Ransomware - What's different about it?

The primary difference between ransomware and other types of malware is that ransomware holds personal files hostage with encryption.
Before ransomware, all effective viruses would hold your OS (operating system) hostage, but your personal files would typically not be impacted.
The sad truth is that the ransomware itself can be removed with relative ease, but encrypted files are not easy to recover. You may have heard of 'bricking' your phone, well encryption essentially bricks your files.

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The primary defense against all forms of malware is updates. Updating Windows, browsers, browser plug-ins, adobe acrobat, and your anti-virus greatly minimizes risk.
Use FileHippo's update checker to see if you have programs that are out of date. A system that is out of date with anti-virus is much more vulnerable than a system that is up to date without anti-virus. Counter-intuitive, but true.

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Can you get your files back after a ransomware attack? You probably cannot get the primary, most current versions of your files back. But, if Windows was running shadow copy or if you have a backup drive connected to your computer (and you turned off your computer soon enough), at least some of your files may be recoverable.
Call us if you need help with recovering from Ransomware, whether it is Cryptolocker or Wannacry, we can help you.