What You Can Do Once Your System Is Infected with Ransomware

Your computer/device has been hit with ransomware…now what? Take a deep breath, release, and proceed with these next steps:

1. Alert law officials. They most likely will not be able to catch the hacker, but they should be informed of the ransom.
2. “Quarantine” your infected computer/device. Immediately disconnect your machine from other computers/devices, shared network drives, and the Internet. You want to prevent hackers from gaining access to other systems on the network, so the ransomware does not spread further.
3. Don’t pay up! Your data has been taken — and there’s no guarantee that your payment or Liam Neeson’s “particular set of skills” will be able to get it back. Giving in to the ransom encourages more hackers to join the lucrative business. Also, you may find yourself the target of repeat, costly ransomware attacks in the future because you actually paid up the first time.
4. Remediate. Run security software to discover and remove the ransomware. If the threat is undiscoverable, wipe your machine.
5. Restore. Is your data being backed up regularly and accurately? Have test restorations been completed periodically? Good. To restore your files, revert to your most recent backup.

The best way to avoid this major headache in the future is to play defense before ransomware strikes. Using a firewall and antivirus software takes care of some digital threats, but current and emerging ransomware can breeze by these barriers.

If you want to avoid the ill effects of ransomware, the ultimate defense you can carry in your toolkit today is this.

Next: The Ultimate, Groundbreaking Defense Against Ransomware

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