Ransomware: What Is It And How To Remove It?

Did you know that the damages of ransomware attacks total $5 billion in damages last year?

Ransomware is one of the fastest-growing cybercrimes. Not only is it responsible for extorting victims for financial gain, it even has the capability of destroying computer files. Some of the damages that you can expect to experience during a ransomware attack include losing data, paying ransoms, and even the potential of your sensitive information leaking out to unwanted viewers.

The best way for you to reduce the potential of a ransomware attack is to prevent ransomware from installing on your computer. If you’ve discovered that ransomware has installed on your computer, we’ve created a complete guide for you. In this complete guide, we’ll cover what exactly a ransomware attack is, how to prevent one, and how to remove any ransomware that you find your computer. Keep reading to learn more!

What Is Ransomware?

Ransom software, often called a ransom malware, is a form of malware that stops users from getting access to any personal files. In order for an individual to gain access to the personal files, they must make demands of a ransom payment. With today’s technology, the creators of ransomware often demand that the ransom payment sent via credit card or cryptocurrency payment.

How Do You Get Ransomware?

While there are seven different ways that ransomware affects your computer.  the most common method that is used for attackers to install ransom where onto a device is through a malicious spam mail. Malicious spam emails or an unsolicited email that they used to deliver malicious malware to your device.

Cybercriminals use social engineering to encourage their victims to click on a link or open attachment that appears to be legitimate in their email. Sometimes cybercriminals will make the malware containing emails to appear to have sent by a trusted institution, coworker, family member, or friend.

Another method that cybercriminals use to infect your device is through a method that’s called malvertising. Malicious advertising (aka malvertising) is when cybercriminals use an online advertisement to spread malware to their targeted devices. This type of malware doesn’t need user interaction and can spread from browsing the web. By clicking on an infected advertisement, cybercriminals gain information abo9ut your computer and are able to select the best-suited type of malware to deliver to your device.

How to Remove Ransomware

If you’ve discovered that your device has a ransomware infection, the first thing you should do is to not ever pay the ransom. This advice is supported by the FBI, as it won’t ensure that you’ll be able to retrieve the files that have been attacked by the ransomware.

Isolate

The first step that you should take to remove ransomware off of your devices to isolate the infection. The speed at what you detect ransom on your device is critical to stop any fast-moving attacks before they’re able to completely spread across and take over the data that’s on your computer.

When you suspected that your computer has an infection with this type of malware, isolated from your other devices and any storage that you have. We recommend disconnecting the infected device from both your wired and Wi-Fi networks. For an extra layer of security, also take steps to remove any external storage devices from the infected technology.

We recommend taking the steps because cybercriminals actively seek out other computers and other connections to, in fact, so to prevent any further infections, taking these steps will prevent the infection from spreading.

Identify

The next step to take after isolating the infection is to identify the type of ransomware that’s on your device. You can use a website to help you identify the type of ransomware that’s on your device such as the No More Ransomware! provided by the Crypto Shettif. By being able to identify the type of malware that’s on your device will help you to understand what type of files that have the ability to encrypt, as well as how you need to go about removing the malware from your device.

Report

After you’ve identified the type of ransomware on your device, you should take steps to report the attack to the authorities. It’s important that you follow a report with the FBI at the Internet Crime Complaint Center, as this will provide the FBI with the ability to determine who is behind the attack that you’re experiencing, as well as potentially identify any other victims.

Remove

The best way to go about ensuring that ransomware is deleted off of your device is to completely wipe your computer‘s memory. After doing this, you’ll need to reinstall everything by hand. This means that you’ll need to format the hard discs that are in your system to ensure that the malware isn’t hiding in any location on your device.

After reinstalling catch the programs that you need on your device, do use your computers back up to reinstall any media, files, or other important documents after you ensure that the malware deleted from your hard drive. If you’ve discovered that the infection you received came from any messages, files, or other pieces of information on your device, make sure that you don’t re-upload it to your computer.

Removing Malware Today

Even if you do decide to pay ransomware, it’s very likely that you may not get your data back. The best way to avoid having a malware attack on your device is to do everything you can to avoid having an attack. If you’ve discovered that your device is under a ransomware attack and you aren’t sure how to handle it, it’s best to take your device to a professional so that they can assist you in removing the threat off of your device.

Are you looking for help on how to remove ransomware off your devices today? Click here to learn more!