Ransomware

Imagine this: someone bad, like a crook, gets into your computer. They scramble up your important stuff, photos, documents, all of it, making it impossible for you to even look at them. Then, they leave a message, like a ransom note, saying they’ll unscramble your things only if you pay them money. That, my friend, is called ransomware.

Ransomware attack expagoration

Here’s the breakdown:

• Ransom: This is money or something valuable that someone demands in exchange for something else, like releasing a hostage.
• Ware: This is a short way of saying “software,” which are programs that run on computers.

So, ransomware is software used by bad guys to hold your computer stuff hostage and demand a ransom to get it back. It’s like they’ve put a big, complicated lock on your files, and only they have the key.

Note: Here’s the important part: paying the ransom is risky. There’s no guarantee that the bad guys will actually give you the key, and even if they do, it might not work. Plus, paying them encourages them to keep doing this to other people.

Things to keep in mind

To safeguard yourself from ransomware attacks, you may want to follow these recommendations:

• Avoid carelessly clicking on email messages, attachments, or links that appear dubious or untrustworthy.
• Ensure that your operating system, antivirus software, and all other applications are updated frequently. These updates typically contain security enhancements that shield you from emerging dangers.
• Regularly backup your essential documents so that if a ransomware attack does occur, you will not lose all of your critical information. Consider backing up your files onto an external hard disk, cloud storage platform, or both for added protection.