Japan wakes up to global 'ransomware' cyberattack

If the backup drives are connected to a computer then the drive is also connected to the internet.

The current ransomware is affecting older Window XP and not Windows 10. The computer user needs to open an email attachment or link in a spam email to infect their computer. So don't open email attachments and don't open malware email pretending to come from Google, Google Mail, WhatsApp and even Apple.

I have noticed some sites on Google Search have downloaded zip files even without my request by just clicking on the entry. Not happy about that, but I just delete them.

I use two mac computers and one Windows 10 computer plus two iPads. All are backed up daily. The computers are backed up to HDD's only connected when the backup are made which is overnight and happens three times. The computers are also connected to a Data Server drive which in turn is also backed up daily and only connected during the period of the backups.

If the computer user has the latest Windows 10 OS, is allowing for automatic updates, not opening email attachments or links and not opening zip files from Google and making at least one backup, then should be alright with the current round of ransomware.

There are ransomware for Mac OS and Linux and I use Avast on my Mac and yesterdays scan turned up some malware so don't be too cosy

Lots of things still run on Xp in Japan.

Patch your systems, you only have yourself to blame.

Riiiiiiiight........ Those malicious hackers have a right to steal people's money, endanger people's lives and generally cause mayhem. How dare we criticize THEM.

Lol

Avast is good and used since its beginning just the free version and set it on for emails, files and web (which I have to also turn off when using a vpn)

@Sid 

The NHS in the UK were handing over millions of pounds per year to Microsoft (and still couldn't prevent an attack). 

What millions? The NHS are having problem is because they didn't spend the money to update from Windows XP which ended in 2014 which had run since 2001, 14 years.

The main thing is to be mindful about opening emails like that. As a general rule, don't open any attachment whatsoever unless specifically expecting that attachment.

Otherwise for the lazy, buy a decent AV subscription as they will generally be updated within hours of an attack, and will also usually decrypt for you

but appeared to cause no major problems as Japanese started their workday

Ummmm, several of my business students have canceled their lessons not only this week but next week as well due to this issue. They work for big companies (which I cannot name) and emails from them tell me that its a huge pain in the butt. They will be working O.T until it is fixed

@zichi

My understanding is that the NHS were paying £5.5 million pounds per annum for support for Windows XP, largely because the cost of upgrading was greatly in excess of that. Given how stretched the NHS' finances are they not surprisingly opted to prioritise patient care.

However, my main point is that by not supporting older versions of their software Microsoft are doing exactly the same thing as these cybercrooks i.e. unless you pay to upgrade or for special support then you're in big trouble. The morality is the same.

sid

However, my main point is that by not supporting older versions of their software Microsoft are doing exactly the same thing as these cybercrooks i.e. unless you pay to upgrade or for special support then you're in big trouble. The morality is the same.

So you would expect everything you buy to last forever. 14 years for a single version OS is very long. You have a strange way of thinking.

The NHS and the Health Secretary were warned one year ago about ransomware. They were warned by Microsoft two months ago.

everybody who uses a computer should know to keep all files and important data on a separate HD that is not connected to the internet, and to regularly backup to a separate HD. One computer plus two external HDs! HD's are cheap, better than losing all your file or sensitive data stolen.

Microsoft patching stuff has nothing to do with ransomware, you could develop a ransomware application to infect the most recent OS's if you wanted to.

While I get your point about the ransomware concept, in this case, the main problem was caused by the malware exploiting a bug in the Windows network protocol. This is why it spread so fast across business networks. Microsoft's recent patch for this exploit seems important.

If you buy a car and keep using it for some years, should you also expect the maker to cease supporting their product just because there are newer models? No, right? Then Microsoft should likewise continue to provide support even as the OS is replaced by newer versions.

Microsoft does support its older OSes even when it's replaced by newer versions. MS supported XP until 2014 - that's after Vista, Win7, and Win8 have all been released.

What you can't expect though is for them to support it forever - that's just not reasonable.

I bet your car's warranty doesn't last forever neither. My car has a 10-year powertrain warranty. Microsoft supported XP for 13 years - that's longer than my car. XP was released 16 years ago - that's a long time to continue supporting for free.

Japan wakes up to global 'ransomware' cyberattack

Now if Japan really wakes up there might be a silver lining to this attack.

Microsoft patching stuff has nothing to do with ransomware, you could develop a ransomware application to infect the most recent OS's if you wanted to.

Japanese people are dreadfully behind most of the world when it comes to PC usage. While smartphones and tablets have spread very quickly, the average Japanese person is very computer illiterate. This works both ways; on the one hand they are less likely to download something that will infect their system since they won't be browsing the kinds of sites that typically spread malicious software. On the other hand, they're less likely to realize the suspicious nature of a malicious file or email. Chinese malware can deal with this but the programmers from eastern Europe rarely think about that.

But once a malicious group in Japan gets its stuff together, this country is going to be in for a real hard time. The government's tech infrastructure is woefully insecure.

Patch your systems, you only have yourself to blame.

Microsoft itself bears a lot of responsibility by not offering support for older versions of their software - unless you pay a lot of money for them to do so, of course. The NHS in the UK were handing over millions of pounds per year to Microsoft (and still couldn't prevent an attack). Microsoft have been holding people to ransom for years, hence the vast wealth of 'philanthropists' like Bill Gates. Personally, I can't tell the difference.

Sid: Microsoft released patches for 2003 Server and XP to fix this issue. If you pay the money to Microsoft for extended support you still get patches. This is a case of NHS paying for support (and patches) and then not installing them.

If you buy a car and keep using it for some years, should you also expect the maker to cease supporting their product just because there are newer models? No, right? Then Microsoft should likewise continue to provide support even as the OS is replaced by newer versions.

If my Macbook air dies tomorrow It has paid for it self. I have on anti anything or protection. I used to run windows and it was costing me $200 a years in protection or more, So I dump Microsoft and Window back in 2011 and have not had any trouble at all or bills since.

IIf you are too lazy or don't update your systems you are asking to be infected. If you don't have the budget to upgrade legacy IT systems your management priorities are wrong.