Protect your computers, malware threat is real

PHOTO:COURTESY

The Communications Authority of Kenya on Sunday this week issued an alert on the possibility of an attack on computers. Apparently, a malware christened WannaCry worm hit computers in more than 150 countries on Friday last week.

Most affected were China and Japan but there is danger of the computer virus travelling far and wide. Russia blamed American scientists for creating the virus that seems to target Microsoft computers.

The dangerous malware is mostly transmitted through emails that are sent with links and once one is opened, the virus attacks the computer system. Yet for institutions that deal in large volumes of email on any given day, this poses a challenge since it is not easy to identify potentially harmful emails.

In most cases, the aim is to steal important information belonging to companies especially, or simply to send systems crushing. In some instances, authors of the malware, having rendered information on a computer useless, demand ransom. 

Caution must however be exercised, more so by financial institutions that could be targeted.

The danger is not just limited to computers. Android mobile phones are also susceptible to attack.

But it is easy to control the spread of the virus by simply not opening attachments from people or institutions unknown to the mail recipient.

As a precaution, installing anti malware software on computers and phones could go a long way in neutralising an attack.