Introduction
Ransomware is a type of computer virus that locks down your data and threatens to keep it locked unless you pay up. While some attackers are willing to negotiate, others demand payment within a short period of time before deleting the encrypted files. Recently, there have been reports of attackers demanding Bitcoin in exchange for decryption keys. Even if you're willing to pay up, it's not always possible: Some ransomware attacks use third-party tools or manual methods to encrypt files and don't offer decryption capabilities at all so victims are out of luck even if they do pay up. In this article, we'll dig into what makes ransomware so devastating and how victims can recover from an attack without paying any ransom—and even avoid getting hacked in the first place!
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malicious software (malware) that blocks access to your computer or encrypts your data and demands money before it will be unblocked. It can also be referred to as crypto-ransomware, cryptovirus or cryptoware.
Ransomware threatens to publish or delete your data unless you pay a ransom, often in bitcoins. The malware typically targets personal files such as photos, music and video but increasingly targets business applications too.
The first ransomware appeared in 1989. Ransomware targets Windows users; Apple Macs have not been targeted because the operating system does not run programs from third parties without user permission
Protecting yourself from ransomware
To avoid becoming a victim of ransomware, you should:
Use security software.
Use a strong password that you don't reuse on any other account, and make sure it's not obvious.
Update your software regularly to ensure that possible vulnerabilities are patched up.
Backup your data; even if your computer is locked down by the malware, it's still possible to use other drives or workstations in order to try restoring some files with encrypted data using recovery tools (but be careful about trusting these tools as well).
It’s also important to protect yourself from malicious email attachments by not opening them and clicking on links within emails from unknown senders or even known ones if it seems suspicious (for example, they ask you for personal information). If an attachment comes from someone you know very well but has a strange file name or contains an unexpected message at this time (and especially if they weren’t expecting anything), reconsider whether or not opening it will cause problems before doing so just because “they wouldn't do anything bad."
Responding to a ransomware attack
Direct all employees to patch their computers immediately.
Change all passwords to your company's systems and accounts, and ensure that they are complex and unique across all platforms (PC, mobile, etc.).
If you experience a ransomware infection on any of your devices or in the cloud, take steps to contain it immediately:
Do not reboot or shut down any device that is infected with ransomware until further instruction from your IT staff or law enforcement officials (if applicable). This could result in permanent data loss if any files have been encrypted by the malware program. Rebooting may also cause the encryption process to begin again on the machine being restarted.
Implementing a backup strategy will help ensure that critical data can be recovered even after an incident occurs; this should include both off-site backups as well as additional backups at an alternate physical location like a secondary office location or disaster recovery center so that backups are not dependent upon external systems like internet connectivity or electricity availability which may be interrupted by an attack such as this one."
Recovering after a ransomware attack
If you’ve been hit by ransomware, don't pay the ransom. Most people who do pay ransoms are never able to recover their files and end up paying again and again. Instead of giving in to this extortion, take a deep breath and follow these steps:
* 1. Get your computer off the network.*
* 2. Remove all external drives from your computer.*
* 3. Turn on BitLocker if you have Windows 8 or 10 Pro or Enterprise edition (or use TrueCrypt if you're running Windows 7). This will prevent any further access unless there's an undelete tool available for the ransomware that encrypted your files (in which case it might be possible to retrieve data).
Ransomware victims can get their data back without paying a ransom by using third-party tools or manual methods.
If you’re infected with ransomware, here are some methods for recovering your files without paying a ransom.
Use third-party tools.
Third-party tools like Kaspersky Lab's RakhniDecryptor can be used to remove ransomware from your machine and decrypt encrypted files. Some antivirus products have signatures to detect and remove certain variants of ransomware in real time, but these products don't always protect against new strains or variants that use different encryption keys. If malware detects that it's being examined or scanned by an antivirus program, it may stop working or delete itself entirely before running its payload code. Additionally, some versions of some types of malware will encrypt files even if they aren't recognized as malicious by an antivirus product (known as "false positives").
Conclusion
This article has given you an overview of ransomware, ways to protect yourself from it, and how to respond if you do get infected. We also provided some tips for recovering files after a ransomware attack. While there are no guarantees that these steps will work in every situation, we hope that they may help victims recover their data without paying the ransom demanded by cyber criminals.
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