Download Microsoft WannaCrypt Patch. Keep your computer save from recent cyberattacks with Microsoft's official WannaCrypt hotfix patches. Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2003.

Friday's ransomware outbreak is ongoing, and while researchers work to stem the tide of infection, businesses, governments, and individuals can help the cause by making sure they have protected themselves.

The attack is due to a kind of ransomware called Wanna Decryptor, also known as WannaCrypt, WanaCrypt0r, and WannaCry. The malware not only infects targets through traditional means -- such as phishing campaigns, malicious emails, and dodgy attachments -- but once a system has been infected, the malicious code scans for additional targets through networks and jumps to fresh victims.

When a system has been infected with WannaCrypt, the malware encrypts everything it can -- including the PC's hard drive and any connected devices, such as USB sticks and external storage devices.

The ransomware then locks users out of the system, throws up a landing page, and demands a $300 ransom payment in the virtual currency Bitcoin in return for files to be unlocked. This amount then doubles within a few days if payment is not forthcoming. Users are also threatened with the mass deletion of files within a week if they resist paying.

Read also: Remove ransomware infections from your PC using these free tools

If you've already been unfortunate enough to become infected with the ransomware, do not give in and pay up. The threat actors behind WannaCrypt have already made roughly $43,000 from the campaign, but there is no guarantee that you will gain your files back if you do.

Instead, unless -- or until -- a decryption key is released by security experts, the best option is to hold tight or restore your system from a backup. Alternatively, businesses can reach out to security professionals to see if infections can be eradicated without damaging their systems.

In order to be protected against this threat, it is necessary to understand that the attack only impacts those running on older Windows operating systems.

A security fix was released in March. It resolved the problem for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016, which are still supported.

If you are running these versions and have not downloaded Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010, you should do so now manually, or allow Windows Update to do the work for you.

If Windows Update has been enabled, then automatic updates will be applied. If not, you should re-enable the system and do not disable it again so you receive security fixes as soon as they are available for future threats.

Users of Windows 10 are not affected by the ransomware.

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In response to the threat, Microsoft has also released an emergency patch for legacy Windows operating systems, which (as out of cycle products) are no longer supported -- unless special support contracts are in place.

Simple attacks plus user willingness to pay ransoms to get their files back means ransomware is on the rise, warn Kaspersky researchers.

Security updates can be download and deployed manually for Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64, Windows Server 2003 SP2 x86, Windows XP SP2 x64, Windows XP SP3 x86, Windows XP Embedded SP3 x86, Windows 8 x86, and Windows 8 x64 directly from Microsoft.

Grab the necessary security updates here.

Microsoft has also added a signature to the Windows Defender antivirus to detect the ransomware.

If it is not possible to patch, as noted by security expert Troy Hunt, you should disable Windows' Server Messenger Block (SMBv1) to prevent WannaCrypt exploit.

Failing this, another alternative is to lock-down machines and prevent them accessing the internet, or at least make sure network settings are as restricted as possible.

What the malware cannot reach, it cannot infect.

This should be a wake-up call for anyone and any business that still relies on antiquated operating systems that haven't been sold in decades. Threats that can cripped a business or destroy irreplaceable, personal content are real -- and security updates, however annoying, are important.

We are yet to see the full extent of how much damage WannaCrypt has caused, and new variants have already been spotted, so if there's any time to update systems and get them to modern OS standards, which are given regular security updates, it is now.

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Read also:New WannaCrypt ransomware variant discovered in the wild | Ransomware attack: Hospitals still struggling in aftermath of WannaCrypt's rampage | Ransomware attack: The second wave is coming, so get ready now | WannaCrypt ransomware: Microsoft issues emergency patch for Windows XP | Ransomware: An executive guide to one of the biggest menaces on the web | Why patching Windows XP forever won't stop the next WannaCrypt (TechRepublic)

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Microsoft has provided a security update for the out-of-support Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems as the number of computers infected by the WannaCrypt ransomware worm skyrockets.

The move, which Microsoft's security response centre said was 'highly unusual', was taken to protect the company's customer ecosystem.

WannaCrypt spreads rapidly and encrypts files on victims' computes with the 2048-bit AES algorithm, before demanding a ransom of US$300 or US$600 (A$406 - A$812) payable in Bitcoin.

Current versions of WannaCrypt use two exploits leaked by the ShadowBrokers hackers, who gained access to systems at The Equation Group, which is linked to the United States NSA, last year.

The NSA exploits used by WannaCrypt, code named ETERNALBLUE and DOUBLEPULSAR, target the older Windows Server Message Block (SMB) version 1 file sharing protocol.

Although the WannaCrypt worm is initially believed to have been sent out via email, the worm is self-replicating and attempts to infect unpatched Windows computers that respond to SMBv1 requests over networks.

As of writing, Malware Intelligence pegged the number of WannaCrypt infections at just under 200,000.

There are fears that the number of infections could rise further this week, as workers return to their places of employment and start up unpatched Windows computers.

Currently, the infection rate for the worm has been slowed down, thanks to a British researcher registering a domain name found in the WannaCrypt malware.

WannaCrypt connects to the domain in question to see if it is up. If it gets a response from the server at the domain name, the malware won't drop its payload, and stops spreading.

Although the sinkholing of the WannaCrypt domain has been successful, MalwareTech warned the measure will only provide temporary relief as the worm authors - or copycats - could release a new variant with modified code.

Another security researcher, Didier Stevens, noted that the sinkholing of the domain won’t work for organisations that use proxy servers between their networks and the internet.

WannaCry is not proxy-aware, and the check for the domain will fail and trigger the infection routines, Stevens found.

The ransomware worm has rampaged through computer systems around the world, starting in Europe where it hit the UK's National Health Service, resulting in surgery and treatment delays after locking doctors and staff out of patient files.

It also hit two major Indonesian hospitals, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, and French car maker Renault, among many others across 150 countries.