29 Apr

Cryptolocker Virus is becoming a BIG normal problem
  • Posted on April 29, 2016
  • By davidshay
  • Views: 0

Cryptolocker


Things are getting crazy out there people! We are getting calls more and more from various business’s with this major cryptolocker problem and it’s only getting worse. It is soooo easy to make money doing this and everyone is jumping on the crypto train. All they need is to get you to open an infected file and they’ve got you. Here is how it’s grown over the past few years…

2014: I delt with 1 crypto call

2015: I delt with 6 crypto calls

2016/april 29th: So far… I’ve delt with 5 crypto calls, and 2 this past week!


The big question is:

Q: How do we prevent this?

A: The best method of prevention is awareness. If you can educate yourself and your staff on what to look for and what NOT to open, then you have a better chance of preventing this cryptolocker virus problem. The reality however is that you can get an infected .pdf from someone you know and trust, and when you download and open that file it could be infected.

So the next questions is:

Q: How do we protect ourselves from this

A: The #1 thing you can do is have not only a solid/tested backup, but a backup that is easily accessable and can recover quickly. If you have a backup that will take forever to download off the internet, sure your information is safe… but how long will it take to download it? How long will your company be losing money before you can get the data you need to start working again?

Finally then…

Q: What do you suggest?

A: I suggest having 2 different backup systems in place. One onsite and one off-site. Here is the criteria for a solid backup…

  1. It must work daily with no human interaction required
  2. It must create a duplicate copy to a 100% seperate storage device (i.e. external hard drive, backup server, etc…)
  3. It must create a historical set of copies that go back at least 30 days. That way if you don’t catch the issue right away, you can go back far enough to recover the lost data.
  4. You MUST know how to test, access, and restore your backup. What’s the point in having one if you A) don’t know if it’s even working, and B) don’t know how to access it.



At the end of the day, there is a good chance that you will get hit with the cryptolocker virus. Please don’t just assume that it will never happen to you… because when/if it does, if you don’t have a solid set of backup systems in place, you will be screwed.

There are other methods to recovering your data though, but it trying to explain it in a short blog post wouldn’t be very affective. If you are reading this because you are trying to solve your crypto problem, give us a call right away so we can talk to you further about your options for recovery. (951) 742-8020

If you want more information on how to further protect yourself, or on getting a better backup system, feel free to give us a call or comment below. We are happy to help. Thanks for reading.