Make backups and be alert

A new golf ransomware draws over the Netherlands and other countries.

Ransomware encrypts all files on a computer. These are no longer open. The victim receives a message on screen that the systems are hostage and only released after payment. Payment must be made almost always in the virtual currency bitcoin.

Most important: Make regular backups. If it goes wrong, you can drop it back. Some data will then be lost, but the damage will be limited and the perpetrators remain empty. Also important: do not click on any link. This means that people must be alert, but in part it is also a matter of happiness. Computer users must make the right decision every day to circumvent hazards, but the attackers only have to succeed once in a while to defend the defense. And those attackers are always better aware of their potential victims. The weakest link is always human.

Some victims make a simple calculation: the ransom is cheaper than the financial damage if the computers are not working. But it's the question of whether you're really out of trouble. Indeed, the perpetrators know who is willing to pay and who not. Who pays is at risk of a new attack.

That is not to be described. Security Symantec said a few years ago that a million new malware programs are being taken every day. Every day, therefore, a million new dangers. And since then the problem has not diminished.

That is not possible. There is a lot of malware around, there are many victims and huge cash flows. Ransomware is sometimes created by itself, but it is also possible to order ransomware attacks with others. Through the trees the forest is no longer visible. Every now and then someone is picked up and prosecuted, but that does not make any noise on the dike.