Ransomware and Backup Management

3 minute read time.

Our Sage Colleague Kim Crabtree over at the Sage BusinessWorks Support team put together this informative blog called "Why is it critical that you back up your data nightly?". We've adapted it for Sage 50 CA. Thanks Kim!

Why is it so important to back up your Sage 50 files?

It's true, with another wave of ransomware viruses it is very important to backup your sensitive information. Sage 50 is also affected by weak WiFi connections (should you use Sage Drive or any other cloud services).  An issue with a bad signal, might result in data corruption that is easiest to resolve by restoring a backup.

What is ransomware and how can I get infected?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that can infect a computer and block access to your files.  If your files are blocked you may then be asked to pay a sum of money to release your files.  You can get infected by ransomware in two ways, one would be by clicking a link from an email that pretends to be from a well-known organization and another would be from downloading an infected attachment.

What does this mean to you as a Sage 50 customer?

If an infection occurs and your machine with Sage 50 gets infected by a ransomware virus your Sage 50 database files may become locked by the malicious infection and you would have no option except to restore your backups. Make sure you have automatic backups setup under Setup > Settings > Company > Backups.

  • Sage 50C integrates with MS Office 365 that comes with One Drive.  Sage 50 allows you to do automatic backups to One Drive (so you can have daily backups on a secure Cloud system). Read more about what's new.

How do you protect yourself from a ransomware infection?

  1. Backup, backup and backup!
    • We cannot stress the importance of making nightly backups of your Sage 50 data.
    • To truly prevent these backups from getting infected the backups should be made to either a cloud location or to a drive that is disconnected from the PC nightly.

    • If you do backup to a computer that becomes infected there is a chance the backups may be locked by the ransomware as well.
    • To back up manually in Sage 50 select File, Backup
      • Back up your company data files nightly
      • Back up your System data files on a quarterly basis (these files do not change daily). This back up contains your users, registration and custom forms.
      • We recommend backing up to a location on the local PC and then copying the file over to a cloud or drive that is disconnected from the network nightly.
      • See article 17278 “How to backup system and company files” for instructions for backing up.
  1. Be careful when opening emails from unknown parties. When in doubt contact the sender of the email and verify that they in fact sent you the file or the link.
  2. Ensure your security technology is set up in a way to provide defense against ransomware.
    • No security product is perfect but ensuring that it is kept up to date will help keep the defenses up.

If the worst does happen and you become infected by a ransomware virus, what should you do to get your Sage 50 back up?

  • Contact your IT professional for assistance for their recommended clean up procedure.
  • Isolate the affected computer and disconnect it from the network to prevent it from spreading to other locations.
  • Once the computer is repaired Sage 50 will need to be reinstalled and your Sage 50 backups will need to be restored.
  • If the Sage 50 program files were infected reinstall the Sage 50 software, see article 10101 and 10194 for a Server / Network Setup.
  • See 47873 “How to install/download Sage 50 full product?” for further instructions.
  • Once your installation is functional restore your Sage 50 System and company files. See how to restore your Sage 50 backup file for instructions on restoring your Sage 50 files.

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