Windows 10: Ransomware protection on networks

I don't have a specific problem as much as a concern.

There has been a lot of media attention to Ransomware lately, including infecting all systems on a network.

We have several computers connected to a home network. All of the main systems run W10 (except for a couple of VM’s). All of the systems run Windows Defender, and most of the time with WD folder protection turned on. We also try to be internet careful, but there is always a possibility that one of the systems could get infected.

I am now running my main systems with Network Discovery turned off. This isn’t a problem because I can still access the other systems via I.P addresses.

I guess my question is: Do you think it’s possible for malware to jump to other systems on the network with discovery turned off, or am I being overly paranoid?

:)

 

Malware and ransomware protection

You might also want to have a look at:

• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/help
• Top 10 Ways PUPs Sneak Onto Your Computer. And How To Avoid Them.
  
• Ransomware FAQ - Windows Defender Security Intelligence
• Ransomware Avoidance
  
• How to remove ransomware the right way: A step-by-step guide
  

 

Sadly, protection from ransomware is not totally possible

All software methods of isolating external drives are flawed on basic principles. Anything you can do with software can also be done by malware, at least in theory. Techniques such as unmounting the drive reduce the risks but they cannot eliminate them. Security is always relative. At this moment some malware author somewhere may be working on a method of evading this protection. They will of course remain silent on the matter.

 

Sadly, protection from ransomware is not totally possible


I was trying to see what might be a good way to protect oneself from ransomware. The reason that I started thinking about this is that my external backup disks are continuously connected to my PC. This would mean that a ransomware attack could infect those external disks as well as my internal disk.

Unfortunately the discussion threads that I saw do not come up with anything definitive other than to have at least one backup offline. The most useful strategy that I read was in Idea for ransomware protection of network drives where the poster suggests the following steps.

I wish I could develop a program to do all that automatically, on a schedule!