Windows is a very useful and easy to use the operating system. On the other hand, the same OS is very sensitive regarding security. Although, Windows comes with built-in antivirus, yet, you should always use a third party security shield to protect your computer. There were several instances when users failed to protect their PC. Since 2015, a new term has come out. That is Ransomware. However, today you are going to learn what to do if Ransomware attacks on your Windows computer so that you can protect your data from being stolen. Before getting into that, you should know everything about this new term called Ransomware.

What is Ransomware?

According to Wikipedia,

Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to the infected computer system in some way, and demands that the user pay a ransom to the malware operators to remove the restriction.

Although, this is not confirmed by any firm, yet, it seems as it demands money to leave your free, it is called Ransomware. Anyway, as you have read, Ransomware is a kind of malware, which infects your computer and mainly locks down particular part or the whole computer and then demand a ransom to get over it. There are different types of Ransomware, but they work in a quite similar way. For example, you can find some names Petya, Locky, Reveton, Cryptolocker, etc. on the internet. All of them are popular Ransomware, and they often infect PC whenever the attacker is in need of.

How does Ransomware attack PC?

Ransomware can come from various sources. Although latest security builds often try to block them, most of the anti-viruses are not enough to protect your data from Ransomware as this is kind of different malware. Anyway, Ransomware can come from a hacked website, which is currently used by the attacker to spread malware. Sometimes, you open a website and find some random advertisements. You click on them and boom. Your computer is now attacked by Ransomware.

Or, suppose, you have got an email from a random source. You can find an attachment. You have opened it, and nothing is found in the attachment. Actually, that attachment has been used to attack your computer data using Ransomware.

Or, suppose, you have downloaded a software and installed it on your computer. Therefore, you are able to access certain parts of your computer. It is showing some advertisements and asking you for money. That only implies you are in danger.

There are more other ways to get attacked by Ransomware. Every other day, attackers are getting random method to attack normal computer users.

How does Ransomware work?

Like said before, Ransomware demands money. But, how? Actually, Ransomware works just like the following way,

At first, attacker attacks on your computer and plant Ransomware to block particular part of your network. It can block drive, data or function.

Then, you try to open that file or folder or drive. Meanwhile, you will get popup ad or a simple popup window, which will ask you to pay money to someone.

If you spend the money, there is a chance to get a random key that will unlock the Ransomware and let you access your locked data. As said, there is a chance. There is no guarantee whether the attacker will be trustable or not. Therefore, your money will be gone.

It can ask you to pay by BitCoins or by particular currency. So, this is how Ransomware works.

There are several methods to know whether you are attacked by any Ransomware or not. You can make use of software that detects Ransomware infections, or if you don’t, you will come to know using this method. Whenever you are getting data locked error even when you haven’t locked down anything and a popup that is asking for money, you should know that you are already infected with Ransomware. You may or may not be able to access certain functions, files or even drive. As said before, this is how Ransomware attacks on the computer.

What to do if Ransomware Attacks on your Windows Computer?

In simple words, there are mainly two different ways to get over any Ransomware. First, you can follow the attacker and pay the money, which is obviously not recommended as there is no guarantee whether the victim will get the proper solution from the attacker. Second, you can follow the following things to get rid of Ransomware from your Windows computer.

As this is an emerging type of malware, you should do something even before you are infected by any Ransomware. Therefore, here are some random solutions, what help you to remove Ransomware from your computer.

• You should always backup your computer offline. No matter how big your hard drive is, you should definitely use an offline method to backup all the data. As Ransomware works over the internet, you will not get any help to get rid of Ransomware from the web after getting infected by it.
• Create a system restore point frequently. Whenever you think that you have been attacked by Ransomware, you can use your system restore point to go back to the past of your computer. It will certainly help you to ditch Ransomware from Windows computer.
• Always, update your Windows computer. Microsoft always takes care of security and they often launch security patch. You should definitely install those updates on your existing Windows installation.
• Always update your anti-virus’ database. Although, not all the anti-virus can block Ransomware, some of them are able to do so. Therefore, this is always a good practice to update your anti-virus so that it can use the latest technology to prevent Ransomware from attacking your data.
• Always make a full scan. If you do Quick Scan with anti-virus, it won’t check all the files. Therefore, any file can be skipped, and you cannot find the Ransomware.
• If your computer belongs to any network, the very first thing you should is to remove the PC from that network. Otherwise, another computer may be attacked by the same.
• You can use different tools like Kaspersky Windows Unblocker and other ransomware decryptor tools to get rid of Ransomware from Windows computer.

This is always not recommended to go with the attacker and pay the ransom to unblock your computer. But, if this is very much serious, you can follow that only method.