BEWARE: THREATS TO YOUR COMPUTER AND PERSONAL DATA

There is a significant increase in people receiving emails with highly developed malware and ransomware infections threatening computers and networks at the moment. Highly sophisticated infections are affecting home users, small and large business without discrimination.

The latest attacks on software

Encryptowall is a virus that is used by criminals to gain access to personal data by locking down and encrypting your files until a ransom is paid. If you pay the ransom there is no guarantee that it will be unlocked or what else your payment details will be used for.

The latest attack is an email with a zip attachment often claiming to be a ‘resume’. If this file is opened the ransomware will install and infect your PC and network.

Act now before it’s too late

Do not open suspicious emails or attachments that you don’t trust. If the attachment is from a person you trust but it looks suspicious contact them before opening it.

Ensure that your PC, laptop or tablet device has an antivirus software installed. This should be used regularly to scan files and updates as soon as any updates are required.

Always shut down your computer after use allowing for updates to run.

Do not store passwords on your computer. Use a strict password policy with a variety of characters (e.g. numbers, letters and symbols) and change password on a regular basis.

Back up your data on either a computer server or shared space.