Do you really understand why Hackers are after your computer?

The easy answer is money.  Hackers infect your computer, lock up your data, and you pay to get it back.  Easy to understand, right? The basics are. But if you’re like the average business computer user, you are now being newly exposed to terms like bitcoin, crypto mining and other terms that sound like they came directly from the latest Guardians of the Galaxy movie, not something we would deal with here on earth. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Understanding all this can be confusing, and in a perfect world, something the average business owner shouldn’t have to worry about.  The latest computer threats have changed all that.  Basically, just as you already know, the computer tech world is just that, a world of its own, with its own language, structure, and of course, as you would expect, its own currency.  Just like the currency we are familiar with, there are lots of types.  Some examples include: Bitcoin, Namecoin, Dogecoin, Monero and many more.  This currency, in most cases, is untraceable. Which means that, as you would expect, it is highly sought after, especially among those less reputable.

So why does it affect you?  WannaCry last week exposed the world to the darker side of what a hacker can do—How your computer can literally be held for ransom.  In the case of WannaCry, they wanted Bitcoin.  During the clean-up of this attack, another virus was found named Adylkuzz.  Unlike WannaCry, this virus doesn’t hold your computer ransom, in fact, you might never know it’s there because it’s basically invisible.  Hackers created the virus to run processes on your computer that can earn the hacker cryptocurrency.  How does this affect your business?  It can slow down your entire network causing you time, and in some cases money.

Doesn’t sound like a big deal, right?  It may not be, but it is to the hackers. In fact, the amount of cryptocurrency earned by hackers through Adylkuzz is way more than WannaCry.

Simply put, it’s no different than an employee stealing office supplies—A company may not notice, but it adds up after a while.

What can you do?  The answer is simple, you’ve heard it time and time again—Make sure your software, especially Windows, is up-to-date.  Like WannaCry, Adylkuzz found its way in because of outdated Windows software.  It’s an easy fix.

Now more than ever, it’s important to have a trained professional involved in your computer support.  The whole purpose of a good Information Technology Managed Service Provider is to ensure that you never have to worry about being hacked because your equipment or software was outdated, your security measures weren’t adequate, or because you just didn’t know what to look for.  Call or send us an email to today, to ensure your company’s IT is protected.

You have a choice.  Learn a whole new language in addition to running your business, or hire a professional translator.  knows the language and the way the tech world works.  Let us work for you.