The BotNet distributing the original Cryptolocker was taken down (I’ve mentioned this malware multiple times), and many people were able to get their data back – but there are still many malicious clones of this supremely evil malware floating around out there.
Per this article (in Norwegian, but you can use Google Translate to get a good gist of its meaning in English), if your files have been encrypted, you’re pretty well screwed. Your only options are to pay the ransom (which does not guarantee that you will get a decryption key) or bring your files back from a non-connected, external backup – this because the encrypting malware can affect cloud storage as well either directly or indirectly.
To protect yourself from this sort of data horror:
- Back up your files to an unconnected external drive regularly
- Never open email attachments from unknown people, no matter how legitimate they may look
Hell is going to be a busy place. Be careful out there.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
