What is Ransomware and How Do You Deal With It?

You wake up your computer but instead of that Google Doc

you were working on, it's a message: your files and

documents have been encrypted if you want the code

to bring them back, pay up in bitcoin.

Hello, you've just met Ransomware.

It's the worst.

My name is Brian Barrett.

I'm Wired's news editor and this is Your Guide To

Staying Safe On The Internet.

Ransomware has been around for years but a recent

surge in popularity has made everyone from hospitals

to small business owners to well,

you, more vulnerable than ever.

Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself

that don't involve dipping into your digital wallet.

First, ransomware is just malware with a fun name

and a dash of extortion.

So all the things that you do to avoid malware,

the not opening untrusted emails,

and not clicking strange links,

that will keep you safe here too but even if you slip

there's a straightforward way to protect yourself.

Back up your stuff, all of it.

I know it's a pain, but seriously, do it.

See in most cases, ransomware locks up what's only

on your actual computer so if you've got a carbon copy

somewhere in the cloud or even on a backup hard drive,

all you have to do is wipe your desktop and restore

your data from the backup.

You're back in business.

Oh, and if it happens at work, tell

your sys admin ASAP, the last thing you want is

for ransomware to spread across the network

then everybody's in trouble.

So what happens if you click a malicious link,

you get locked out of your computer,

and you don't have a backup,

whether to pay up is your choice,

just remember that while they'll probably give you

the code that unlocks your stuff, they could

also just ask for more bitcoin.