IT Security

Ransomware is exactly what it says it is; software that holds a single computer or your entire business for ransom by encrypting all your data behind an encrypted lock and key with only 48 hours to pay up or lose the data forever. There is no cure, but there are many preventative solutions.

Junk software created to hide itself and its true purpose. Sometimes it waits. Biding its time until the command comes from whomever has infected you to perform its true purpose, such as grabbing all your keystrokes and your passwords. Which allows the bad actors to move on to the next step such as deploying a ransomware attack at your most vulnerable points.

Viruses and Worms are mostly superseded by Malware but work in a similar fashion. These programs or code snippets target a known or zero-day vulnerability and attack your PCs (Macs and Linux Devices are not attacked because they are a smaller attack vector). They may hard lock your PC, steal your keystrokes, format your hard drive, delete your files, or replace their contents with junk, or any other anarchy these hackers dream up. You are especially vulnerable to these attacks if you don’t have a strong AV software and/or you have not upgraded your network to Windows 10.

The hacker is phishing for information. Like login information to your network or bank. They send emails that often look like are from someone legitimate such as your bank or some service you subscribe to like Netflix. They redirect you to a fake site where you unwittingly enter your information.

Sometimes hackers just take a sledgehammer to your network security and see if they can find or make a crack. They setup automatic attack programs that repeatedly try different combinations of random characters until they find a combination that will let them access one of your users’ logons. Once this happens, they will begin using various exploits to gain higher access eventually gaining administrative access. At this point, congratulations you are hacked.