Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to the infected system in some way till the victim pays a ransom. ‘Wanna Cry’ Ransomware is a Visual Basic Script (VBS) file packaged with some binaries which encrypts files on the system’s hard drive which can’t be easily decrypted. It uses strong AES and RSA encryption to encrypt files.
The most common way users are falling prey to ‘Wanna Cry’ is to receive a spam or phishing mail with malicious link or attached Microsoft Office document which contains a malicious macro.
Tips to protect you from ‘Wanna Cry’ Ransomware
1. Be cautious about opening any email attachment that you have received from an unknown source, especially if it advises you to enable macros to view its contents. Do not enable macros under any circumstance and immediately delete such suspicious emails.
2. Never click on a URL contained in an unsolicited e-mail, even if the link seems benign.
3. Do not open attachments of the following File types: exe/pif/tmp/url/vb/vbe/scr/reg/cer/pst/cmd/com/bat/dll/dat/hlp/hta/js.
4. If you are not sure about the legitimacy of the email source, please forward it to the System Admin as an attached file.
5. Back up all the critical data on a regular basis to ensure that your data is not impacted even after your system is attacked by these kinds of security threats.
6. Do not install any unwanted software applications on your computer.
7. Always ensure that your anti-virus is up to date.
8. Ensure that the operating system and other software are up to date.
