CryptoLocker, CryptoWall and other crypto-/ransom-ware has been in the news again (or still?). This kind of malware attack was first identified in 2013. Rather than trying to steal information, the malware encrypts your files. But you don't have the key to decrypt. The attacker offers, through a pop-up message, to "sell" you the "service" to unlock your files. To make things worse, the attacker threatens to delete the keys after a set amount of time, typically 72 hours, which could prevent you from recovering the files.
These ransom-ware viruses are usually sent to your computer as an email attachment. The attachment can be an office file, pdf, zip file or other file. The malware can also come from an infected web link.
When your computer is infected, the virus operates quietly in the background, encrypting files. You usually won't know there's a problem until the files are encrypted, and then you're in trouble.
So if you are infected and encrypted... then what? Well, there's bad news, good news, more bad news and some more potentially good news!
