Don’t Like Mondays? Neither Do Attackers

• August 31st, 2017
Mobile Security, Online Privacy, Online Safety, PC security

You can reduce potential damage to your PC by paying attention to when attackers are most likely to strike. Monday may be our least favorite day of the week, but Thursday is when you should watch out for cyber criminals, researchers say. That’s what reports CSO, the security news portal that writes about threats and cyber attacks, and which is affiliated with IDG, the world’s leading tech media company.

Reports from earlier this year say that malicious email attachment message volumes spike more than 38 percent on Thursdays over the average weekday volume. Wednesdays were the second highest days for malicious emails, followed by Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Weekends tend to be low-volume days for email-borne threats, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any, added CSO.

In spite of the fact that the CSO article focused on business users, the lesson is important to home users as well. Here is a good excerpt:

“While it’s important to block malicious messages from reaching the inbox in the first place, the other side of email defense is to be able to flag already-delivered messages and block those links after realizing they were malicious. The longer a malicious URL is in the inbox, the more likely it is that the user will click on it. Being able to block those links, or proactively removing those emails even after delivery, would reduce the threat.”

Love or loathe modern technology, our computers often hold information on sensitive personal or financial information. This can include photos of loved ones, college and academic essays, or financial records such as bank statements. How much would you pay to retrieve a college dissertation a week before the deadline? Or, a batch of wedding photos from a day that can never be relived? If the idea of being vulnerable to cyber criminals makes you anxious, take the necessary steps now so you won’t have to make a difficult decision in the future. Protect your home computer against ransomware and other viruses. It could be the smartest move you ever make.

Newsweek recently reported that ransomware attacks rose 250% since the start of 2017, and consumers may not be aware of the threat they face. Of the recent WannaCry attack that infected more than 250,000 machines across 150 countries, more than two-thirds of these attacks affected consumers, and of those, 38% went on to pay the ransom demanded.

“Ransomware attacks can easily bypass traditional antivirus software to blackmail unsuspecting consumers. It’s a very real threat to home PC users, who do not have access to enterprise-grade security systems,” said Nathan Shuchami, VP of Emerging Products at Check Point Software Technologies. “These cyber attacks have cost billions of dollars in damages. With ransomware attacks becoming more widespread, it’s critical for consumers to defend themselves with a dedicated tool powerful enough to protect their PCs and precious files from being seized and held hostage by hackers.”

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware protects home PCs against extortion attacks by safeguarding users against fast-evolving ransomware such as WannaCry and Petya. It quarantines, and removes even the most sophisticated and evasive ransomware infections from users’ PCs. ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware adds an essential layer of protection to home PCs and works alongside anti-virus software to provide PC users with complete protection against the growing threat of ransomware.

Over 90 million people worldwide trust ZoneAlarm to protect their PCs and mobile devices with powerful anti-ransomware, antivirus software, firewall and additional virus protection solutions. Our internet security tools are designed with people’s cyber safety in mind, while using industry-leading solutions.

Protect your PC against cyber extortion. By doing that, you can relax and – who knows? – even learn to enjoy your Mondays!