We frequently receive short messages by mail or on a mobile phone with links to some photos or programs that may "interest us," but, in fact, these are viruses that seize control over our mobile device or computer.
A clear example of such a virus is sending out emails with a link and text that stimulates the user to follow this link. For example, an attacker can offer you an interesting high-paying job, for which you need to fill out a form by clicking on the link. As a result, your computer or mobile device will be infected with a Trojan or a so-called "keylogger" that reads information from your hard drive, as well as records keystrokes, and sends all this data to the attacker. As a result of the analysis of the information received, an attacker will be able to determine your personal passwords and use them to steal money or personal information.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a new way for cybercriminals to make money based on human psychology. In this case, when you click on the link, your device is blocked, and a message appears on the screen that says that in order to restore access to your device or prevent data loss, you must transfer a certain amount of money to the specified account.
As a rule, in this case, minor changes are made to the registry or autorun files. As a result, this message is displayed on the screen all the time. Therefore, even if you send money to an intruder, nothing will change, and you will still not be able to access your device.
This way, you need to use either antivirus software or special scripts that will restore the system. In any case, transferring money to an attacker will not save you.
How to protect yourself from ransomware?
- Keep the antivirus database up to date. In most cases, antivirus systems successfully prevent infection of the operating system.
- Back up your data. Use an external hard drive or cloud services. This way, you can always restore your data without any problems.
- Be careful. In most cases, ransomware gets onto a user's computer or mobile device when they open an email attachment. Never open attachments in emails received from unknown senders.
- The best way to protect yourself from such messages is to use temporary mailboxes to hide your online presence and filter out the most suspicious messages.
Conclusion:
Do not open emails from unknown senders and do not open attachments in unfamiliar emails. If cybercriminals still managed to block your account, do not send them money in any case, as your account will not be unblocked anyway.
To solve the problem, you should use antivirus or special scripts. In order not to fall prey to scammers, use Crypto G Mail temporary mail – it will help you forget about email spam and viruses.
