Malwarebytes State Ransomware Will remain a threat

Malware is something that should be taken into account by all internet users despite the device in use. There are a certain strain of Apple product users that are under this belief that they do not need protection as their product is an Apple. If you are using the internet regardless of whether you connect using Windows PCs, Apple Macbooks, Linux Systems, Apple Iphones, Android phones and tablets or any combination of the above you are communicating online and therefore opening yourself to risk. These wrong believers help to spread malware online by not protecting themselves and their devices. They are not the only ones though. Many people do not realise the risk that they are in by using the internet. In an increasingly online world the risks are always rising. We tell all our customers to use Malwarebytes to protect them against online threats. This software is designed to specifically target Malware - this is the nasty stuff online these days. Malwarebytes have forewarned that a particular type of Malware called Ransomware will rule the roost of nasties in 2017 and we happen to agree. Their article can be seen here

We agree with Malwarebytes that Ransomware is growing and we are seeing more and more customers with Ransomware issues in the early part of 2017. Ransomware is a nasty piece of sorftware that can be used in conjuction with a cryptolocker to prevent you getting access to your data. It can totally lock you out of the machine and will demand a ransom for you to get to your data. The issue is that this access is unlikely to be permanent and once they are in they can lock you out again at any time. Plus you are handing over your card details to a bunch of crooks in order to restore access. This leads to a whole host of other problems relating to identity theft. Some ransomware is easy to remove. Others that use cryptolockers to encrypt your data (a bit like using a password to protect your data only you don't know what the password is or where to even start looking), these can be a real problem to remove and in some cases it just is not possible.

Malware is in the news again this week with new figures from a London based company stating that the majority of UK businesses do not have the means or staffing to deal with Malware and cyber attacks. Cybersecurity breaches cost comapnies billions every year. With companies like JP Morgan increasing their budget for the future for cyber security it certainly goes a long way to highlighting the increasing problem that internet security is becoming. Indeed it is is quoted that the US government has increased its cyber security budget by 35% to $19 billion in 2017. With cyber threats increasing and the internet appearing to be an ever incresingly unsafe world we have to ask in a world where the internet seems to be taking over our lives in new and more complex ways, what risk are we putting ourselves at as home and small business users?

We take the view that you are always at risk where there is an internet connection and it is a matter of doing what you can to keep the sliding risk scale at the bottom end of the line and keeping yourselves, your family and clients as safe as possible. We cannot suggest Malwarebytes strongly enough. With both free and paid versions offering unrivalled levels of protection it is the number 1 security product for us. We are in no way associated with Malwarebytes and our views are totally independent. We deal with many security products that are around and for us Malwarebytes is number 1. Even their free version of the software is a massive step in the right direction. We run the full paid version on the main PC we use here and the level of protection offered with the software just keeps getting better and better. Now the full paid version of Malwarebytes comes complete with Anti-exploit too that protects against errors within website so you really are getting value for money.

It will be an interesting year to see what new versions of Ransomware come up but one thing is for sure.... It is a certainty that it will keep coming!

Thanks for reading if I can offer any help then feel free to get in touch.

Kelly