Internet Pirate’s Prized Possession and Why Being a Pirate Is Now Easier Than Ever
The Internet and connected devices are a gold mine for those who want to take your money illegally.
People share all kinds of things and information that make it so easy that the reward for most Internet hackers is worth the risk.
In the most recent ransomware attacks, some 200,000 computers and 150 countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Great Britain, fell victim.
While big companies, hospitals and government agencies have to pay thousands of dollars to unlock their data. For example, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles had to pay a $17,000 ransom to unlock its data after a week of trying to crack the encryption.
The volume is much better.
Small businesses and individuals are a much more lucrative endeavor. Think of companies, governments, and hospitals that have a whole team of IT people on staff and still get hacked.
The payoff is huge, the FBI estimated in 2014 that extortionists (hackers) swindled people out of $27 million in just 6 months.
Vault 7, the WikiLeaks leaked CIA documents, was a treasure trove for those who wanted to create havoc and get rich in the process. Digitally stored information is common to most people.
The magic key to all this! encryption! Encryption was designed with good intentions. Protect the data you and your business store so it can’t be accessed if it’s stolen. Hackers now use this tool not only to encrypt your data, but also to charge you for decryption. They don’t even have to take ownership of anything. All they have to do is prevent you from accessing it and it depends on how valuable it is. Make you pay them to give you the key.
In most cases, the amounts are small for personal computers, perhaps even as low as $100. But if they can attack a large population, it can mean millions in a day.
You may be asking how do they get paid? Isn’t there a way to track the money. We see it in movies all the time. The computer nerd at the FBI office traces the payments to the perpetrators’ bank in just a few minutes and they are apprehended and their money returned.
Technology has solved this most inconvenient ability of law enforcement.
Bitcoin is a way to transfer funds electronically without leaving a trace of who receives the payment. No banks, no regulations, no property.
The magic wand to prevent this nonsense from happening to you?
Simple but not often done by most. Here is a list of 10 things you can do today to avoid such inconveniences.
1. Backup: If you don’t back up your stuff, you risk everything. Backup both on site and if possible in the cloud. The option is available for most backup programs. Also, if you back up to a USB stick connected to your computer after the backup, unplug the thing from your computer. Most ransomware looks for attached storage devices and encrypts data there as well.
2. Patch – This is a term most IT people use to refer to updating the software on your computer. Either your operating system (Windows, Mac, etc.) or the software running on your computer. Even the ones that are updated often like Java for example.
3. Protection: Use detection and removal software such as antivirus and antimalware on all your devices if possible, and make sure you allow updates to this software. I have seen people running antivirus and not allowing updates. crazy things..
4. Unsolicited Email Links – Never click on a link from a sender from whom you have not requested information. Even if it’s from your bank, school or friend. Most ransomware attacks are done this way. If you are told that your password has expired or that your online mailbox is full and you need to log in using a link to fix it, that could mean that you are the target of such an attack. If it’s your bank, for example, go directly to their site and change your password there. Don’t just click on a link.
5. Regular scans – Most antivirus programs run scans automatically or you have to initiate them manually. These scans are helpful and can alert you to a potential problem. Schedule scans at times when you are not using the computer as they often slow down your computer and can be really irritating for most people trying to work.
6. Passwords: Passwords are the keys to the kingdom. Treat them as such. You wouldn’t give your house keys to someone you don’t know, right? Don’t share them, write them down and keep them in plain view like under your keyboard or touching your monitor. You may laugh, but I’ve seen it many times. Make sure your passwords are complex by adding special characters and symbols.
7. Be careful what you share: Providing names like your mother’s maiden name and your first pet on social media can spell disaster, especially if that’s what you put as a security question for a website you’re on. log in.
8. Unsolicited calls – I get these calls all the time. This is so-and-so from Dell, for example. There is a problem with your computer. We need to login to your computer to fix it. Here is the website you go to and put this code. Unless you have some specific contract with Dell support and are paying them to monitor your computer, the probability of that happening is zero. Companies like Dell do not provide IT support for free.
9. Remove software: If you have software on your computer that you haven’t used in a year, for example, remove it from your computer. Chances are, it probably hasn’t been updated, and sometimes it can have bugs that are discovered after a hacker can use them to access your computer. Outdated software often has exploits that are common knowledge to hackers.
10. Don’t share: If you download some cute cat images online from someone you don’t know with a meme, don’t share. The images can be embedded with malicious code that tracks your computer and can sometimes help download a virus to your computer. Photos of friends and family are great, but unsolicited photos can open up a can of worms you don’t expect.
