Best Free Antivirus Program
How to Protect Your PC Against Ransomware?
Cyber criminals all over the world continue to utilize ransomware to attack both home and business users. The sad thing is that it's modern technology that makes it possible for these digital thieves to come up with a variety of ransomware modifications, which can invade a system and exploit the vulnerabilities to install themselves silently on the victim's computer. Additionally, ransomware is a type of malicious computer virus that encrypts a user's data, essentially holding their computer hostage, until the victim pays a "ransom".
This nasty malware can be delivered via Trojan, which a user may have downloaded by accident and it can spread without any user action, as in the case of WannaCry (ransomware that stormed through the web last 2017 and heavily impacted Europe). If the hacker's ransom demands are not met or if the victim doesn't pay the ransom, the files or encrypted data will most likely remain encrypted and unavailable to the victim.
Due to the fear of the damage they may face from the attack, many people automatically oblige with the intruder's demands without the assurance that they would even get what was promised after the payment has been made. This sheer negligence of consumers and companies is the reason why the use of ransomware has become an increasingly popular way of extorting money.
Take a look at these tips we’ve gathered to help you protect your data and networks:
Train Your Organization
One of the most powerful measures against ransomware an organization can take is to plan and provide cybersecurity awareness training to their personnel. You should implement periodical mandatory cybersecurity awareness training sessions to your employees to ensure that they are well-informed about the current cybersecurity threats and threat actor techniques, as well as what to do about them. To further strengthen the training, you should also consider testing your personnel's awareness through phishing assessments that simulate real-world phishing emails.
Download Best Free Antivirus Program
If you're planning to download best free antivirus program that includes both anti-malware and antivirus firewall features, you might want to consider the Comodo Internet Security (CIS). In case the firewall fails to distinguish and filter known suspicious files and other malicious behavior, the anti-malware tool will be there to recognize anomalies and eliminate the suspicious files that can possibly harm your computer.
Filter .pdf and .exe Files
The majority of executable malware, viruses and ransomware come in the form of .pdf or .exe file extensions. As such, we recommend that you download best free antivirus program and disable the default Windows option "hide known file extensions" so you can see a file's full extension.
Double-Check Email Identity
Make it a habit to verify an email's legitimacy before downloading any attachments or complying with any request made by the sender, particularly if it came from a new or suspicious address. Some hackers would make it look like the email is coming from your bank or a personal contact so if you think it was an unexpected occurrence, don't hesitate to get in touch with them personally to confirm if indeed they have sent the mail.
Backup Your Computer
It's important to perform regular backups of your system and other important files. However, make sure that you also verify these backups frequently so that you'll have a peace of mind that you can still restore your system to its previous state if your computer becomes infected with ransomware.
Store Your Backups Separately
Apart from ensuring constant system backups, it's also a smart move to store these backups on a separate device, which cannot be accessed from a network, such as on an external hard drive. Don't forget to disconnect the external hard drive or separate the device from the network or computer once the backup is completed.
It can be very difficult or impossible to recover your data, not to mention the financial and reputational damage you might incur if you neglect to download best free antivirus program that you can trust and your computer becomes infected with ransomware. Keep in mind that there's no guarantee that you'll get your data back by paying the ransom, especially with the fact that you're dealing with criminals, after all. Consider following through the tips we've provided above and don't forget that constant vigilance costs nothing, compared to when you have to directly deal with an ongoing attack.
Comodo Internet Security
Comodo Internet Security is an antivirus program that offers robust and vindictive protection against malicious programs. It keeps your important data protected from data thieves and cybercriminals. It scans, blocks, and quarantines malicious programs so your computer remain at its best shape.
