Preventing ransomware

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In light of the ransomware attack on OCPL’s systems, here’s a list of the basic recommendations from computer security experts to reduce the chances of having your devices subjected to an attack:

  • Install recommended updates to all your software once the updates are released.

    The best way to do this is to have your settings set to automatically install updates.

  • Don’t install new software unless you know what it does and can trust the source you’re getting it from.
  • Similarly, don’t grant administrative privileges to software unless you know why you need to.
  • Install antivirus software and keep it up-to-date.
  • Backup frequently.

    As with software updates, it’s best if you have a way of automating the backup process.

Source: Fruhlinger, Josh. “What Is Ransomware? And 4 Steps to Prevent These File-Locking Attacks.” CSO Online (blog), December 19, 2018. https://www.csoonline.com/article/3236183/what-is-ransomware-how-it-works-and-how-to-remove-it.html

Phone Scams

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You may have gotten “sales” calls that caller ID showed as coming from your own neighborhood (or not too far away) but turned out not to be from the number that was shown. Perhaps you called that number to give the scammers a piece of your mind (as one understandably irate patron recently did after getting such a call that showed Maxwell as the purported caller), only to find that the people at that number had no idea about the call.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a few articles and blog posts about this sort of scam:

If you get such a call, the FTC recommends reporting it to them and to the FCC: