How do you protect files and folders against Ransomware?

Answer 1

First of all, go to Task Manager and end tasks related to the encrypting procedure; make sure the computer is disconnected from the internet. After that, write down the code that the swindlers want you to send by email. In this case you don't need to record it on your PC in a text file because it can be encrypted by the virus.

Your next step is to try deleting the encrypting virus with some specialized software. You can try several ones one by one, but if your PC has got an antivirus installed, your installation of another one may result in conflicts and incorrect work of the computer.

As you do it, wait for a decryption program to be published by leading antivirus developers. In addition, you can send an encrypted file and the code to an antivirus developer website. If you have an original version of the encrypted file, it is recommended to send it too. It may help the specialists decrypt the file quicker.

Also, there are applications provided on a fee-paying basis, which can eliminate almost al types of ransomware, with additional protection for local and network drives.

However, these utilities cannot decrypt files - they can only stop the virus from encrypting them. Anyone would like to find such functions in antivirus software, but now a user has to keep a whole band of programs to feel protected: an antivirus, an antimalware utility, and now - a specialized utility to defend the PC against such as Anti-ransomware and Anti-exploit.

There is an article on this topic: hetmanrecovery.com/recovery_news/what-should-i-do-if-files-are-encrypted.htm

Answer 2

In my experience, I have found that storing data on an external hard drive (or, if you must, a thumb drive) is a great solution, especially if the drive is not attached until it is needed.

The way that most ransomware infections work is that they interfere with access of the primary drive (the C: drive) of the computer. So, putting your data on the external hard drive keeps is safe and sound. Also, if all your data is on the external hard drive, then you also have the option of just reformatting your hard drive and reinstalling your applications so as to get rid of the ransomware instead of fighting to remove it.

Of course, having said all that, there are some ransomware infections that will seek out and infect an external hard drive, so this is why it is best not to have said external hard drive attached to the machine until it is needed. The reason being that the chances of the hard drive being affected by the ransomware are lessened since there is the good probability that you will not have it attached when the ransomware invades your system.

Now, you might wonder why I don't really like thumb drives as evidenced by my comment at the start of this answer. The reason is that they are much more temperamental and prone to data loss than a traditional external hard drive. They are also often easier to infect, not to mention the fact that they are also faster to infect since they are effectively working at closer to RAM speed than hard drive speed. This means that even if you quickly disconnect the thumb drive when you realize that you are getting infected, the chances are that you will not be quick enough to avoid the damage. With an external hard drive, the infection may not yet have gotten a chance to take hold before you pull the cable, cut the power, or otherwise remove it from the ransomware's focus.

Of course, to avoid all this, having a competent and professional antivirus software on your computer is the first step. My current recommendation is Norton Security. In my experience, Norton Security (and its predecessor, Norton Antivirus) is able to protect against such an infection when the software is configured correctly. Further, if you have a machine that is already infected, Norton Security can easily remove it when the infected hard drive is removed from the computer and attached to another with NS installed and scanned. I have not had such success with other competing products (and something I do each year is evaluate various products to see whether something comes along to be better than the Norton offerings as I wish to provide my clients the best protection available).