I Have Been Affected by Ransomware. What Now?

In the past few years, ransomware discoveries and attacks have been considerably increased. It is evident that the internet is not a safe destination anymore, especially if you are not taking the right measures to prevent attacks from ransomware developers. You might have heard of Petya, Hydracrypt, Cerber, Cryptowall or the famous Cryptolocker and that they have the ability to penetrate into your system and encrypt your data, converting them into a form that you cannot understand. You might have also heard that to retrieve your data you need to pay a ransom or contact a Ransomware Specialist to help you retrieve it and protect you from future attacks. In this article, we discuss actions that Ransomware Specialists recommend you to follow in case you are a victim of a ransomware attack.

So, what can you do if your data is encrypted, your system is locked and you are receiving a note from a ransomware which requires you to pay a ransom, most likely with bitcoins, to retrieve your data? In some cases, it is possible to get your data back without paying the ransom. Ransomware Specialists are working hard around the clock to decrypt malicious software and keep you safe. On the other hand, some of the most notorious ransomware families are not yet decrypted. Thus, there is a possibility that you might permanently lose your data, no matter what is done.

As soon as you notice malicious software activity, or if your system is already locked by a ransomware make sure to remove it from any network that is part of. This will prevent further spreading of the ransomware to other systems. After that, in case you have created a restore point in your system you can check if system restore works. On the other hand, if you have recently backed up your data you have a much better option. Format, reinstall your system and use your backed up data for a new start.

If you have not backed up your data or created a safe restore point on your system, you still have some more options to recover your data. Although the possibility of success is low, it is worth trying to boot your system in safe mode and run your antivirus software for a deep scan. If you are lucky, your antivirus software will clean up your system and remove the malware. If this action is not successful, another point of action would be to identify the ransomware variant that attacked you and find out if it is already decrypted. To identify the ransomware variant that affected your system, you can use an online free tool ‘ID Ransomware’. Some of the ransomware have been already cracked. Subsequently, you can use a decryptor to recover your data. A list of decrypted ransomware is given below. In all cases, you can find a decryptor along with usage instructions in Emsisoft official website.

AutoLocky, Nemucod, DMALocker, Gomasom, LeChiffre, KeyBTC, Cryptlnfinite, CryptoDefense, UmbreCrypt, CrypBoss, Xorist, Globe2, 777, HydraCrypt, BadBlock, Apocalypse, OzozaLocker, Stampado, Fabiansomware, OpenToYou, Radamant, Philadelphia, FenixLocker, PClock, Al-Namrood, Marlboro, Globe ransomware, ApocalypseVM, Harasom, DMALocker2, Globelmposter.

If none of the above options, for restoring your encrypted data, works, then you need to determine if you must pay the ransom. Although it is recommended not to pay cybercriminals, sometimes this is the only way of recovering your data. But even then, nobody can ensure that after the payment of the ransom is complete; your data will be restored. The best option thus, to secure your data from cyber-criminals, is prevention. Ransomware Specialists can help you, or your organization, stay away from malicious software, troubles, in the future.

As we have seen in this article, the rise of ransomware attacks and the increase of ransomware variants have made the internet a dangerous destination. If you find out that your system is locked and you are requested to pay a ransom to recover your data, then you are one of the many victims of malware creators. In this case, there is a number of actions which you might consider in order to recover your data. To ensure, though, that your problem is thoroughly evaluated and the right actions are taken for your data retrieval and your future protection, it is important to contact a Ransomware Specialist. In conclusion, ransomware has spread rapidly, in the past few years, targeting both individual computer users as well as big organizations. After being attacked, it is important to take the right measures for recovering your data and leave ‘paying the ransom’ as your last option. Even after paying the ransom, though, there is a possibility that your data will not be recovered.