Ransomware Virus’ Over Christmas

I know it’s not very seasonal (don’t worry, that one will follow!) but we wanted to warn everyone that there has been another spate of Ransomware recently.
Generally, if one of these virus’ hit, the sooner your IT company is notified the better.  This is because some of the backup solutions out there overwrite the backups each time, or if they are not encrypted well enough the virus then gets in to the backup location and starts attacking them too.
Ransomware is designed to run on a schedule, so there is unfortunately a chance there is a virus sitting there ready to run without anyone knowing it’s there and waiting for its cue to start.
Anti-virus software is always one step behind the developers of these virus’, as are Microsoft with their operating system updates to plug any holes they find.  At the end of the day, simply being careful of the websites you visit, and observant when opening emails or links in these emails, is definitely one of the best practises you can employ.
We just wanted to make sure that all of our customers out there keep an eye on their data over the festive period and, if they notice anything strange, make sure we are made aware of it as soon as possible.  Or, if you are all shut down over the festive period, simply save some electricity and give your server a Christmas break too by shutting it down before you leave.