We want to send a big Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest and helped making it a success!.We received around 434 entries or this contest through our Facebook and Instagram handles.
Our hearty congratulations to Mr.Ujwal Balan(insta id :- ujwal.balan), the winner of the Circuit Blue-The Data Recovery Experts-Photography Contest 2020.His photo entry (see below) received good appreciation from our esteemed Judge Mr. Aseem Komachi and has been crowned as the winner!
Winning Photo:-
You can expect many more contest coming your way from our handles…So stay tuned!!!!!!!
Data loss can happen to anyone. It occurs when data is accidentally deleted, or something causes data to become corrupted. Viruses, physical damage or formatting errors can cause data unreadable by both humans and software. Losing files and documents will often have impact on your company’s financial health. It’s always a wise idea to make data backup as a part of your cyber hygiene.
A backup is a secondary copy of data used for data protection. There are many ways to back up your data, from using an external drive to backing up those files on a remote server over the Internet. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of each:
Back Up to an External Drive:
Pros: Backing up is cheap and fast. It is easy to use and portable in many ways
Cons: It should handle with care and the chances of theft is not avoidable. Also, it run the risk of failure.
Use a Cloud Storage Service:
Pros: This method is easy and fast, and since it’s online, it protects you against all types of data loss and provide Secure transmission of data. Since Data secured in a remote location, you can access it anywhere you can reach the internet
Cons: Capacity limitations for free storage. There is always a risk of a site closing. Should reach the internet to access your backup files.
Network Attached Storage (NAS):
Pros: The key benefits of network-attached storage are mainly speed and convenience. NAS devices are easy to setup and are affordable backup and storage solutions. You can access your files anytime and anywhere. Can be set up for automatic backup.
Cons: NAS solution consumes more bandwidth from the network. Also, the performance of the NAS will depend upon the amount of bandwidth available. Also, there are possibility of device failure.
You need to protect your business data. Data backup and data recovery are important parts of running a business. Some lost data is recoverable, however this process often requires the assistance of IT professionals and it require both cost and time.
We at Circuit Blue provides services in data recovery, restoration, migration and preservation of digital assets from all types of storage medias and recording technologies. Our Specialized services include Data Recovery, Data Migration, Data Destruction and Restore/Backup solutions. We follow 100% “NO DATA NO RECOVERY CHARGE” Policy.
The Indian Government on Saturday issued an alert on the spread of a new malware — Locky Ransomware — that can lock computers and demand ransom for unlocking them. Ransomware is a malicious software and the Locky Ransomware is learnt to be demanding ransom of half bitcoin, which at present rate is equivalent to over Rs 1.5 lakh.
The alert, issued on Cyber Swachhta Kendra, said it has been reported that a new wave of spam mails is circulating with common subject lines to spread variants of Locky Ransomware. There are hundreds of ransomware-type malware infections similar or identical to Locky including, for instance, Cryptowall, JobCrypter, UmbreCrypt, TeslaCrypt, and DMA-Locker. All have identical behavior – they encrypt files and demand a ransom. The only difference is the size of ransom and type of algorithm used to encrypt the files. Research also shows that there is no guarantee that your files will ever be decrypted even after paying the ransom. By paying, you simply support cyber criminals’ malicious businesses. Therefore, you should never pay the ransom or attempt to contact them.
“Reports indicate that over 23 million messages have been sent in this campaign. The messages contain common subjects like ‘please print’, ‘documents’, ‘photo’, ‘Images’, ‘scans’ and ‘pictures’. However, the subject texts may change in targeted spear phishing campaigns,” the alert, which described severity of the ransomware as “high”, said.
“Users are advised to exercise caution while opening e-mails and organisations are advised to deploy anti-spam solutions and update spam block lists,” the alert stated.
What is Locky?
Locky is ransomware distributed via malicious .doc files attached to spam email messages. Each word document contains scrambled text, which appear to be macros. When users enable macro settings in the Word program, an executable file (the ransomware) is downloaded. Note that Locky changes all file names to a unique 16-letter and digit combination with .diablo6, .aesir, .shit, .thor, .locky,.zepto or .odin file extension. Thus, it becomes virtually impossible to identify the original files. All are encrypted using the RSA-2048 and AES-1024 algorithms and, therefore, a private key (stored on remote servers controlled by cyber criminals) is required for decryption. To decrypt the files, victims must pay a ransom.
After the files are encrypted, Locky creates an additional .txt and_HELP_instructions.html (or _WHAT_is.html) file in each folder containing the encrypted files. Furthermore, this ransomware changes the desktop wallpaper. Both text files and wallpaper contain the same message that informs users of the encryption.
How to Protect Yourself From Locky?
Currently, there is no decryptor available to decrypt data locked by above Locky ransomware variants, so users are strongly recommended to follow prevention measures in an attempt to protect themselves.
Beware of Phishing emails: Always be suspicious of uninvited documents sent via an email and never click on links inside those documents unless verifying the source.
Backup Regularly: To always have a tight grip on all your important files and documents, keep a good backup routine in place that makes their copies to an external storage device that is not always connected to your PC.
Keep your Antivirus software and system Up-to-date: Always keep your antivirus software and systems updated to protect against latest threats.
