How does a computer get infected with the cryptolocker virus?<\/span><\/h2>\nUnknown websites should always be avoided as they are the most likely means of distributing the virus. Even safe trustworthy websites can be a risk, as they may have been hacked and could infect your PC using specialist exploit kits.<\/p>\n
Spam email with attachments, or even links back to the malicious websites is another way of distributing the virus. Often, the email will appear to be from a legitimate source such as FedEx, or DHL. In the email, they may say they tried to deliver a parcel only to find that you weren’t home. It may display a message such as ‘click here to arrange a re-delivery’ and once the link has been clicked, or an attachment has been opened the Cryptolocker virus is initiated.<\/p>\n
Downloads that may appear to be genuine, for example, you may think you’re simply downloading and installing an update for software, when in reality, you’re infecting your PC.<\/p>\n
Should you pay these fees? – In a word, NO. The people behind this form of encryption are criminals, and paying them will only encourage them to continue their operation and target vulnerable people. It’s also very doubtful that they will send the digital key required to unlock the files.<\/p>\n
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How do I remove the Cryptolocker Virus?<\/h2>\n
Due to the larger number of variants of this virus it can prove difficult to clean and if the option is available it is best to completely wipe your Windows computer, reinstall and restore files before the infection happened.<\/p>\n
Wiping and restarting isn’t always practical, especially for businesses, in which case you need to do the following.<\/p>\n
1<\/strong><\/span> – Find out exactly what variant of the virus you have. This can usually be determined running an antivirus scan which will display the variant if know. If you’re lucky the antivirus software you’re using might actually be able to remove the virus.If the virus scanner returns a generic name then you might need to run a virus scan from a different developer.<\/p>\n2<\/strong><\/span> – Once you know the virus variant do a google search for something like ‘Remove <virus variant name>’ or ‘clean <virus variant name>’<\/p>\n3a<\/strong><\/span> – Automatic removal – Depending on the variant you might find a particular antivirus program or removal tool that can automatically remove the virus. Run the tool or scan multiple times until the computer is clean.<\/p>\n3b<\/strong><\/span> – Manual removal – If there isn’t an automated method there is often a manual process. Manual process can be very technical and require you to access critical Window’s system files which have the potential to cause more problems.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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How do i decrypt infected files?<\/h2>\n
Unfortunately there is currently no way of decrypting the files once infected.<\/p>\n
Below are some possible options for file recovery<\/p>\n
Important<\/strong> – Before recovering files make sure you understand how the infection occurred in the first place and you have taken action to prevent it happening again.<\/p>\n