Last Friday, many companies were affected by an online attack via the software called WannaCrypt, also known as WannaCry. The attack included ransoming of important information by encryption. This attack has reached over 150 countries and approximately 10,000 companies. While this attack has been halted, precautions must be taken to prevent future similar attacks.
The most important things to be aware of:
1) If you are not using Windows, you are safe.
2) If you are running Windows 7 or Windows 10, you should be safe, but you can check here.
3) The specific attack from last week has been nullified, but the vulnerability in older Windows remains.
If you use Windows 7, Click Start > All Programs > Windows Update to check if there are updates available.
For Windows 10 users, in the Search Box type “Windows Update” > Check For Updates and see if there are updates available.
We recommend you run these immediately!
Resources
- AskWoody.com – This contains of lists of windows versions and how to check machines if they’re vulnerable.
- Security patches are available for download and installation. This is a step by step instruction of patching https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4012598/title.
- Catalog of direct downloads from Microsoft: http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012598.