Individuals and businesses becoming victims of ransomware is happening more and more, said Judd P. Deere, communications director for the Arkansas Attorney General’s office.
“The Attorney General urges anyone who has becoming a victim to contact our office and report it,” Deere said. The phone number is (501) 682-2007.
Deere offered the following advice to help avoid becoming a victim:
- Be sure to back up your most important files on a regular basis.
- Personalize your anti-spam settings the right way.
- Refrain from opening attachments that look suspicious.
- Think twice before clicking. Dangerous hyperlinks can be received via social networks or instant messengers, and senders are likely to be people you trust, including your friends or colleagues.
- Patch and keep your operating system, antivirus, browsers, Adobe Flash Player, Java, and other software up-to-date.
- In the event a suspicious process is spotted on your computer, instantly turn off the Internet connection.
- Keep the Windows Firewall turned on and properly configured at all times.
- Enhance your protection more by setting up additional Firewall protection.
- Adjust your security software to scan compressed or archived files, if this feature is available.
- Enhance the security of your Microsoft Office components (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.)
- Install a browser add-on to block popups as they can also pose an entry point for ransom Trojan attacks.
- Use strong passwords that cannot be brute-forced by remote criminals.
- Deactivate AutoPlay.
- Make sure you disable file sharing.
- Switch off unused wireless connections, such as Bluetooth or infrared ports.
- Block known-malicious Tor IP addresses.