These terms are often used interchangeably but they refer to different threats. Viruses can self-replicate and spread easily through a computer or network. Ransomware is designed to hold data hostage by encrypting it and asking you to pay for the decryption key. Malware is a broad category that includes these two threats and many others.

Ransomware is not new – it dates back to the 1980s – but it has undergone a renaissance throughout the 2010s, to the extent that it looks almost nothing like it did in its early days. Perpetrators have enhanced various strains with strong encryption (CryptoLocker), designed them to exploit protocols such as Microsoft Windows SMB […]

May 12, 2017: The WannaCry ransomware attack was a May 2017 worldwide cyberattack by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. It propagated through an exploit in older Windows systems. While Microsoft had released patches previously to close […]

Don’t stop at antivirus software. Make sure you have your bases covered against threats such as ransomware and phishing as well, with fully featured solutions such as Total Defense Ultimate Internet Security, which provides comprehensive protection across multiple devices.

Ransomware is a scourge. It denies you access to important files while demanding you pay for the right to have them back. Maintaining regular backups is a great hedge against ransomware. Instead of paying the ransom (which doesn’t guarantee safe return of your assets anyway), restore from a backup.

On February 18, 2016, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid a $17,000 ransom in the form of bitcoins for the decryption key for patient data. The Hospital was infected by ransomware Locky, it was the delivery of an email attachment disguised as a Microsoft Word invoice that contained malicious macros. This has led to increased […]