{"id":48076,"date":"2016-03-07T14:50:09","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T22:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=48076"},"modified":"2025-08-12T00:17:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T07:17:54","slug":"ransomware-and-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/ransomware-and-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware and You"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This blog post was written by Bruce Snell.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This past weekend I was at a local roller rink where my kids were enjoying their first time on skates.\u00a0 While I watching my oldest make a successful lap around the rink, one of the other parents came up and asked me, \u201cHey, you\u2019re in security, what\u2019s the deal with ransomware?\u00a0 Do I need to worry about it?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve been getting a number of questions about ransomware lately, but I have to admit it was the first time I talked about security while listening to disco blasting at a roller rink.\u00a0 Since I\u2019ve been getting so many questions about it recently, I thought it might be a good time to share some general information about the topic of ransomware.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>So what is ransomware?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-48077 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomware6.jpg\" alt=\"ransomware6\" width=\"423\" height=\"363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomware6.jpg 423w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomware6-300x257.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\" \/>Ransomware has been around for a number of years, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AIDS_(Trojan_horse)\">first known version<\/a> dating way back to 1989. \u00a0That\u2019s right, the decade of big hair, spandex, leg warmers and<br \/>\nVHS also had ransomware.\u00a0 However, ransomware in its current form dates back to around 2010.\u00a0 It\u2019s this type ransomware that has been showing up across PC\u2019s, smartphones and even Macs in ever increasing numbers.\u00a0 According to our research at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/us\/mcafee-labs.aspx\">McAfee Labs<\/a>, the numbers of unique types of ransomware doubled in the last year!\u00a0 It\u2019s a huge threat that impacts not only businesses, but also everyday people who just use their device to check email or post on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>But what is it?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ransomware is malware that restricts access to your system and demands that you pay a \u201cransom\u201d to the malware author in order to regain access.<br \/>\nThere are two primary ways this is accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>The first way is by locking the screen and not allowing access until the ransom is paid.\u00a0 This type of malware could be removed with a little <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-48078 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomspam1.jpg\" alt=\"Pop up\" width=\"313\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomspam1.jpg 979w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomspam1-300x256.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomspam1-768x656.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 313px) 100vw, 313px\" \/>bit of digging around and cleaning, but typically the malware authors will use scare tactics to make people pay.\u00a0 A common method is to craft the pop up to look like it\u2019s from some sort of law enforcement agency and that \u201cillegal content\u201d has been found on your device.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What people need to keep in mind is that if a law enforcement agency found illegal content on your system, you\u2019re not going to be able to fix the situation by simply paying a fine.\u00a0\u00a0 However, cybercriminals know that enough people will be spooked by this and pay the \u201cfine\u201d to avoid potential legal issues.<\/p>\n<p>The nastier version of ransomware involves encryption.\u00a0\u00a0 This class of ransomware (CryptoLocker is the most well-known of this type) will search through the target system and look for files that are most likely to contain valuable data.\u00a0 Typically this means just looking for Microsoft Office file formats as well as PDFs and image files.\u00a0 The ransomware will then go through the process of encrypting each of those files with an encryption key to make them unreadable to the victim.\u00a0 The ransomware will then create a pop up informing the victim that their files have been encrypted and they must pay a fee within a short period of time or the decryption key will be destroyed leaving the files locked.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_48081\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48081\" style=\"width: 378px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-48081\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cryptolocker.png\" alt=\"Cryptolocker is arguably the most famous of encryption based ransomware\" width=\"378\" height=\"274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/cryptolocker.png 590w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/cryptolocker-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-48081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cryptolocker is arguably the most famous of encryption based ransomware<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This method has proven very successful for cybercriminals, as many people would rather lose a bit of money instead of losing their personal data.\u00a0 It\u2019s a completely understandable reaction when<\/p>\n<p>faced with the loss of things like tax records or pictures from your most recent vacation.\u00a0 Small businesses are particularly vulnerable as they may not have adequate backups of customer data and bookkeeping.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we have seen times when the decryption key doesn\u2019t work and people still lose their data after paying the ransom.\u00a0 Cybercriminals typically don\u2019t offer tech support or refunds.<\/p>\n<p>Ransomware is a particularly nasty type of malware and while some ransomware can be cleaned out by someone with good technical know-how, most cannot. \u00a0If your system is infected with ransomware, odds are that you will not be able to recover the data that was encrypted.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Ransomware isn\u2019t just for PC anymore\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At first, ransomware was a concern only for computers running Windows.\u00a0 In 2015, we saw an increase in mobile ransomware and just recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-apple-ransomware-idUSKCN0W80VX\">ransomware for Macs<\/a>.\u00a0 Ransomware is now something that everyone has to think about.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><br \/>\nSo how do I stay safe?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To stay safe against ransomware, you need to keep in mind that at the core ransomware spreads like any other type of malware.\u00a0 If you follow safe computing practices you can decrease your chance of getting infected with ransomware.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Be suspicious: Cybercriminals use the standard tried and true methods for spreading ransomware, so take extra care to not click on a suspicious link or attachment.\u00a0 What makes it suspicious?\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s an oddly <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/spot-phishy-email\/\">worded email<\/a> pretending to be your bank asking for more information.\u00a0 It could be an unexpected attachment from someone in your contact list.\u00a0 If you weren\u2019t expecting someone to send you an attachment, call or text them to double check.<\/li>\n<li>Keep your system updated: Since ransomware starts out like any other malware, keeping your system up to date on all the security, operating system and application patches will go a long way in preventing a ransomware infection.<\/li>\n<li>Run anti-virus on your system: While the two steps above will keep a lot of malware out, it is still very important to run anti-virus on your system to protect against new exploits that aren\u2019t yet fixed by an update or attacks like drive by downloads.\u00a0 The cost of anti-virus software will be dramatically less than what cybercriminals will demand in ransom!<\/li>\n<li>Backup to the cloud: On the off chance ransomware slips past the protections listed above, having your sensitive information backed up to the cloud can help recover without paying ransom. It\u2019s important to use backups that aren\u2019t just drives attached to your computer, as most ransomware will scan attached drives as well for files to encrypt. \u00a0\u00a0Of course, you do want to make sure the online backup service you use offers encryption to keep your data safe while in the cloud.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ransomware is a serious threat that has been growing dramatically over the past year but with a combination of smart surfing, anti-virus protection and updates you can dramatically reduce your risk of getting caught by ransomware.<\/p>\n<p>Stay safe!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog post was written by Bruce Snell. This past weekend I was at a local roller rink where my&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":674,"featured_media":116212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10661,12],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3973],"class_list":["post-48076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet-security","category-family-safety"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ransomware and You | McAfee Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This blog post was written by Bruce Snell. 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