When backing up files, be sure to back up your personal files to a location where they can’t be written to or erased. RELATED: What's the Best Way to Back Up My Computer? If all your copies of your files are on your computer, malware that infects your computer could encrypt them all and restrict access - or even delete them entirely. You should regularly back up files to an external hard drive or a remote file storage server. This type of malware is another good example of why backups are essential. On the other hand, businesses that lose their only copy of business-critical data may be tempted to take the risk - and it’s hard to blame them. It’s not a good idea to pay up when you’re extorted by criminals. You can never be sure that the criminals will keep their end of the deal, of course.

CryptoLocker helpfully walks you through choosing a payment method and, after paying, the criminals seem to actually give you a key that you can use to restore your files. If you pay them $300, they’ll hand you the encryption key and you can recover your files. CryptoLocker then displays a message informing you that your files have been locked with encryption and that you have just a few days to pay up. One of the most well-known examples, CryptoLocker, starts encrypting your personal files as soon as it gains access to your system, preventing access to the files without knowing the encryption key. Unfortunately, Ransomware is becoming more and more sophisticated.

This type of malware could be bypassed via malware removal tools or just by reinstalling Windows. It may hook deep into your system, displaying a message saying that it will only go away when you pay money to the ransomware’s creators. In other situations, ransomware may be more up-front. It ma y function as “scareware,” displaying a pop-up that says something like “Your computer is infected, purchase this product to fix the infection” or “Your computer has been used to download illegal files, pay a fine to continue using your computer.”

Google drive stream and cryptolocker