I’m sure many of you have heard about this particularly nasty virus that is taking the IT world by storm.  The Cryptolocker virus usually comes to your computer as an email attachment but other methods of installation have also been reported.  Once installed the virus encrypts your documents on not only your local hard drive but on any attached hard drives as well.  This means that your external hard drive could be encrypted as well.  The best thing to do is to backup your data and then remove your external hard drive.  Once your files are encrypted you have several choices, either pay the ransom and hope it decrypts your files properly, forget about having access to your files forever, or attempt to restore your files from a shadow copy or recent backup.  Without the proper key nothing is going to break that encryption code and unfortunately the virus only gives you so many hours to pay up or lose your files. 

 So that was the bad news about this particularly nasty virus, now for the good news.  You can prevent this virus from infecting your system in the first place.  Don’t rely on your antivirus program from saving the day; in most cases it won’t even pick up on this virus.  There is another way to save your system and that’s buy using this particular program called Cryptoprevent found here. Follow the directions and run the program and you will be protected from this type of virus.  The other thing you can do is be careful of your email attachments and don’t open anything you’re not familiar with.  As with any virus as long as you are aware of these viruses and take certain precautions you should be ok. 

 If at any time you are unsure of how to use the Cryptoprevent software and would prefer a professional to protect your system, you can set up an appointment with me.  You can contact me through my website at www.computeremporium.ca or email me at scott@computeremporium.ca or call me and set up an appointment at 519-802-2721.