Ransomware is making the rounds again, this time dubbed the Bad Rabbit.

This new type of Ransomware is currently spreading throughout Russia, Ukraine and other areas of Europe. This new type of ransomware is currently being distributed via several means, however the most common is in the form of a fake Adobe Reader or Adobe Flash Player update. As always, please be aware of any suspicious looking emails or download links and if you need to update your software then please use the vendors official websites. In this case for Adobe software it would be http://www.adobe.com/uk/downloads/updates.html

What is Ransomware?

In short, Ransomware is a virus that will infect your files and encrypt them. You will then be asked to pay a ransom in order to decrypt your files and gain access to them again. These can come in many forms, but the most common method is via email attachments.

What if i’m infected?

Unfortunately, if you are hit by Ransomware then you only have 2 options. The first one is to pay the ransom. Sometimes this can be thousands of pounds, so ideally you will go for option 2. Option 2 is to wipe your systems and recover your data from a backup that you have. Best case you would revert to an offsite (online) backup as there’s a chance your backups will have been encrypted if your memory stick or hard drive was plugged into your computer at the same time.

On a slightly lighter note… if you’re a Game of Thrones fan and get infected, at least Drogon and Rhaegal will become part of your computer systems as twitter user @GossiTheDog found out!