How to stay protected from ransomware

Hello readers,

Ransomwares are running rampant again and it’s a good time to learn how to protect yourself from them although the first known ransomware attack was in 1989
new forms of ransomwares have been infecting systems in an alarming rate

Two types of ransomwares are currently common

A type that encrypts all your unprotected data and you won’t be able to access your data until u pay the ransomware the amount of money they want from you
The second type locks your operating system preventing you from accessing anything in your system and the creator will ask you for the ransom before you can access the system again

Ransomwares generally target home users because they are gullible and have significantly worse security than corporate structures

Some notable ransomwares are: WannaCry, Petya, Uiwix, Cerber, Locky, Torrent Locker, Crypto Locker, CTB Locker, Reveton, TeslaCrypt,

11 Things to remember for staying protected from ransomwares

Backup your important data in a separate portable harddisk or a locked drive or on some reliable cloud servers like dropbox or google drive
Always use an updated Anti-virus
Keep your operating system updated with the latest security patches
Use an adblocker while visiting sites to reduce the risk of getting attacked by ads
Scan your pc with anti-malware softwares (I recommend malwarebytes)
Don’t click on the links sent from spam
Don’t provide personal information to unknown sites and e-mails
Always scan USB devices with an anti-virus
Don’t install browser add-ons/plugins from untrusted sources
Don’t use Adobe flash, Adobe reader, Silverlight and Java unless you absolutely have to and disable them afterwards
Use a VPN when accessing the internet