procedure. A good procedure will have several days of independent backup files stored off site or not accessible from your computer or your network. Having multiple days of complete backups will help if you dont discover the virus immediately and recent backups contain the encrypted files. You can then use an older backup from before the virus attack. Having backup files stored separate from your computer and not accessible from your network helps protect the backups themselves from encryption or deletion. One backup program for Microsoft Windows systems you could try is named Acronis True Image 2014. You can get it at acronis/homecomputing/trueimage/. The cost is $50 and includes 5GB of secure “Cloud Storage”. Cloud storage basically allows you to use their file servers to store your backups. This would qualify as off-site, off-computer and off-network storage for your backups. You will likely need more than 5GB and they do offer more for a fee. You don’t have to backup your entire hard drive…only your documents and settings. No, I’m not affiliated with the company in anyway but I do use their software. There are other paid and also some good free backup solutions available and, depending on your version of Windows, you might have Microsoft’s backup installed but there are varying limitations within this program, also depending on your version of Windows. There are some ways, some of them technical, to help avoid the problem although they don’t guarantee its prevention. They will not help if you are already infected and one could make things worse if you do want to pay the ransom. These techniques involve using specific DNS servers or employing software restriction policies. You could also purchase paid versions of typically free programs; one is Malwarebytes Pro.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 15:42:57 +0000
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