With all its changing dynamics, ransomware remains a significant threat for organizations and individual users. The severity associated with this cryptographic cyber threat is now gradually being realized by large software companies and they are coming up with programs and features to provide optimal protection against ransomware.
In one recent development, Microsoft has integrated a dedicated ransomware protection section in the forthcoming spring update of Windows 10. The section will be a part of Window’s comprehensive Defender Security Center.
For now, the ransomware protection tool has only one tool with the name Controlled Folder Access. Like many ransomware removal applications, users can restrict the access of foreign applications to certain folders so that the files stored there remain protected from the encryption activity of any possible ransomware attack.
Users will be able to allow some programs to sidestep the settings of Controlled Folder Access. It’s still unclear whether or not Windows has any plan to expand the features of Ransomware Protection section. To make it certain that the Controlled Folder Access tool is blocking the infiltration of ransomware activity to the controlled folders, real-time protection in Defender Security Center must be activated.
What Experts Think?
Experts are in agreement that this anti-ransomware feature will surely limit the damage of ransomware infections as people can protect their most critical files from the mischief of cryptovirology. We all know that locking down user’s data through encryption and then asking for money to restore ransomware-affected files is the purpose of majority of such attacks.
However, a complete protection against ransomware attacks is still far from realization. The current ransomware protection feature is not designed to terminate the ransomware code. It can only protect few folders from its encryption damages.
Some experts emphasize that this supposed ‘ransomware protection’ is more of a data protection feature. Using this feature nonetheless is highly advisable. But experts have also cautioned users to not over rely on it because ransomware codes will still expand their damages to other locations and folders of the affected computers and users will still need to get professional help to restore ransomware files.
