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Technical Information

MBTC Tech Booster recap

by MACC’s Technical Support Team

Thank you to all who attended our Tech Booster presentation at MBTC this year!  We had some great feedback on the presentation and wanted to provide some highlights for those who missed it.

Security has consistently risen to the top as a priority for business concerns! The more vigilant we are as users, the better off our company will be as a whole. The recent onslaught of ransomware viruses has proven to be destructive. Ransomware is a form of malware that a user can get through fake ads, impersonation websites, social media scams, spam emails, scareware, and computer vulnerabilities. Once the end user has been infected with ransomware, it will deny access to either their data or workstation. The attacker will then demand a ransom payment from the victim so they can regain access to their encrypted data/workstation.

If you are ever a victim of ransomware, it is best to disconnect your computer from the network and avoid plugging in any removable drives to prevent them from getting infected as well. You should then contact your local IT support. But above all, do not pay the ransom! There is no guarantee that you will regain access to your data/workstation. In some cases, victims who have paid the ransom have been targeted again (because they were willing to pay) and additional ransom payments were demanded. There have been numerous occasions where the victim was unable to recover even after paying the ransom.

Here are some helpful tips to help minimize the risk of becoming infected with ransomware:

1. Do not enable macros in a document attachment that is received via email. Many viruses are populated over email by using macro enabled attachments.
2. Be cautious about any unsolicited attachments. If you receive a suspicious attachment or one that you weren’t expecting, or don’t recognize, verify it with the sender before opening it.
3. Keep your workstation patched with the latest Windows and security updates.
4. Don’t leave Dropbox/Google Drive/etc. connected when not in use.
5. If they are connected and your workstation gets infected, their content could also become encrypted.
6. Change the default Windows view to show file extensions for known file types. This can be changed from the Folder Explorer Options in the Control Panel.
7. And finally, keep good, consistent backups offline. This will give you a point to recover from if your data becomes encrypted.

You can access the Tech Booster presentation by clicking the button below. Please note, Client Page access is required to view the presentation.

We would love to hear from you! 
You can use the new form to share your experiences with ransomware or submit questions/comments that you would like to see featured in future Technical Information articles. And, as always, if there is anything we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Your MACC Technical Support team can be reached at 402-533-5300 or via email at macctechs@maccnet.com.