How to protect against ransomware attacks?

Today, computers in nearly 100 countries and regions around the world have suffered cyber attacks, including China, of course. A large number of universities in China have also been infected, and they have been the most severely affected (students are about to hand in their graduation thesis at this time), and they can only recover by paying a ransom (there are rumors that paying money is useless). After I saw this news, I felt terrible just thinking about it. I immediately went to the Internet to search and compiled several methods that would help protect everyone from ransomware viruses.

1. Back up files

The biggest damage caused by ransomware virus attacks is the loss of files, including photos and documents. The best defense is to back up all data and files on your device to a completely separate system. A more suitable place is an external mobile hard drive that is not connected to the Internet. This means that even if you are attacked by a virus, you will not lose any data to hackers. Enterprises often back up files to external servers so that they will not be affected if the main network is attacked.

2. Be wary of emails, websites, and applications (apps)

In order for a ransomware virus to run, hackers need to download malware to the victim’s computer, and then use to launch the attack and encrypt the locked file. The most common ways to install software onto victim devices are through phishing emails, malicious ads on websites, and suspicious apps. You should always be wary when clicking on spam emails or browsing unfamiliar websites, never download apps that have not been verified by the official store, and read reviews before installing the app.

Use anti-virus software

This is an old but effective computer security trick. Anti-virus software can prevent ransomware from being downloaded to the computer and can also detect suspicious ransomware activity. Most antivirus software can scan files to see if they may contain a ransomware before downloading. As you browse the web, they prevent malicious ads from being installed surreptitiously, as well as search for malware that may already be on your computer or device.