Posted by (+763) 7 years ago
Computer users face hard choice _ pay ransom or lose files
As a note of warning to everyone, this can happen anywhere. As a matter of fact, it has happened to at least one person in our area that I know of. I had a call about this happening to person and I went to help them clean their computer in the aftermath. I have seen the information, and the cost at which it took this person to recover their files/data. It is no joke. The person who encrypted the data, logs onto the computer after paying the ransom and decrypts the data. They also remove any software from the computer that may have been installed for remote services and for fighting these kind of attacks. They threaten you not to attempt to recover your files or they will wipe it clean and you will loose your files/data.
I had to clear this machine of their software and restore the computers protection and the remote software this person had installed on their computer.
THIS IS NO JOKE, This happened not only in SE Montana, but it happened in the Miles City area. If you have data that is important to you, back it up regularly to an external hard drive and then unhook the external drive so that it cannot be touched by an internet or outside source. There are many different software solutions that you can use do this. In Windows 7 and newer you can use the Backup and Restore that is built in to Windows 7 to make an image on and external hard drive. You will be able to recover your computer to the time the image was made. It will be a fully working computer with all your files, to that date, including software drivers. It will also create a boot-able DVD/CD that will read the image and put your drive back to the state at which your last image was made, even if your computer is not boot-able. It is recommended to do this regardless of this newer threat. It is a safe way to backup your computer and it will save you from paying money to get your computer cleaned, repaired or recovered.
Here is a link to the article explaining the new threat to your data.
http://finance.yahoo.com/...48917.html
Here are a couple of ways of doing a backup and/or restore.
Windows 7 - Using Backup and Restore built into Windows 7 and newer.
This video is not the one he refers to in the previous video, as it is no longer listed on his site, but it is similar in nature. Instead of selecting the network option, you would select your external hard drive. With an external hard drive, you will be able to make more than one image. You will not have to type in an Administration name and password as he does in his video.
Here is another way of backing up and restoring XP and newer computers, incremental and image methods, using a third party software.
[Edited by Tim Wagoner (4/8/2015 9:08:43 PM)]
As a note of warning to everyone, this can happen anywhere. As a matter of fact, it has happened to at least one person in our area that I know of. I had a call about this happening to person and I went to help them clean their computer in the aftermath. I have seen the information, and the cost at which it took this person to recover their files/data. It is no joke. The person who encrypted the data, logs onto the computer after paying the ransom and decrypts the data. They also remove any software from the computer that may have been installed for remote services and for fighting these kind of attacks. They threaten you not to attempt to recover your files or they will wipe it clean and you will loose your files/data.
I had to clear this machine of their software and restore the computers protection and the remote software this person had installed on their computer.
THIS IS NO JOKE, This happened not only in SE Montana, but it happened in the Miles City area. If you have data that is important to you, back it up regularly to an external hard drive and then unhook the external drive so that it cannot be touched by an internet or outside source. There are many different software solutions that you can use do this. In Windows 7 and newer you can use the Backup and Restore that is built in to Windows 7 to make an image on and external hard drive. You will be able to recover your computer to the time the image was made. It will be a fully working computer with all your files, to that date, including software drivers. It will also create a boot-able DVD/CD that will read the image and put your drive back to the state at which your last image was made, even if your computer is not boot-able. It is recommended to do this regardless of this newer threat. It is a safe way to backup your computer and it will save you from paying money to get your computer cleaned, repaired or recovered.
Here is a link to the article explaining the new threat to your data.
http://finance.yahoo.com/...48917.html
Here are a couple of ways of doing a backup and/or restore.
Windows 7 - Using Backup and Restore built into Windows 7 and newer.
This video is not the one he refers to in the previous video, as it is no longer listed on his site, but it is similar in nature. Instead of selecting the network option, you would select your external hard drive. With an external hard drive, you will be able to make more than one image. You will not have to type in an Administration name and password as he does in his video.
Here is another way of backing up and restoring XP and newer computers, incremental and image methods, using a third party software.
[Edited by Tim Wagoner (4/8/2015 9:08:43 PM)]