11/28/2017
BEWARE OF RANSOMWARE. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN EMAILS.
The can also be used to: email spam out to millions of internet users; generate fake Internet traffic on a third-party website for financial gain; replace banner ads in your web browser specifically targeted at you; enable pop-ups ads designed to get you to pay for the removal of the botnet through a fake anti-spyware package.
The biggest giveaway of a malware email is that they are sent without being asked for, so it is always best practice to never open an unsolicited attachment.
Archive files, like the 7zip format used in the attack, are also another warning sign of potentially dangerous content.
These types of file can be used to try and bypass detection by anti-virus scans.
Manually scanning suspicious emails with anti-virus and anti-malware software may also reveal any hidden infections, although this is not guaranteed - particularly if it has not been updated recently.
There may also be spelling mistakes or other grammatical errors in the subject line, email address or body text that give the game away.
