Help Me Ben: Ransomware is on the rise | Features

MISSOULA, Mont. – Ransomware is a growing issue in our country as scammers are taking aim at technologically challenged citizens.

Ransomware is a malicious software that will prevent you from accessing files systems or networks and then demands that you pay for a ransom for the return of your digital property.

Things like opening an email attachment, clicking on an ad, following a link, or visiting a website all can bring in malware or ransomware into your device.

Once it’s in your computer, it’s going to lock the files, lock your network and will kind of act like a pirate. It’s going to steal, plunder, and hold hostage to everything that you have.

Being really cautious online about what you’re downloading and what you’re clicking on can help avoid this kind of attack. Other tips would include setting up antivirus and anti-malware software on your computers and keep those systems and applications up to date.

For extra protection, back up your most important files, making sure they are not connected to the computers or the networks they are backed up to.

You can lose everything with just one wrong click. So don’t just click at random. Think about all of the context around those links, those emails and those advertisements. Protect yourself, protect your personal information as well as your money from hackers trying to gain access to that data.