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Question

New virus has hijacked my computer- encrypted all my files

Dec 21, 2014 12:03AM PST

Buy Back Code with this message:
I NEED HELP BAD... My office computer got a virus and it encrypted all my files. I cannot even get into my business system and i am basically shut down. The heading said in my files. BUY BACK CODE when i clicked on it this is what it said.... I have my computer guy working on it and he cannot get this off and the virus shut of my system restore. This is a serious virus. ANY computer geniuses out there ever seen this. here is the message:
Hi, your ID = DKV693259

All important files were encoded with RSA-1024 encryption algorithm.
There is the only way to restore them - purchase the unique unlock code.

Warning! Any attempt to recovering files without our "Special program" will cause data damage or complete data loss.
As we receive your payment, we will send special program and your unique code to unlock your system.

Guarantee: You can send one of the encrypted file by email and we decode it for free as proof of our abilities.

No sense to contact the police. Your payment must be made to the e-wallet. It's impossible to trace.
Don`t waste your and our time.

So, if you are ready to pay for recovering your files, please reply this email Sin.Jun@tom.com

Then we will send payment instructions.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
(NT) Restore from backups?
Dec 21, 2014 12:15AM PST
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Answer
Just for information ...
Dec 21, 2014 12:20AM PST
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We only lose what we don't backup.
Dec 21, 2014 12:26AM PST

While I don't like it, some folk just pay up and get the files back. We have many examples where folk and even Police pay the ransom.

My wonder is why/how rushmoon let this happen. It's been no secret that "We only lose what we don't backup."
Bob

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Too true...
Dec 21, 2014 1:03AM PST

I was just discussing backups with my friends in the pub. Out of a group of eight I was the only one with a backup. But it keeps the counters ticking over.
Dafydd.

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You do have to wonder.
Dec 21, 2014 1:29AM PST

You suppose folks who run a business without backup have spare tires, fire and casualty insurance, burglar alarms, fire extinguishers and the like? It's much more likely that they'll have one computer problem or another, but yet some don't seem to think about that. Even if you never have a virus or get hacked, you can get bad sectors, hard drives can fail, you can install bad software, get a problem causing update, you can have power outages and other system crashes during file updates, etc.
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I'd sure love to see a survey of detailed questions about who runs a business without backups, what their education is, how big their business is, etc. I suppose it could be OK for some home users who don't have any important data on their computers, but it would seem that in that case you'd wonder why they have a computer in the first place.