Free anti-ransomware utility, what would you recommend?

I can say I have successfully tested it. For some reason my words are being redacted so I'll use a word that sounds similar, My (rhymes with money) pot lab computer was attacked just day before yesterday, and it was cut off by these MMC settings before it even had a chance to take over the system. I simply ran CCleaner and ended the process using task manager, and that was the end of that for that crook. As long as it is being used for a personal computer Cryptoprevent is free.

I will say that I was disappointment that the new Win7 Parental Controls application white list did not seem to be the savior of the day, this time.

The free version of 10
I power on a few minutes before the backup is scheduled

How do I do an image backup? Once I have one, if disaster strikes my computer, how do I use the image backup to help recover?
System: My Dell Inspiron 660S computer runs Windows 10 Home Edition, Version 1607, OS Build 14393.1066, Product ID 00326-10000-00000-AA009, Processor Intel Pentium G630 G630 @2.7 GHz, Installed RAM 4.00 GB, System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor.
(I also have a spare Lenovo laptop computer which I seldom use.)

John,

You can check cnet's download.com website for backup software. To do complete restores after a disaster, search for software that does "bare metal" restores. Any backup program that offers this feature will give you a way to create a bootable rescue media (CD or USB stick) which you would use to boot your computer (if Windows no longer works) and restore the backup.

Here's why. It's still happening and too much work to clean up after.

Read https://www.howtogeek.com/198622/heres-what-happens-when-you-install-the-top-10-download.com-apps/

First, the 2-year old article you referenced starts with an "Update" that clarifies that download.com has cleaned up their act.

That being said their installer still offers unneeded software that you should deselect. That doesn't diminish the value of their comprehensive list of titles.

In my previous reply to R. Proffitt, I pointed out that the 2-year-old article referenced in his message had posted an "Update" indicating "download.com" had cleaned up their practices. What I hadn't noticed at the time is that the same article has a "Related Article" highlighting websites that offer downloads *WITHOUT* the associated crapware.

And guess what... one of the "good" sites that doesn't force crapware is ..... download.com.

https://www.howtogeek.com/254042/the-freeware-download-sites-that-dont-force-crapware-on-you/

Thanks for your info..i don't know why other people don't speak out about this..

that is hosted by CNET which is a sister site. I don't chase people away from it, I just warn them to be careful what is checked and what is not when installing whatever jewel they get from there. CNET's user reviews are too valuable to ignore this site and its services. And to show you I am not a shill for CNET, I actually recommend majorgeeks.com above the rest for avoiding potentially unwanted programs.

That everyone I know never goes back. It's a shame too since at one time it was safe.

They sold out.

For CBS it is the bottom line that is all that matters. I still like the user reviews here - they can be very valuable for my clients when looking for something new.

I use everything I can get my hands on from sites including ...

Download.com
MajorGeeks
BleepingComputer

and when newer versions of utilities become too bloated, I seek out older versions on sites like filehorse.com and oldversion.com

The first is still bundling extras.

Ever look at Ninite.com?

Never had a problem using that site.
Dafydd.
I meant Ninite.

Mod edit.

OlderGeeks.com .......no ads, no crapware, no b.s.

JEfromCanada,
Thank you!

Win 10
Right click home button, select Control Panel (Make sure View By setting is large icons - Top right of screen), Open File History, Click System Image Backup - Bottom Left Corner. Put in a DVD (You may need many DVD's depending on the Image Size) or plug in a USB HD. Then click Create a system image option. Follow the steps & this makes a complete System Image being OS Programs & Personal Data. Also make a System Repair Disk (DVD). If you don't have a DVD Drive then you can make a USB recovery Drive. This link will show you how.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UzphLuk5II

System images are OK - but how do you check that an image created will work. Twice I have created an image, and with the programme that created the image checked that it is OK. But when disaster struck (windows 10 ceasing to function), when I tried the system imagesm I got a message that the file/image was corrupt! Twice months apart with different images!

Hi,

As soon as I make the system image I re image my computer putting in a spare hard drive. I then know whether the new image will take or not. Problems with System Images usually come when malware is present before making the image so scan and remove malware before making a System Image. Also run Windows 10 file checker to find and repair damaged system files. This link has more info.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/instantanswers/bd832f07-1420-0c14-d2a5-0a5a24ba40be/using-system-file-checker-in-windows-10

To do a complete image of my computer (one complete hard disk drive or more at a time) I've used Acronis True Image. It works very well (but takes hours to complete is you have hundreds of GB on your computer).
Also, I have used several times an image I had created to restore my complete computer system (including operating system, everything) after wiping clean and reformatting my computer (hard disk drive(s)), and it works super well - and it's very quick. Acronis True Image allows you to make images and to restore an image onto a reformatted hard drive.

Your approach is fine for retrieving things that don't change very often, but my experience is that the ones that change most frequently (like my financial data) are the most vital, and I'd have a hard time reconstructing my finances for the last week.
So every night I do an incremental backup of my data to the cloud. This backup contains the last several copies of my files.
So here's my nightmare scenario: ransomware rears its ugly head and scrambles my entire system, and my backup runs subsequently and copies the scrambled versions of my files to the cloud. When I realize my problem, I reconstruct my system from the image backup, use the weekly backup to restore my static data, then go to the cloud and download the next-to-latest version of my more recently updated data files. Done.
So far my nightmare hasn't happened, and I hope it never does. But I sleep well knowing that even if the most recent backup in the cloud is scrambled, there's a previous version there for me to retrieve.

As far as protecting against remote control encryption - however they may still be hiding the original attack package, and will need to be scanned for that, before recovery is complete. I can't name who they are, but a simple web search will illuminate the ones that do. Apparently most of them are successful at that because they also backup you files, and it is just a matter of finding the undamaged backups I assume.

To the people who suggest that you stay off the internet, Grow Up! In this day & age how many people can & will stay off the internet, i just bought a Nikon KeyMission 360 camera, to program the settings you must go onto the internet & download an app - this is the way of the future whether you like it or not.

In response "Here's what I do" by jdonalds, I have an external HD set to do periodic updates, but my main backup is an online service "Carbonite" quite inexpensive & constantly updating changes to my files. It has saved me a couple of times when I have had my laptop out for a check up & service, it came back with a chunk of my music & photos missing - easily replaced from Carbonite.

Carbonite was the first service I saw claims to being impervious to ransomware like Cryptolocker, I've never tested any of them, but there is plenty of witness to these features as being successful.

Advertising isn't allowed, so I won't mention the software I use for versioned backups (and I stated I do incremental daily backups). To date (touch wood), the software I use for backups is not one that is targeted by ransomware, so my NAS-hosted backups are probably safe from encryption.

Nop it does not: You assume that hospital, enterprises and schools did not think about your idea and do not have backups? They do and still have been targeted and successfully attacked with their backups encrypted too. As long as some soft has access to a backup disk, the ransomware has the same access: if it finds an attack vector a way to access the disk it is gone (networked or locally attached storage).

I doubt if any program would be 100% effective against ransomware.