Don’t be a victim of ‘ransomware’

“Malware” — or malicious software — is an unfortunate reality among computer users today, including viruses (that can infect your computer), spyware (a covert program that spies on your Internet surfing behaviour) and adware (causing pop-up ads, an unwanted browser toolbar or hijacked homepage).

But computer security experts, such as F-Secure and Panda Security, are warning about resurgence of a nasty kind of malware that’s been fairly quiet up until recently: “ransomware.”

As the name suggests, a computer crippled with “ransomware” can lock up your computer or prevent you from accessing your documents – until you pay the ransomer’s demands with a valid credit card or other payment method.

While ransomware has been around since the late ’80s, the digital extortion technique is becoming more common and increasingly sophisticated (spread via virus, self-propagating worm, spam, or even a “phishing” attempt on a legitimate-looking website). Ransomers are also beginning to take advantage of other technologies, such as forcing the victim to send an SMS to a premium text messaging number.

How to fight it

You can protect yourself from ransomware in a handful of ways:

* Always back-up your important files on a regular basis. You can use a USB thumbstick, external hard drive, recordable disk or online storage service.

* Use computer security software that protects your PC (and wallet) against viruses and spyware attacks, and be sure to update the definitions quite often – if it’s not set up to do this automatically (which is recommended).

* Delete suspicious emails from your bank, ISP, credit card company, and so on, instead of clicking on the link that takes you to a phony site asking you for personal information. Never click on attachments you’re not expecting.

* Authors of ransomware also like to use pop-up windows that warn you of some kind of malware on your machine. Don’t click on the window – instead, close it with a keyboard command or by clicking on your taskbar.