How to Protect Google Drive & Gmail from Ransomware Attack?

In the current era, ransomware is one of the fastest-growing security threats facing individuals and organizations. Ransomware is the type of malware or virus, which became more sophisticated and it infects devices. Due to this ransomware attack, users cannot access their computer, files, applications, Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, Gmail, etc. To regain the access of system, entice victims have to pay a ransom i.e. money or some sensitive information. However, most of the organizations and individuals keep their crucial information in the Google Drive and use Gmail for mailing purpose. Therefore, it is very necessary to Protect Google Drive from Ransomware. In this article, we will discuss several reasons for this ransomware attacks on Google Drive and also the some tips for Google Drive Ransomware Protection.

How Can Ransomware Infect Google Drive & Gmail ?

 

The most common reason for ransomware attack is phishing emails. In this phishing method, an infected email with attachment is sent out to thousands of people. The attachment claims to be an invoice, delivery confirmation, travel itinerary, or other document that will force users to open it. Usually, the malware is hidden within the Word document. When people open this word file, then they found this document is infected with Locky ransomware. Another common method of ransomware attack is client-side hacks. In this method, malware is hidden in the software and also in the browser extensions, which is downloaded by the users.

Protect Google Drive from Ransomware Common in Town

Here, we will discuss some of the most common & vicious types of malware or ransomware, which is found recently:

1. Cerber: Cerber ransomware is usually infected through phishing emails or websites. This cerber malware is inside the Word document that makes more difficult for users to find it. Also, it creates several files such as .txt, .html, & .vbs which named as decrypt my files with instructions on how to pay the ransom amount. If the victim does not pay within a week, the ransom amount is doubled.

2. Locky: Locky is the type of ransomware that spreads itself primarily via Word macros. Generally, the malware is sent through the MS Word file in an email attachment. When a user opens this file, it displays an error message, “Enable macro if data encoding is incorrect”. It means that your device is infected from the Locky ransomware and you have to pay the ransom amount or some crucial information.

3. Jigsaw: Jigsaw ransomware not only encrypts your files but also it will delete them if you do not pay the ransom. The jigsaw ransomware deletes files every hour until the ransom amount or information is paid. Also, with each passing hour, an increasing number of files are deleted. If you restart the ransomware by terminating the process or reboot the system, then it deletes thousand of files.

Some Tips to Protect Google Drive from Ransomware Attacks

When users ussualy face doubts such as : Can Ransomware Infect Google Drive. There are some precaution techniques given for Google Drive ransomware protection. By following these techniques, you can prevent your Google Drive and Gmail data from ransomware attacks.

• You must have security awareness & education. If you can identify security attacks such as ransomware, then you will be less affected by such threats.
• Install an anti-virus like Windows Defender and keep it up to date. It will surely prevent your devices or data from many instances of ransomware and malware.
• Enable the cloud-based Microsoft Active Protection Service. It will protect your Google Drive through cloud-delivered malware blocking decisions.
• Beware of malicious attachments of emails such as exe, js, vbs, ps, etc. and several types of phishing emails.

Trouble-Free Solution for Google Drive and Gmail Protection

 

In the above section, there are some Google Drive ransomware protection ideas described to Protect Google Drive from Ransomware. With the help these prerequisites, it is easy to avoid ransomware attacks on Google Drive and Gmail. But, if a person still faces the ransomware problem and he or she lost the permission to access the Google Drive data. In this situation, they want to regain the access of the system. If they have taken backup of all data, then it becomes easy to retrieve back the data items. For backing up, it is advised to use the Gmail Backup tool. It offers ingenious features to prevent ransomware attack in any organization and provides a simple and user-friendly interface.

Summing Up

Ransomware very dangerous for any organization and it infects Google Drive data. So, every user wants to protect their crucial information from this threat. However, the manual method is not efficient to protect Google Drive from Ransomware attacks. In this situation, it is suggested to use a third-party tool for taking backup of data items.