His iPad is also "Disabled." Mine's not, but he does have one thing on his iPad that he has on his office computer. Do you think the iPad is also hacked?

You don't pay anyone except for a computer repair person to reformat your computer or they may be able to remove the virus. Are you seriously thinking that you are supposed to pay these people? OH MAN! Please do NOT pay money to this, they will take your money then they will have your credit card information and...well you get it now...right? Your computer will not be fixed but you will have a lot less money then before your computer got this virus! HAHA! OH and BTW, my husband is a computer repair guy in case you are wondering how I'd know this!

Pay in bitcoin? I wouldn't know how to do that if I wanted to (and I wouldn't want to). Hopefully his files are backed up. As AG says, sounds like a reformat is in order.

This is the real deal and the worst ransomware out there. This is the one that makes the news. It's been big news all year.

He does have backup, if it works because it's hooked up to the computer. We're not sure yet if he lost his files.

But his computer is a goner until we pay. Not even the backup files will work on it.

Yes please do not call them! Arkansas girl is so right I know too because my DH is a computer repair guy as well. He just is amazed at how many people fall for this and call him after they have called, given info and then call him. Many people we know and they also know that this is how we make a living...

Why do you think your computer will be restored if you pay?

Bitcoin is an underground payment. It's hard to trace to whom it goes to, but the person paying with bitcoin can be traced.
This is all new to us, and we've got 24 hours to figure it out.

He might be able to reconfigure the computer, but all data is lost. Unless his backup didn't get affected.

I saw this on an episode of The Good Wife! They paid the hackers. Something went wrong with the transaction, though, and Kalinda I believe got her contact in the FBI to get her the Russian hackers info and she contacted the hacker and said she was going to turn him into Putin for something and he unlocked the computers.

Guessing that info doesn't help you too much...

Microsoft has an information page for ransomware. Maybe you can get some guidance there.

Thank you, though, for posting. I've been lagging and had not backed up my business files since September so I went ahead and did that. I periodically back up my files to a thumb drive, too. I lost everything once and don't want that to ever happen again! You can't have too many backups!

Do you have another computer you can try installing the backed up files on?

lol Beagles, your advice sounds much more exciting than my suggestion.

I listened to DH's conversation with a tech on the phone. DH is taking the computer to them tomorrow. There's a chance something in the computer was hurt, and if that happened, we can't get the files back. There's a slight chance the exterior backup thing is affected too, but the guy said it usually doesn't happen.

Law firms are being targeted right now. Just found that out. LOL.

Either way it's going to cost us money, I sure hope his files aren't gone. His whole business is on them.

Beagles, we need Bond, James Bond. :)

The preferred solution is to restore your computer from a backup. And word of warning - if you backup your computer to an external hard drive you should NOT leave it connected to your computer all the time. You then run the risk of your backup getting held hostage.

The email phishing attempts are getting more and more sophisticated. I just got one from the bank yesterday that looked very real. You can often tell though that the writing/grammar is not the greatest. That's a clue. You can also usually tell that the email is not from the correct domain name. You have to be really careful about clicking on anything in an email these days. So sorry you are a victim of this malicious ransomware.

This is why you backup, backup, backup! And you don't backup to anything connected to your computer.

I do backup to an external hard drive but I only connect it to do the backup and then I disconnect. I'm not entirely confident about having all my personal info in the cloud but I do need to get a copy off site in case my house burns down. That of course is irrelevant to recovering from ransomeware.

This happened last year at my office, and our cloud provider was able to remove the virus and restore us, thank goodness. We had to pay them, but not the hackers. Good luck!

My agency made us all take a cyber security class and sends weekly updates about 'scam of the week' stuff. And the company that does this training will send out fake emails to see if you're following protocols you learned. If you happen to open one of the fake emails, you get a message from them about how it could affect your entire company's network.

I got one fake email that I just deleted, primarily because the sender was really off-and I could tell it was fake. There are some examples they showed that are really hard to determine they're fake, so you have to be super diligent. It's ok to open the email, but never open the links unless you're 100% sure you know it's legit-and that the email address has not been spoofed.

Because I work with the public, and I'm in contact with so many other government and quasi-government agencies, I get attachments all day long-and it takes some time to read through each carefully before opening. I did learn that opening pdf's was ok.

Happened to a neighbor. Even if you pay, the damage is still there and they can turn it on again at any time and ask for more money. Keep a separate computer for the internet only was the advice given to him.

My dad was hit by a similar scam. He saw a message that a malware was detected and to call a phone number. He did! Even though we and by that I mean my DH tell him all the time don't! DH worked on it for several days, then we just bought him a new computer.

Unfortunately, DH isn't email savvy. I gave him a nice little lecture last night. lol. I get those emails all the time.

He checked his email on another computer and the bar association sent out a warning about this hack, looks like a lot of attorneys opened the link in the email. The heading of the email was something like "A complaint has been filed against you." Enough to make DH totally freak out! OTOH, he did notice it came from a yahoo address and I told him he should have known better! But the heading was scary enough to make him do it. I let him know he'd receive an official letter if it was important.

He and his friend got his computer to open last night but files are still locked.

What a mess! I'll keep you all informed. You all have been a great help!

For a while, it was an FBI warning, you were supposed to send them money to get your computer fixed. A lot of my husband's customers fell for that and gave these people their credit card numbers. Not only were their computers NOT FIXED, the customers had to cancel their credit cards and some actually had charges on them that the scammers charged. My husband was able to remove the warning, I think he used trendmicro to remove them enough to be able to save the customers files but still had to reformat the computer to be safe. My husband just said that he used hitmanpro to remove the FBI one.

Ransomeware is a different animal than other malware. It's not something you can "fix" or remove as you often can with other malicious software. It's almost always fatal for whatever you have on your computer.

We also had to go through extensive cybercrime training at work. The instructor mentioned the TV program Mr. Robot. If you've ever watched that it will make you think twice about all the personal info you put out on social media. The instructor talked about how hackers use all of that to get to know you so they can personalize their phishing attempts to be something you'll think is for real. Or to figure out when you're not home and break into your house.

Even if a friend or family member sends me an email with an attachment or link I NEVER open it without first contacting them with a separate new email asking if they actually sent it. And then, depending on what it is, I still might Google it to see if it's been linked with a virus etc.

The computer's in the shop and can be fixed. It will take three days to do it. And $300.

3katz, the way ransomware works now is they have you pay through Bitcoin. It's a legit money transaction place, but I think it's hard to find where the money goes. It's similar to Pay Pal but more on the down low.

Monica, it's easy to tell if you have scam email, just check the return address & and the inside message. I get them with my friend's name in them all the time, and once I click on the email (which is safe to do), it's so easy to tell if they sent it or not. Therefore I report the spam, and don't click on the link. My friends and I send links to each other all the time.

DH doesn't use the computer like I do, so he was totally out of the loop on how to spot a dangerous spam.

Well, they had you fooled into believing that if you gave them the money, your computer would be fixed!

Can't be too careful with emails ... sometimes I won't even open a link my own parents sent me, when I see it was something that was forwarded! Drives my mother crazy!

Who are you talking about Arkansasgirl? The hackers or the computer techs? The hackers do unlock the files once they've been paid. It's happened to many many people.

You NEVER EVER pay the hackers! If someone calls you and says they are from the "Internal Revenue Services", would you pay them? It's the same thing! Sheesh! This is why these people do this, because people are so easily tricked! Of course, NOT THE COMPUTER TECHS! The computer techs are who you have to call once your computer is hacked! In my experience, the people that I know of that actually paid the hackers did not get their computers fixed by the hackers! They just got ripped off!

Before you pay for services, at least make an effort to try System Restore.

It removes many of the ransomware viruses.

You should also keep a portable virus scanner or "killer" on an external device like a USB flash drive.

I would like to add this to the tread if anyone is actually listening: If someone were to pay these people and allow them access to their computer so they can "FIX" it...what is happening is they are now in your computer and they now have access to all of your computer data such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, if it's a business computer, they now have access to your customers' information...assuming these things are saved on your computer. Any file you have saved, they now HAVE THAT FILE to use for whatever illegal purpose they have up their sleeves. So you still think paying these people is a good idea? Losing some money is the least of your worries!

"The hackers do unlock the files once they've been paid."

Provided that the hackers do actually unlock your files, what is to stop them from hacking you a second time (or a dozen times!) once you've paid them? It's not like you are paying for a legitimate service run by legitimate people!

Arkansas girl, we get your point. Of course you should never pay the hackers. There is absolutely no guarantee they will fix/return your computer/files and more than likely would copy them and yes, hijack you again. Some good security measures have been suggested here for us all to think about.

Sorry if this has been already mentioned, but did you try Google yet? Here's a result from a search using "what to do if your computer is infected w/ ransomware":

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/what-to-do-after-ransomware-attack

Note the recommendation that you contact law enforcement/FBI - please don't neglect that step.

Here's another page w/ some info:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/08/new-site-recovers-files-locked-by-cryptolocker-ransomware/

HTH

You all keep talking to yourselves, I'm done here. Why? Because you don't even bother to read what I've written, then proceed to get sarcastic and scream. If you kept reading you'd have seen where we weren't paying and the computer was at the tech's office.

I also thanked you all for the help and good advice, which we took.

What I said in my last reply was many people do pay and that's how they get their data back. It's a lucrative business now.

BTW, our data is GONE. It cannot be fixed. At.All. The backup is messed up and it's iffy if we can get anything from it because DH had it plugged into his computer when it was hacked.

The hackers have the info on their computers now whether we pay or not, which we aren't going to do. BTW, DH doesn't keep his SS# or banking records on his computer.

Don't be fooled and think all of these Russian hack jobs can be fixed. Look it up. We have the worst one out there.

But we will persevere.

I did see that you paid a tech to fix the computer. But what you keep on saying is that if a person pays the ransom, they get their computer fixed. This is not true at all! If a person pays, they lose their money and that's it and their computer still will not be fixed. It may be a "lucrative business" for the unscrupulous, but it is not a legitimate business. I've never heard of anyone actually getting their computers fixed by paying off this ransom demand. They do not necessarily have your data yet just by giving you the virus, it's when you allow them access to "fix" the computer that they get into your system. I have had a ransom "virus" on my computer before...they do not get into your computer at that point.

Remember the scam with "Microsoft" calling people telling you your computer is infected. What they have a person do is go to their computer and go through some steps and what they are actually getting you to do is allow them into your computer. Then they steal valuable data, they also charge you for their "services" and take your credit card information!

I agree that there seems to be some kind of disconnect on this thread. Oak, do you still think that people should pay the hackers and then they will get their computer fixed and everything is fine?

Because that's what I thought you meant by this post "The hackers do unlock the files once they've been paid. It's happened to many many people".

I think the point that everyone is trying to make is that if you pay the hackers your computer will probably not be fixed.

I do find it interesting that the Hacker's info page says, "After making payment, click here to unlock your computer and files." Isn't clicking a link what gets people into trouble in the first place?

I did read some of the articles online that support Oakley's statement that many do pay and have their files restored. Still, I just don't see how crooks can be trusted.

Hi jellytoast, I also looked around and tried to limit my research to articles published within the past year since the hackers are getting increasingly bold and sophisticated. This article published by the FBI in April recommends that victims do not pay.

FBI article about ransomware

Remember the scam with "Microsoft" calling people telling you your computer is infected.

They called me, more than once. I had fun with it. I knew MS wouldn't be calling me to let me know I had a virus but I played along. Of course it was an eastern Indian that I could barely understand so I kept asking him to repeat what he said. Then I would act surprised and horrified. I thanked him over and over for calling to save my computer! I'd pretend to go get my cc so I could pay for their services and make them hold for several minutes. I would act computer illiterate and have to be told over and over again what to do and type. I'd ask "where is the "any" key?" :) I'd pretend to get another call and ask him to hold. Finally after string them along for 20 mins or longer, I'd say something like, "Gotcha you low life scum!"

Some examples here of how paying the ransom was the most expedient way to restore computers....not that I'm suggesting Oakley should have done that.

But, computer systems restored for large sums

My computer was infected with ransonware earlier this year and it also got my back up. I lost everything. I found out too late that if I had PAID, I would have gotten somethings back. And yes, my back up is not hooked up now except when backing up, it was all, and still is if I think to much about what I lost, very depressing.

Please if any experiences these types of things or other hacked symptoms try going to a wonderful forum that will help you to clean your computer free . These are pros that volunteer their time and service . I have been a member of the forum for many years and have referred many people from GW there where they got free help. Corrine is a wonderful lady that is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and supportive , she will do everything she and the group there can to help you .

http://www.landzdown.com

You will have to register just like here and they will email you an acceptance .

https://www.winpatrol.com/winantiransom/

Wonderful product by the makers of the awesome Winpatrol program . And there is a sale on now . These are very legitimate programs . Landzdown forum has a special support forum for these programs .

Okay, there's a couple of things going on here. It seems that if you are attacked by ransomware, and don't have a back up it may be necessary to pay to get your data back. I'm not saying that's okay, but it sounds like that's just the way it is. Whether or not someone will pay would depend on how important it is to get that data back.

I definitely wouldn't consider my computer "fixed" after paying the ransom. I would consider it the cost of getting my data back, and nothing more. At this point, it would be necessary to restore the factory settings on the computer. I would probably have this done by a qualified technician.

And obviously, one must be very diligent when opening emails and attachments, and if you have critical files, always back them up on an external hard drive or cloud service.

Terriks, paying ransom doesn't have a high success rate for returned data, but it usually gets the victim on a list of easy targets.

And be sure to disconnect your external drives that have backup data from your computer except during backs. A full-scale ramsomware attack will encrypt the data on all storage devices attached to the computer.

It's scary that so many are believing that if you pay, you get your data back. It's no wonder there are so many scams going on because people are just easy prey. I guess some people just have to learn the hard way.

I was told paying does work , because they want you to keep paying. They give you some keys but not all so you will continue to pay. Many businesses have paid large amounts to get their data back.