Tips on How to Detect Ransomware

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As you grow up, were you ever able to watch action movies wherein the bad guys take someone and ask for ransom money from his family or friends in return? Sounds familiar? Ever thought of these situations happening to computers?

Ransomware, from the name itself, is just like kidnapping and asking for money, known as the ransom, in return. Yes, computer systems also experience “kidnappings.” Computer pirates hack into a computer’s network or system and start disabling or blocking users access to it not unless a sum of money is paid.

This malicious software is known across all countries in the world. It’s an online security threat and cyber attack which happens everywhere. The first few waves of ransomware only used noticeable and particular file extensions (ex. .crypt). But now, hackers are starting to use different kinds of extensions. In fact, some of these are even directly attached to file names.

However, users can prevent this. The good news is, aside from being able to avoid it, users can also detect when their systems are starting to act weird or perform malicious things, which will then lead to ransomware. IT experts have found ways on how to detect this threat. That’s why below are a few tips on how to detect ransomware. Although, if you’ve been a victim of this malicious software and you don’t know what to do to retrieve your files, there are a lot of IT companies which offer services regarding this matter, like IT services in Kansas City.

Familiarize Yourself with Different File Extensions

Although cases of ransomware activity continue to rise, it’s still best to make yourself knowledgeable about any [possible] suspicious activity. With that, you also have to familiarize yourself with the different file extensions available across networks.

There are a few online threads which discuss the different lists or variants of ransomware links and extensions. Most of the time, these lists get updated about ransomware sightings or situations, to make other users aware that suspicious activity from hackers is still rampant these days. Here is a post on Reddit which offers a link to different helpful resources regarding ransomware.

Watch Out for Increasing Abrupt File Renames

Renaming files are not a common action whenever file sharing across networks or systems happen. More often than not, ransomware strikes through abrupt file renames as your data is encrypted. Being aware of this action allows you to trigger an alert, which can help you prevent further activities from a hacker encrypting ransomware into your computer.

Optimize Regular Analytics on Service Usage

If you don’t use a particular software or service as often as you use your other softwares and services, then it’s best to get rid of it. Hackers usually take advantage of these gaps and use them to maintain slyness. Specific tools like regular analytics can help detect unused softwares and services which can help you decide whether or not to stop and delete such softwares.

Produce a Sacrificial Network

When hackers encrypt ransomware systems onto computers, it usually looks for local documents first before moving onto other networks. With that, you can create a “dummy” network which can act as an alert or warning system before the hacker completely disrupts your network. Also, the process of creating a sacrificial network can also delay Ransomware from landing into your important data.

Secure All Networks

In the first place, none of your shared folders should ever be visible or accessible by “Everyone.” This puts you and your files at risk all the more. Ensuring that your network and all your folders do not permit open ends and deny access can prevent hackers from encrypting ransomware into your system.

Wrapping Up

Online security threats and cyber attacks like ransomware are inevitable. However, you can always prevent (and even detect) possible ransomware activities within your network, so long as you remain alert about suspicious happenings. If you ever fail to detect and prevent ransomware from getting into your system, just be sure that you can bounce back from these cyber attacks and stay resilient the next time.