What to do if your system is already infected with Ransomware?

The most vicious of all cyberattacks are here and no wonder these are ransomware attacks!

Nasty ransomware variants infect systems every now and then. This calls for the need to come up with a sure hack for it. Until now, security researchers have not been able to crack any of the ransomware strains and come up with a program to block these vicious programs.

Considering this, we have come up with a comprehensive guide that can help users to fight back against ransomware attacks, without paying ransom! However, this is a general guide and might vary with the ransomware attack that has infected your system.

1. Firstly, if your system is connected to the network, immediately disconnect it, as this halts the spread of infection to other systems.
2. Now you should detect and remove the malware using an authentic anti-malware software.
3. Thereafter, you should work to recover your encrypted files. There are various ways that will help you recover encrypted files.
   • Firstly, you should figure out the ransomware variant’s name by using online services. These portals are meant to find out ransomware strains via the encryption type that ransomware has used. You will have to upload an encrypted file and the portal will notify with the Trojan’s name.
   • Once you know the ransomware name, you should look for free ransomware decryption tools and try to decrypt your files with that. If your files don’t go back to the previous state, you shouldn’t delete them rather follow the below mentioned steps.
   • Now you should opt for System Restore option. This will restore your system in the previous state.
     • Shut down your PC and locate F8 key.
     • Now turn the PC on and press F8 repeatedly when anything appears on the screen. This command will prompt the ‘Advanced Boot Options’ menu.
     • Now you need to select ‘Repair Your Computer’ and press Enter.
     • Next, you need to log on to your system with your username and password (if you’ve set).
     • Once you are logged on, you’ll find shortcuts of a few recovery tools, please select ‘System Restore’ and restart your system.
   • You can also get back your files by restoring the previous versions of files from properties of files.

We’d recommend you not to pay ransom to the wily crooks in any case. There’s no certainty that you’ll get your data back. However, this is your data and ultimately it’s your call. We would urge you to have sound backup plans. Having backup of all your files will keep you in a rather secure position. You will be able to restore your files back, once you have removed the malware from your system.