So any good IT service person should warn you if something harmful is coming. Just like any travel guide should warn you of bad neighborhoods and places. So something harmful is coming. In fact, it’s already here. The 2018 email virus: this is a security alert.
In the past month, we saw 38 email virus threats. I won’t name them all because many of their names are too hard to pronounce. They all fall under the virus, worm, and/or Trojan categories. But the worse of these is what they call ‘Battdil.I Trojan’. It comes to your email address as a zip file. Then, when you open it, a .EXT or .SCR file floods you with the virus. After that, it takes over your Outlook then spreads to your address book. Now, it affects your people as well.
But that’s not all. Because the 2018 email virus can do even more damage. This includes stealing your information, like credit/debit card numbers, SSN numbers, and usernames/passwords. Cyber criminals can also steal your files remotely before you even realize what they’re doing. But wait, it gets worse. Because they can even turn off and on your system from around the world and there’s nothing you can do. Do you realize how much power these hackers would have over your computer if they put this virus in?
I thank a colleague in this Boston computer service shop for telling me. In fact, he’s treated several cases like this in the last several weeks. But what do we do about it? First of all, don’t answer any emails from people you don’t know. Remember when our parents warned our about stranger danger as kids? It’s kinda like that here, except this is email stranger danger. If you get an attachment, call the sender and confirm they did send it. Make sure you get the latest anti-virus software as well as a spam filter. What else can we do to keep ourselves safe?