On the cuff of the release of Windows 10 is a sinister scam doing the rounds in the form of a clever and timely email offering recipients a way to fast track their upgrade to the new OS system. If you have received such an email, don’t click on the attachment!

For those who had pre-emptively applied for a free Windows 10 upgrade prior to its release, your upgrade would have already been completed. This email scam harbours ransomware which encrypts your files so you cannot access them until you have paid the ransom to the scammers. The dissemination of ransomware is on the rise with a handful of Onsite Helper client’s being infected with CryptoWall 3 ransomware disguised as an Australia Post email.

The new generation of ransomware is particularly nasty as it is designed for maximum impact infecting as many files on the network as it can first before reaching the local computer. Connected computers and servers would be infected and when the ransomware is detected it is often too late. Normal antivirus products stand no chance, there are some things you can do to protect yourself. See below

1. Education – Educate users to never click on emails from unknown recipients. Make users aware of the scams going around. e.g Aust Post & Windows 10 scams
2. Reliable antivirus software subscriptions – We are often removing viruses from infected machines that had free antivirus software. The chances of getting infected when using a reliable paid antivirus software is far less as you pay for what you get. It is also important to ensure antivirus and windows operating system are up to date.
3. Good spam/virus email filtering service – Google for Work has a great email filtering service to filter out spam and viruses. If you have your own email server e.g Microsoft exchange or website hosted emails, it may be worth considering a 3rd party email filtering service. This will allow all content to be scanned prior to reaching your inbox.
4. Firewall – A good next generation firewall can intercept and block the connection between your network and the source site used for infection. We often install a Checkpoint 600 series security appliance for small businesses which provides suitable protection.
5. Backups – Multiple backups are important; we always recommend 2 at a minimum for critical data. The first being a local back and the second an offsite backup (not located within office). Also have versioning of backups is also handy as you can restore a file to yesterday’s, 2 days ago, a week ago or further depending on your preference.
6. Lock down user access – remove administrative privileges of user accounts on computers. This can help prevent them from accidentally installing malware or viruses.
7. Monitoring of computers and servers – Have your IT team monitor alerts and perform regular audits on the health of your computers and servers. This allows for detection of potential issues such as non-working antivirus software and backups.

Onsite Helpers Full Managed Services package is designed to assist clients with IT and data security to reduce incidents and impacts such as from those experienced with ransomware. Speak to us today to discuss your requirements.
[email protected] or call 03 9999 3106