With a growing number of attacks being seen by our computers, the risk of cyber attack is bigger and more common than it ever has been in history’s past. You may be asking yourself what we can do to protect your own computer and data from ransomware and viruses. In the following article, we compiled a few ways that you can use to keep your computer safe from hackers and cyber attacks. Let’s take a look.
How Ransomware Can Destroy Your Computer
To begin, we should discuss what ransomware is exactly. Ransomware is able to gain access to a computer the same way any virus or computer worm could, either through an infected email or a compromised website. Once inside the computer, a user is then bombarded with pop-ups and warnings that lock them out of their own computer or remove important files from the host computer. This is then where the word Ransom comes into play as users are ordered to pay a ransom to the cybercriminal in order to gain access to their files.
Most security experts agree that you should not pay the ransom as it won’t guarantee you’ll regain control of the files or device in question.
Set Up Two-Step Verification
2-step verification is a security measure that makes it harder for hackers to access your accounts found online. A lot of services offer this type of security options such as Gmail, Facebook, and Apple accounts.
Schedule Your Virus Scans
Of course, there is antivirus software that should keep your PC or Mac protected, but it’s important that you improve its effectiveness by relying on scheduled virus scans. Always use the option that will rely less on you manually setting up scans.
Know How to Spot a Phishing Scam
Phishing scams are used in a way that impersonates legitimate websites and services to get you to give up personal information. Phishing messages often look like they’re from recognizable services, but they infect your system with malware if you click the links included. Be sure to keep an eye out for blurry or unusual looking company logos, bad grammar, and always study the names listed in the email header.
Avoid Suspect Sites
Malware enters your computers by visiting and taking actions at harmful sites. Pearl Software’s custom blocking modules keep users from visiting sites that contain harmful content. When Pearl Software scans a site we also download and check for viruses in setup files, zip files and executable files. If viruses are found, the site is added to our Malware category to prevent a seemingly harmless site from launching a drive-by install of malicious code or drivers.
It is important to us at Pearl Software that you all stay as protected as possible because, in this day and age, most of our computers and cell phone devices have all of our important information. If you still have questions about how to stay safe feel free to contact us as we specialize in user web filtering and internet monitoring.