There is a new threat to your computer. Cryptolocker is a malware that takes all your  documents, databases, spreadsheets, photos, videos and music collections – and encrypts them with military-grade encryption until you pay for them. What if you don't? It deletes them.

There have been many kinds of ransomware out on the internet before where it just freezes you computer and you can take it off, not this one.

There’s only one decryption key and the bad guys have that on their server. You have 72 hours to pay them or the decrypt key is gone, which means your files are pretty much deleted. No one will be able to recover.

According to Today money.com The typical extortion payment is $300 USD or 300 EUR paid by Green Dot MoneyPak, or for the more tech savvy, two Bitcoins, currently worth about $400.  To instill a sense of urgency, a digital clock on the screen counts down from 72 hours to show much time is left before that unique decryption key is destroyed.

How does it get you? It looks like an attachment of somewhere you do business with or have ordered something. So be aware of your orders. It may be a pdf or a jpg, sometimes it says it might be a shipping order. It sits on your computer for a few days then boom!! How do you protect yourself? You don't, but you should back up your computer all the time. If you have back ups, they can not ransom your personal files.

If you have questions, see a trusted computer specialist and they can help you back up your stuff.

 

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