Ransomeware?

So I finally got a ransomeware email threatening me if I don't pay $600.00. How do you get rid of this crap?

Bret,
More recent ransomeware has not been as robust as previous versions. Try this first. I assume you have a PC, not a mac.

Right mouse click on the task bar at the bottom of your screen.
Tag "task manager" A screen will show up with your active programs.
Right mouse click your browser (explorer, firefox or whatever you use) and shut it down.
If you get a message asking if you want to restore the last browsing session, answer no.

Restart your browser and see if this fixes it.

If not, it gets much more complicated.

K

They haven't done anything yet, I'm just wondering how you put a stop to things like that, shut it down ahead of time. I'm pretty illiterate in computers.

Sounds like it's the first time. Just delete it, if it continues then follow the directions that someone else gave you.
Chances are it won't happen again from the same source. Otherwise, follow the directions someone else gave you, I don't like
the "it gets complicated" note ..... ha!!! Deleting is easy, I think it's harmless sitting in your inbox unopened.

Yeah, there's the problem. It looked like it was from my wife, so I opened it. What now? Are these real?

do what K said, but whatever you do never call there number or respond in any way I did the task manager then went to settings and cleared browsing data

How did you get buy with only $600.00. The last one I got they wanted $1000.00. Down from the $5000.00 they wanted last year. Just
ignore them. Total scam. They informed me if I didn't pay. They would send pictures to my wife. Since she died in 2004. I don't think
she really cares.

I think it's the way Windows X and its built-in malware handler work with ransomeware.
Every once in a while there's a patch where I get ransomeware once or twice a day for a few days.
Mine come up while I'm looking at links from trusted sites, the picture and ad-heavy clickbait sites.
Windows X doesn't let the malware lock the screen like previous versions did, and the malware does
not survive closing the browser like it did in older Windows versions.

(quoted from post at 13:25:22 02/08/19) I think it's the way Windows X and its built-in malware handler work with ransomeware.
Every once in a while there's a patch where I get ransomeware once or twice a day for a few days.
Mine come up while I'm looking at links from trusted sites, the picture and ad-heavy clickbait sites.
Windows X doesn't let the malware lock the screen like previous versions did, and the malware does
not survive closing the browser like it did in older Windows versions.

Click to expand...

May be. I hate Win 10. I want to got to Linux, but that takes more know how than I have. It is odd though that a month after I uninstall Malwarebytes I get this email to which the recommended cure is Malwarebytes! The company trying to get me to pay? I also got a notice from my CC comp saying my asst was frozen. Sent that email to their fraud people as my acct is fine. Irritating.

Just in case, buy a external hard drive and copy all you files you do not want to lose to the external drive. once you have done that then be sure to
unplug the drive from the computer and keep in a safe place. some of the ransomeware will encrypt your files and you have no access without paying the
fee. I had a friend who this happen to. he had everything backed up on the external drive but it was still connected to the computer so the files there
were also encrypted. You need everything backed up anyway in case something happens to your computer.

Frank

I got the same thing I had to start over. Reload everything, and lose everything you have stored, or pay the money. That's what I had to do. Stan

What files? I mean, I have my bookmarks, Quicken (backed up to their cloud thing)and some manuals downloaded but other than that there isn't much there. I tried an external HD once as my PC's were dying about every 18 months. The HD lasted about 2 years and it died! Can't win.

Tell them to hand deliver them.

a lost of bookmarks is helpful(from experience I know this). you downloaded manuals unless you want to redownload them. anything YOU think might be
important to you. an pictures, etc. also a flash drive will work but they can go bad also. or a data dvd. A dvd will hold about 4 gigs of data, flash
drives come in bigger sizes. but anything can go bad.

Not worth it. Then I would have to feed them. Mom always said if you invite some one to your house. You must feed them.

I never answer these idiots. But they are good for a laugh.

Throwing away cookies is a good start.

Cookies are little tiny files of info different web sites put on your computer. They can store log in names and where you have been, and are often very helpful.

They can be used to track you, and advertisers love to use them to target ads to you.

And some of this virus/ rabsomware stuff can be stored in them and while not really infecting your machine, can be made to appear to be doing so.

Paul

I got a ransomeware infected computer 3 years ago. It locked all my pictures and data files. They wanted $600 and it was going to double every 3-4 days. I said F them! My computer guy put a new clean hard drive in my computer (it was 6+ years old and he was going to keep trying to get my pictures off of it; unsuccessfully). I did not back-up pics and data very good so I had to re-enter all my records for 2016and reload all the programs. I bought another computer to keep off line to keep my records, data, and pictures safe. I use the older computer to do online stuff and back-up data more often, but still not as much as I should. Even if you pay there is no guarantee they will release your data and pictures. If I could visit with the ransomware idiot or the person that stole my identity on a credit card a few years before, it would not be a pleasant meeting for them.

Brett

Have a look at

"Have MS Windows, Want Linux? A 5 minute Docker solution"

https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/have-ms-windows-want-linux-a-5-minute-docker-solution/https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/have-ms-windows-want-linux-a-5-minute-docker-solution/

I never got one that actually locked me up. I'll get the one that says it's the FBI and what I'm doing is illegal. It even accesses my camera and shows a live picture of me. If I can't close it I do a forced shutdown and reboot and it's gone.

If it isn't locked i think they are trying to fool you. I was called up one time telling me i had a compuker problem. I said oh really. They wanted to get access to Microsoft windows that i did not have. I run Linux. So i played with them for a while and then they hung up.

(quoted from post at 17:42:29 02/08/19) Brett

Have a look at

"Have MS Windows, Want Linux? A 5 minute Docker solution"

https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/have-ms-windows-want-linux-a-5-minute-docker-solution/https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/have-ms-windows-want-linux-a-5-minute-docker-solution/

Click to expand...

Thanks Ian, but I don't have a clue what he's talking about.

My church's primary PC was infected with a ransomware a few months ago. The crook left an email and demanded something like $10,000 in bitcoins. All of the data files on the pc were encrypted. I emailed and said we're a small church and no way we could pay that. At the same time I took the pc to a local PC shop who had experience with this ... they began running a scan on the hard drive to see if they could salvage any of the data files. The crook emailed back that the ransom was now $5,000, was their final offer and how soon could we pay. I delayed my response while the PC scan was in progress and while I assessed the status of the backup's of our Quickbooks data file and our Servant Keeper data file. Both of these were critical apps on the PC and held more than a decade of church data each. After a few days, I determined the backup data files were reasomably current and usable. Also, after several days of scanning the pc's hard drive, the conclusion was that no data was recoverable. So, we decided to tell the crook to take a hike. We bought a new laptop pc (the infected pc was old and used Windows 7) and downloaded and reinstalled QuickBooks, Servant Keeper and their data files. So after about ten days we were back into operation with minimal data loss. The new pc is using the Windows Defender and the Malwarebytes combo to head this off in the future. We also set up the iDrive automatic data file backup app to the 'cloud' to ensure all data files are 100% backed up. We never did know how we 'caught' the ransomware ... likely via an email or a visit to a web site. I've learned that the ransomware virus's these days are more likely to encrypt the data files as we experienced. So be careful .. its dangerous out there ....

My Mac has an AP Cleaner AP and all you have to do is go to your Finder where all your Aps are located and look for the one that looks out of place.....mine
had an olive drab square box (in 3 dimensions) with a white star on it. Grab it, pull it over to the Ap cleaner logo and turn it loose....bingo gone. Now my Ap
cleaner icon in on my Dock at the bottom of the screen and it it happens again, the icon will also appear there and I'll do the drag and dump.

When they call back tell them there is nothing wrong with your computer.....then take it to a competent shop and be done with it.

I got mine on a site where a real distorted copy of Adobe Acrobat appeared and said I had to select the icon to install it to read the chart I wanted to
read....should have known it was a hoax as to the poor copy of the box.....besides I later learned that Macs don't need or use Adobe....they have their own
software internally that does that function for you.