What is it?

• It’s a program which encrypts the contents of your PC making it near impossible to access the information without paying a nameless stranger handsomely for the privilege, even paying does not guarantee you actually getting your data back. It’s immoral and illegal but in the open space that is the internet it never the less thrives.

How to get caught?

Just open the attachment to an unexpected email and watch your files encrypt before your eyes. Yes just one innocent mouse click could permanently deprive you of years of valuable information. The effect can be devastating for the unprepared.

Minimise the risk & impact..

Vigilance is essential. If an email looks suspicious then please don’t open either it or its attachments.

Installing good quality anti-virus software and email spam filters will minimise the numbers and this risk of malicious content arriving in your inbox. Unfortunately this threat is constantly evolving so protection can never be perfect.

Most importantly taking regular and rotated backup copies of data including documents, pictures and all else means that should the worst happen then recovery is at least possible.

• Want to know more about the protection solutions that Catalyst can provide? We offer health checks, virus protection solutions and more... Contact our Sales team for more information.