Cryptolocker, 在业, matsnu, Ransomware…Everyday another hospital, 业务, personal computer and even smart phones falls victim to the hideous ransomware. Ransomware, 简单地说, is a program that encrypts all of your data on your device and, 协商价格, you can purchase a key to unlock and decrypt your data. It’s a surprisingly easy way for crypto-criminals to make money because, 大多数时候, 人支付.
One of the easiest targets today is smart phones and tablets. The trusty device that’s by your side almost 24x7 as you are going in and out of offices, 咖啡店, 健身房, airports among other countless public hotspots. For instance, mobile devices on the AT&T network are programmed to join automatically to any hotspot with the SSID(name) of “attwifi”. This includes a criminal sitting in a public area with a laptop broadcasting a SSID of “attwifi”.
How to Secure Your Device
There are multiple ways to secure your phone.
- Secure your mobile device by turning off “Auto-Join” or even turning off you wifi on your mobile device altogether. Turn it on when you need it and this will also give you a boost in battery life as well.
- On the i电话: Launch the Settings app > Tap Wi-Fi > Tap the blue arrow to the right of attwifi. > Switch the Auto-Join tab to OFF.
- Another method is to use a cheap or free VPN service on your phone or tablet. Some are low cost or even free. 例如, Cyberghost, TotalVPN, and Opera VPN are all free for download in the iOS Appstore and in the Google Play store and are some of the highest rated according to PCMag.com and customer reviews. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390381,00.asp .
VPN’s or Virtual Private 网络ing isolates you from public networks by creating a virtual tunnel between your device and the VPN server. This way all of your data would come from the VPN server and not the public wifi in your local coffee shop. - Also since 安卓 devices equal to 81% of the global market share according to latest Gartner的报告 and 97% of all malicious mobile malware is aimed at 安卓, protecting yourself with an anti-virus(A.V.) solution designed for mobile devices is a must.
Currently, my favorite is from SOPHOS. I make sure to put it on all of my kids’ devices since it has features way past anti-virus alone. These features include anti-malware and A.V., but also include great things such as loss and theft protection, 远程锁定或擦除, remote location along with SPAM protection from text messages and blocking of unwanted calls. My favorite thing 关于 it though, it’s FREE.
The Rich Nigerian Prince
While we’re on the subject of FREE. The best protection you can have is also free. This protection comes from education and spotting a “phishing” or malicious email. Many people have heard of the “rich Nigerian prince” who is looking to give you cash in exchange for your click on a link or a wire transfer. The reason why we still hear of these emails, is because they still work. People are still clicking on the attachments and links in emails that come from unsolicited senders.
The best practice when it comes to strange emails is to verify it’s legitimately from the sender, also do not click on the link. 而不是, cut and paste the URL into a browser and, if the email has an attachment and cannot be verified by the sending party, 删除它. It’s better to 删除它 and have the sender send a verified email rather than to have your phone or tablet become a brick of encrypted data.
One Last Piece of Best Practice Advice
One last point is to back up your device nightly, or at least multiple times a week, 在你的PC或Mac上. Encrypting the backup isn’t a bad idea but be sure to keep track of the encryption password or key. Otherwise, you just ransomeware’d yourself!
These steps may be a minor inconvenience, but compared to losing all your mobile email, text messages and personal pictures it’s well worth it. Start creating secure habits and you’ll have less to worry 关于.
