Ransomware or ransom malware is a kind of virus which is used to not only corrupt a system and prevent its user from accessing his/her personal files, but also sometimes threatens to publish the user’s data or block access to it completely. This kind of virus, as the name suggests, requires the user to pay a ransom price to the author of the virus in order to regain access to the corrupted files.
How does a ransomware attack a system?
There are many ways in which ransomware can infect your system. The most common way of supplying this infection is through malicious spam or malspam. Malspam is an email which provides the virus into the targeted computer. The email may consist of attachments like PDFs or Word documents with hyperlinks to malicious websites. Malspam tricks people into opening attachments and links, which made to seem legitimate. Another very popular infection method is malvertising, which is online advertising used to distribute malware. While browsing the web, including legitimate sites, users can be directed to criminal servers without ever clicking on an ad.
Using a system after it has been attacked by ransomware
A system that has been infected by a ransom malware can definitely be used again, but only after ransomware removal. The first thing to keep in mind while dealing with the issue is to never pay the ransom price! Paying the author of the virus will only encourage him to supply more malware to you and other people.
There are many ways to deal with a ransom malware infection. The first is by downloading a security product known for remediation and running a scan to remove the threat. It is not sure whether you will get your files back or not, but the removal of the infection is promised. For screen-locking ransomware, a full system restore might be necessary for ransomware removal. If that fails to work, you can use a bootable CD or USB drive to run a scan.
If you want to try and impede the working of encrypting ransomware infection in action, you’ll need to stay particularly vigilant. The first indication that your system is infected is when it starts slowing down for no reason. If you notice it happening, then shut down your system and also disconnect it from the internet. Once you turn your computer on again and the malware is still active, it will not be able to send or receive instructions from the controlling server. Hence, it will block any kind of communication necessary for the spreading of the infection. In this way, the malware may stay idle. You can then use antivirus software, run a scan, and locate and get rid of the ransom malware completely.
After ransomware removal, your system is good to be used again. The only difference is, now you need to be more careful so that your system does not get infected again.
Precautions to not let ransomware infect your system again
Once your system is free of any ransom malware infection, it is important to keep it that way, to avoid losing any more data. You can download a security software which will not only prevent your system from being infected again but will also let you know on time if any ransomware infection has made its way into your computer. It is also necessary for you to not download software or give administrative privileges to one when you do not know exactly what it is and what it does. Lastly, of course, back up your files regularly! So, if any virus does infect your computer, you have one less thing to worry about.
