Malwarebytes and "Really Dark Friday"
Over the years I have used Malwarebytes a lot to ferret out viruses and spyware on Windows machines. Has anyone wondered why the very same program can be used on every iteration of Windows from XP to ...
Forum Discussion
Malwarebytes is an excellent anti-malware tool, and I've been using the free version from the beginning. The Pro version adds active real-time detection. But so do popular free AV packages, and many have updated their protection for malware such as CryptoLocker.
In reality, no AV suite can guaranty 100% protection against malware, including CryptoLocker. All they can do is update their engines/signatures to detect new variants, as soon as they are identified in the wild and a solution can be implemented. And none that I know of can easily, sans brute force, decrypt files locked by CryptoLocker. That's what makes it so dangerous. More so if you're relying on an anti-virus or anti-malware app as your lone protection.
Personally, the seriousness of CryptoLocker has resulted in reevaluating my own system security, and I've made a few changes. Yet, the best defense is making regular system backups which are easily automated. Either using Windows built-in backup, or other freely available backup apps using external drives or cloud storage.
Second, by taking advantage of Windows built in shadow copy, and better use of System Restore. Though in reality, not likely to be as an effective restore solution as full system backups.
And though Virtual Machines look appealing, some are becoming vulnerable to attack from specialized malware, and are also subject to compromise. In which case, it's still wise to implement some type of "updated" active real time AV software, but does not necessarily mean that a paid version will be any more effective than a free edition.
In reality, no AV suite can guaranty 100% protection against malware, including CryptoLocker. All they can do is update their engines/signatures to detect new variants, as soon as they are identified in the wild and a solution can be implemented. And none that I know of can easily, sans brute force, decrypt files locked by CryptoLocker. That's what makes it so dangerous. More so if you're relying on an anti-virus or anti-malware app as your lone protection.
Personally, the seriousness of CryptoLocker has resulted in reevaluating my own system security, and I've made a few changes. Yet, the best defense is making regular system backups which are easily automated. Either using Windows built-in backup, or other freely available backup apps using external drives or cloud storage.
Second, by taking advantage of Windows built in shadow copy, and better use of System Restore. Though in reality, not likely to be as an effective restore solution as full system backups.
And though Virtual Machines look appealing, some are becoming vulnerable to attack from specialized malware, and are also subject to compromise. In which case, it's still wise to implement some type of "updated" active real time AV software, but does not necessarily mean that a paid version will be any more effective than a free edition.
