Ransomware has become a menacing and demoralizing factor in today’s computing environment. Ransomware’s rocket-like growth over the past five years has reached epidemic proportions. Every computer user must become more attentive about clicking on unfamiliar links and opening e-mails without some verification.
Here’s a message that makes you cringe: ‘We have encrypted your data. Pay us in bitcoins if you would like to get the encryption key to unlock your data. If you choose not to pay (usually you have a few days), we might just post all of your data online, and then destroy all of your files.” And, of course, “Thank you.” Nice touch.
Ransomware attacks are costly from a time, manpower, emotional and money perspective. It’s a planned attack designed to extort money from you. In the past three years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has received tens of thousands of calls asking for help from ransomware attacks. The FBI seems powerless here, and generally recommends that users pay the ransom to regain access to valuable data. Read more