How to protect from ransomware?

Not sure honest is the right word - but many of them if you pay will result in the files being decrypted as if it was well known that it didn't work people would never pay at all and that would be bad for "business".
 
V F said:
:eek::o



What OS are you on? It came with the roll-up on Windows 7.
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Windows 7, but i don't get updates anymore, not since they changed them to the Windows 10 way (as just kept endlessly checking, and eating my CPU, which i know theres a fix for, but ive not done it :o)
 
And if you get infected by one of these ransomware ?

I Assume best course of action is take side off computer unscrew SSD or HD and bin it buy new one and start reloading windows ?

Not that i have it, im usually good at upgrading windows, just curious as to how extreme you have to be to make sure its gone from PC.
 
Rincewindle said:
And if you get infected by one of these ransomware ?

I Assume best course of action is take side off computer unscrew SSD or HD and bin it buy new one and start reloading windows ?

Not that i have it, im usually good at upgrading windows, just curious as to how extreme you have to be to make sure its gone from PC.
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If you get infected you can just wipe the drive, reinstall windows and recover from a (hopefully uninfected) backup.

I'd like to say that you don't really need to be any more thorough than that.
 
LoadsaMoney said:
Windows 7, but i don't get updates anymore, not since they changed them to the Windows 10 way (as just kept endlessly checking, and eating my CPU, which i know theres a fix for, but ive not done it :o)
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:eek::(:mad:

Its easy to fix. I've done it at least 3 - 4 times over the past few years but it has never happened again so far. Even checked updates there and it was fast reporting back all up to date.

Though I jump in from time to time to update Windows 10 on the other drive since it is seconds to boot.
 
UnworthyBean said:
If you get infected you can just wipe the drive, reinstall windows and recover from a (hopefully uninfected) backup.

I'd like to say that you don't really need to be any more thorough than that.
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Hopefully - unless hackers appropriate or create their own version of the technique for infecting the HDD/SSD controller firmware - which I don't believe has been seen yet outside of stuff linked to the NSA and a proof of concept by GCHQ.
 
Rroff said:
Hopefully - unless hackers appropriate or create their own version of the technique for infecting the HDD/SSD controller firmware - which I don't believe has been seen yet outside of stuff linked to the NSA and a proof of concept by GCHQ.
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noob alert:

If starting a build from scratch. Would it be best to install all your programs etc do all updates. Then clone the drive to another. That way it would be a very quick way to get re setup again.

Can we then also have secure folders etc that can't be encrypted.
 
Cloning an OS drive right after you have everything setup how you like it makes sense and speeds up recovery. "Secure" folders is trickier it would need Windows to work properly really in terms of admin accounts and people actually able to use non-admin accounts for day to day tasks. Right now even if you work around the many less than ideal aspects of that model there are too many vulnerabilities that let code just go straight through Window's UAC anyhow.
 
Has the vulnerability in the on demand windows defender scanner (that executes code on scanning the infected file) been fixed yet?
 
so, MS appear to take no responsibility for the recent problems, !
I think the press should be looking at them too, more rigorous design/test of s/w as opposed to, just fit for purpose s/w ... albeit reducing their still large profits.

These attacks are different to say the 2016 softtware defects in Ford/GM cars since they are malicious but at what point can manufacturer/MS be pursued for losses from ransomware attacks.
(Is an Android/IOs attack also pending, since NSA (and the bad guys) doubtless have IOS rooting strategies)


The need for urgent collective action to keep people safe online: Lessons from last week’s cyberattack

Posted May 14, 2017 by Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer

Early Friday morning the world experienced the year’s latest cyberattack.

Starting first in the United Kingdom and Spain, the malicious “WannaCrypt” software quickly spread globally, blocking customers from their data unless they paid a ransom using Bitcoin. The WannaCrypt exploits used in the attack were drawn from the exploits stolen from the National Security Agency, or NSA, in the United States. That theft was publicly reported earlier this year. A month prior, on March 14, Microsoft had released a security update to patch this vulnerability and protect our customers. While this protected newer Windows systems and computers that had enabled Windows Update to apply this latest update, many computers remained unpatched globally. As a result, hospitals, businesses, governments, and computers at homes were affected.

..
The governments of the world should treat this attack as a wake-up call. They need to take a different approach and adhere in cyberspace to the same rules applied to weapons in the physical world. We need governments to consider the damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits. This is one reason we called in February for a new "Digital Geneva Convention" to govern these issues, including a new requirement for governments to report vulnerabilities to vendors, rather than stockpile, sell, or exploit them.
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jpaul said:
so, MS appear to take no responsibility for the recent problems, !
I think the press should be looking at them too, more rigorous design/test of s/w as opposed to, just fit for purpose s/w ... albeit reducing their still large profits.
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In what way? They released patches prior to the attacks, released further patches this weekend (even for Windows XP!). They've attempted to force updates and upgrades (which while a pain for us power users, this will strengthen Microsoft's stance in that regard) on home users and by default Enterprise and Education (though these can be managed separately, which is obviously the case for most affected organisations).

Really I don't know what more they could do. It was dealt with before the attacks and strengthened during, even on operating systems that have been out of extended support for years.

Microsoft aren't responsible for organisations refusing to apply the March patch, but if people are going to hold Microsoft accountable then the only outcome will be forced upgrades and updates for home and enterprise/education users.
 
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