As workplace IT gets more and more hi-tech, the average user gets further from the building blocks that keep it running. At times that seems like a good thing, but if you aren’t aware of the most basic aspects of your hardware, you could be vulnerable to a nasty cyber attack.

Ransomware has become a fast-track for making money for some hackers this holiday season. But instead of just demanding a small payment for the decryption code that will unlock their computers, some hackers are demanding that victims sacrifice two other friends to ensure they receive the code they need.

As shown by recent high-profile hacking scandals - targeting everyone from Sony Entertainment to the extramarital-affair-facilitating website Ashley Madison - cyber crime shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. In fact, experts predict that 2016 is going to be an even busier year for cyber criminals, hackers and scammers.