Atlanta IT Support Can Help You Escape Ransomware Scourges

Popcorn Time

Atlanta IT support can definitely help you safeguard yourself against things like ransomware. Part of remaining safe from these viral scourges involves the creation of contingency protocols to protect your information. To understand why, you need to understand what ransomware is at a core level.

Ransomware basically uses complex encryption to extort people. It’s like a digital gangster that comes into a shop and says: “Nice store you have here. Too bad if something were to happen.” If you don’t give in, they hold you up at gunpoint. If you do give in, they regularly charge you a fee just to operate your business. Well, ransomware uses military-level encryption protocols (just like military grade firearms used by gangsters) to hijack your computer and hold it hostage against a sum of money. Oftentimes, there’s a time limit, and if you don’t pay the fee in time, your computer will be entirely initialized and all your files will be lost.

There’s an insidious new program called Popcorn Time that has upped the ante by giving you the option to spread the virus to two contacts in order that your files may be preserved.

Now you may ask yourself: “Why would anybody download something like that?” It’s simple: the virus is hidden in some high-demand service like free video. Movies are often offered free online for a price and the downloading of a media player. But if you download and install the player, it uploads ransomware into your computer. This ransomware is designed to be pernicious and to spread itself. If you’ve got an open network, such viruses will try to permeate it in most cases.

A Drop in The Pacific

There are numerous “free online video” applications which boast endless cost-free entertainment. Don’t ever download their players and don’t ever pay any fees. If you can’t watch it for free without closing the pop-ups, don’t go to that site. Even then, you’ve got to be careful. Some pop-ups have a download link hidden in a blank screen, and if you click it, the file automatically downloads to your computer, then runs a sub-routine that brings the viral activation procedures to your attention as though they’re an update for your system or something of the kind. Ransomware software designers are very, very sneaky.

Protecting yourself from these things requires maintaining a backup solution perpetually. You’re going to want to have several stages of backups. One a day or so behind current operations — updated daily or twice daily, if possible — one a week out, one two weeks out, one a month out, one two months out, four months, six months, and a year. You’ll want to update these at intervals, and it makes sense to store your yearly information separately and regularly in an archival format. But generally, you must have many backups, a rolling system of updates and maintenance for all of them.

Atlanta IT support can help you design a backup and recovery protocol, while additionally providing proactive, continuous support through things like:

• Cloud Computing
• Backup and Data Recovery
• Proactive Maintenance
• VoIP
• Consultation Services
• Network Design
• Managed Services
• Anti-Spam/Malware/Ransomware

Protected Expansion

We at MIS Solutions, Inc. are an Atlanta IT support solution offering continuous protection and cutting-edge, competitive IT solutions. Contact us for secure, cost-effective operations.

Schedule a free 15-minute discovery call
We’ll discuss your IT requirements and assess whether we’re the right fit for you.

Share:

Liked the articles?

Well, there’s plenty more where that came from! Our incredible team is constantly on the lookout for the latest and greatest IT content to keep you informed about what’s cooking in the world of technology. Make sure you don’t miss out on our amazing content by subscribing to receive blog updates.

  • Remark: We will collect your information for marketing purposes. However, we respect your privacy rights. If you wish to access or amend any Personal Data we hold about you, or request that we delete any information about you that we have collected, please send us an email: info@mis-solutions.com
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.