By Charly SHELTON

It is past the 1997 deadline of Judgment Day as prophesied in “Terminator 2,” but machines still have the power to cripple our lives if they don’t behave the way they should. Bank records, tax documents, family photos, term papers, corporate presentations and the all important music library – all of this stored on personal computers which, if rendered inaccessible, can be lost forever.

The cyber attacks that hit the world last week infected nearly 200,000 Windows computers in 150 countries with what is called “ransomware.” The specific virus from the recent attack was called WannaCry, and it operates in the same manner as most ransomware viruses. The bug comes in through the network connection – not even a website, but just connecting to the Wi-Fi network – and stows away on the computer, waiting for the command from the mother ship to attack. In the meanwhile, it will transmit copies of itself though all the networks that the device connects to, infecting other computers – like a virus. So if people use their Windows laptop at a Starbucks in Philadelphia another computer may pass it along to them. Then the laptop travels to work, where it infects all the other computers on the company network. Then the boss of the company flies to San Francisco for business and connects to the Wi-Fi in the airport, passing it along to fellow travelers who carry it out around the world before giving it to the San Francisco Starbucks and the company he is going to visit.

Each computer that contracts the virus becomes a carrier that infects all the other Windows systems on that network. When the original creators of the virus decide it’s time to attack, the virus activates and locks the computer up to prevent anyone from using it. The message on the screen reports the computer is held for ransom, and to pay the fee to the creators to have it unlocked. Otherwise, the computer is just a very expensive paperweight and all the data is gone. The clock ticks down by the hour, and the longer one waits to pay the fee, the more expensive it becomes.

But just as in “T2,” there is “no fate but what you make.” There are ways computer users can protect themselves from such ransomware attacks. First, ransomware attacks mainly Windows computers. Macintosh are pretty virus-proof in most circumstances because of the restrictions Apple puts on what can enter one of its computers. This limits some functionality when doing highly specialized modifications, but improves security. But just because Windows is more likely to get a virus doesn’t mean it always will. Back in March, the Microsoft security staff found the hole in the system that WannaCry later used to infect and released a patch for the system. So any computers that applied the patch when it was released were protected from WannaCry; but many computer owners ignore those updates. WannaCry mostly targeted large companies, many of which ignored the patch, but it also hit small companies and personal computers.

Even here at CV Weekly, ransomware has reared its ugly head. Two years ago, our office’s only Windows computer was hit with ransomware and publisher Robin Goldsworthy refused to pay.

“We had no guarantee that we would get our information back or that the demands would stop. It may be $200 today, but what if they come back in a month asking for $500? Then $1,000?” Goldsworthy said. “That’s why backing up your system is so important. We lost about one week’s worth of files. But everything else, all the really important stuff, was backed up on an external hard drive.”

Using an external hard drive to back up copies of data can make the difference between losing a few files and losing everything. Also, good antivirus software like Webroot can help monitor traffic and incoming files. A good watcher on the wall can help to defend a computer from threats within and without.

  Charly Shelton