Tally ERP 9 Data and Ransomware
Do we (Tally Users) really need to
worry about Ransomware ?
What are the ways we could effectively avoid
Ransomware threats on our Tally Data ?
Come lets find it and dig deeper into it.
A Few Days Back,
A company owner called me up.
He said, My entire Tally Data
has been encrypted
because of ransomware attack.
And now attacker is asking
for a ransom money in Dollors.
Can you help me ?
The first question
I asked was,
do you have a backup ?
He looked down and said "No".
Well, that was the huge mistake and he will surely take care about it from now on. But we are still on way ahead to know how this ransomware attack actually happens ?
Ransomware can be injected into our PC through various methods.
- Maybe you have opened an email from unknown source and have checked into an attachment which got executed in your system and now the ransomware is sitting in your PC.
- May be you have downloaded an application from unknown source and installed an application with which ransomware has also made home in your PC.
- May be you have copied an application from some other PC with which ransomware has been injected.
So there are different possibilities. But the question here arise about what this ransomware would have done in your PC. Lets find it out to so that we can further plan on how it could be avoided or neutralised.
How Ransomware operates in your PC ?
If our PC is already affected by a Ransomware, believe me, it is very difficult to neutralise ransomware in your system. For many viruses your antivirus has capability to remove it. But Ransomware is unfortunately not easily dealt with antivirus utilities and tools.
As we discussed, Ransomware reaches your system through means and medium where it gets a chance to execute in your system. This execution is done in a normal way as other Windows based application and scripts. It is not actually done automatically but it happens because an unaware user executes the script or application that actually sets up ransomware in your PC.
So in general if Ransomware script or application get a proper Windows environment then it will run, execute it self to reach the weakest part of the system and get affected for doing stuffs that it was designed for.
Ransomware can be easily avoided :
Lets see how Ransomware can be easily avoided. The most basic remedy can be to Not Provide a platform where ransomware can run, execute and get affected to reach the most critical part of your system. Is this possible ?
Yes it is, and that too without changing habits of users who download and execute email attachments and application received from unknown source.
Yes, without changing habits of users and without exposing vulnerabilities that our systems have due to improper protection on our PCs.
How is it possible ?
The Most basic requirement for any Ransomware script or utility is to have a Proper MS Windows environment to execute itself. Right ? Now imagine if you are not at all providing any sort of Windows environment for ransomware to execute.
How is it possible to not provide a Windows environment in a PC where we want to run Tally, Internet and other Office applications ?
It is possible, and it is possible with Tiguin Linux OS.
Tiguin Linux OS
can run Tally ERP on it.
Tiguin Linux OS
creates a separate space
for Tally ERP to run.
This separate space
is not at all linked with
the actual System area.
If at all viruses and ransomware enter into the system,
it won't at all be able to reach your Tally or Tally Data.
You never need to worry about any Virus or ransomware affecting your Tally when you are using your Tally on Tiguin Linux.
How, What is so special about Tiguin Linux OS ?
Ok lets look at it with an example.
- Mr X is using Tally ERP on Tiguin Linux.
- Mr. X has an email to access, so he will definitely download attachments received by email from unknown sources.
- But the attachment won't get executed since it is a Linux environment where the attachment is trying to get executed.
- it will never be able to find Tally Data.
- and finally it won't be able to affect your Tally Data. Its as simple as that.
Proper way of safely using Tally ERP 9 could be proposed as follows :
- Run your Tally ERP 9 on a Tiguin Linux System.
- Setup all your Tally ERP Data on the same Tiguin Linux system.
- Now you can run your Tally ERP 9 using RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) on any Windows, Linux or Mac based Systems.
