In the digital era, we use the internet very often in our daily lives. Along with these digital advancements, the spread of viruses in the form of ransomeware and also practice phishing which is very detrimental. The reason is, these two things can make the files we save cannot be opened, even our social media accounts can be hacked. Then what is a virus ransomeware and practice phishing? Check out the following explanation:
1. Ransomeware
is a virus that can change files to a specific extension, making them unopenable. Usually the “perpetrator” will ask for a fee so that the file can be reopened. Therefore, beware of unfamiliar emails that contain certain links or attachment email suspected.
2. Phishing
is the act of obtaining personal information, such as username and password which is sent by email or by chat application like Whatsapp and others
Here are the general stages of the sample activity ”phishing email” :
- The perpetrator sends emails about current issues such as the “corona” virus, the company “meta” the new name of the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Wahtsapp etc.
- Perpetrators include malware on the document file, can be .txt, .pdf, .exe, and several other document file extensions. Or it could be shareable links..
- After that, potential victims are asked to open anddownload a file containing malware or click shareable links. then ask for verification of email or social media username/password.
- The perpetrator hopes malware in the document can enter the computer system, then take over the target's system or the perpetrator will hack into the victim's social media account.
Characteristics of email / chat which is phishing:
- The sender is unknown or not an official company account. Characteristic of official company emails, usually the address contains the name of the company. Example: cs@medionindonesia.com.
- Includes a shareable links. or attachment for-click or download.
- If it is a shareable links., pay attention to the URL address. If the sender is on behalf of a company, the link will usually point to the company's official website. If not, is most likely shareable links. is a practice of phishing. Example: You get a Whatsapp on behalf of the Meta companyfacebook , if the chat is official from Meta then usually the sender's Whatsapp is an official Meta account (business account with a blue tick), and the URL on the link contains the name of their official website “xxx/facebook.com” or “xxx/meta”. If these two characteristics are not present, do not click on the shareable links..
Therefore, it is very important for us to be vigilant about email / chat , both to our company email / handphone and to our personal email / handphone . If there is suspicion of the email received, immediately report it to IT or mark it as “spam” or immediately delete the email. And the most important thing is not to just click on shareable links. or download attachment on unknown emails.
