Ransomware is a computer program that either encrypts all your data or completely shuts down access to it in a different way. In both case you will lose everything that is in the computer. For real. And if you think that you’ll just take your computer to a shop, give them a few bucks and all will be hunky-dory again you are seriously mistaken.
The basic stuff are things every single computer user should be doing anyway. Have your system updated and have a decent antivirus. The second part is something everybody knows, but almost nobody actually does. Back up, back up and once again, back up. Ideally to an external drive that is connected only when you are backing up your data as some ransomware will encrypt even external disks when they are connected.
Another important part of prevention is similar to STD prevention. Don’t do it with everyone everywhere. If your hot neighbor is suddenly sending you nudes after years of calling you a loser whenever you even glanced at you, you really should be suspicious. Also the e-mail the president suddenly sent you is probably not real. But even mails that might look credible at a first glance, like something from your bank should be looked at suspiciously.
Well, you didn’t listen and you already have your computer infected with ransomware? Well, that highly depends on the exact type of the virus. Take a look at www.id-ransomware.malwarehunterteam.com and hopefully you will find what sort of ransomware is holding you hostage. A good piece of advice in some cases is not to turn your computer off as the encryption key can sometimes be acquired from the memory.
And even if there is no current way to decrypt your data, it is a good idea to create an image file of the disk, as a decryptor might be released in the future.
And the final question. Should I pay the ransom? I’d say no. Not only are you encouraging more ransoware to be create, but you aren’t even guaranteed to get your data back. A company called Telstra claims that about 57 % of Australian companies pay the ransom, but only two thirds of them get their data back. But there have also been cases where none of the people who paid got their data back. So… the best answer is: BACK UP YOUR DATA!