News+: Don’t Give Money to Ransomware Scammers

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In the latest issue of PCMag, Max Eddy writes that you shouldn’t give money to ransomware attackers when they ask.

First, most cyberattacks—including ransomware—don’t last long. The command and control servers that issue the unlock commands and receive payment can be found and taken offline…In either case, anyone who has been infected and not paid the ransom can no longer get their system unlocked, even if they pay.

This is why keeping several backups is important, one online, one offline. And keep your operating system up to date with the latest security patches and improvements.

This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.

Check It Out: News+: Don’t Give Money to Ransomware Scammers

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  1. Macsee Subscriber 7 years ago

    Any application to monitor if the Mac content is being encrypted and STOP it? I mean, besides MenuMeters or similar ones that require user monitoring. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Andrew Orr Author 7 years ago

      You could try Ransomwhere? By Objective See: https://objective-see.com/products/ransomwhere.html. I use several of their tools.

      Reply
      1. Macsee Subscriber 7 years ago

        Thanks. Apple should implement a feature like that in macOS.

  2. geoduck Subscriber 7 years ago

    This mirrors what I’ve been saying for years. Do not ever pay ransom.
    Once they have your money they have no reason to do anything else
    Paying ransom just marks you as someone who will pay for future reference.
    It makes the business model work. If nobody paid ransom, they’d stop trying it.
    This bit about how their servers can go offline at any time is just icing on the cake.

    Reply
  3. dtm1 Subscriber 7 years ago

    No worries, The real New+ isn’t worth 10 bucks a month.

    Reply