18 May WannaCry Ransomware, What Happened?
In May 2017 the world was shocked by a technical attack that shut down major businesses around the world. High Profile examples include The National Health Service (UK), FedEx & Telefonica (Spain) and in Australia our chocolate manufacturing was halted when Cadbury was struck down. Not so sympathetic reactions were recorded however when the Victorian Speed Camera Network was shut down.
What made the WannaCry ransomware threat so vulgar and dangerous is its ability to self-procreate and spread without the input from a human user. In the past, Ransomware largely depended on a human user to ignite the threat, but with the WannaCry attack, it didn’t require any interaction to spread. That very fact alone is what made this threat so dangerous.
There was some good news to come out of this though. It highlights the importance of keeping your computer fully up to date. This attack was ineffectual to Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 computer that had the latest updates installed. The virus spread through holes within the security of outdated Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 computers. Microsoft although not actively supporting Windows 7 or Windows 8 responded quickly and patched the required security holes within a day. This still required users to update their computers.
The absolute best way to stay on top of your computers security is to allow automatic updates and install them when they’re available. We also suggest a steady regime of computer maintenance. Melton Computers have scheduled maintenance plans designed to meet your needs. Give us a call on 1800 234 124 to discuss more. We can do these cleans remotely or onsite within 50km of Melton.