Under this class, I give guidance on how to eliminate and decode ransomware.

Ransomware is a type of software which encrypts files on the victim’s computer and demands payment in cryptocurrency. However, there is no guarantee that the attacker will give you the decryption key after receiving the ransom.

These cyber attacks can target individuals, businesses or large organizations resulting in serious damages. The operational disruption caused by file loss leads to financial setbacks; reputational damage as well as potential legal consequences for an enterprise affected by such an incident are enormous.

Different methods are used for distributing ransomware including email attachments; infected downloads or exploit kits landing page served through malvertising campaigns among others.

Once inside a system it uses strong encryption algorithms to lock files thereby making them inaccessible until decrypted using a unique key issued upon payment confirmation – this note also provides instructions on how much should be paid as well where payments should be made.

To prevent infection one must follow good security practices like updating systems with patches from reliable sources; employing reputable anti-malware solutions; regularly backing up important data onto offline storage media and being wary of suspicious email attachments or links sent via unknown senders which could contain malicious code designed to exploit vulnerabilities in software used by recipients’ machines.

Handling such an incident once detected becomes complex because you do not know what other damage may have been done beyond file encryption.

Normally, law enforcement agencies together with cybersecurity experts discourage victims from paying ransoms due to two reasons – first; there is no guarantee that once paid attackers would honor their side of bargain secondly; it only encourages them further if they realize that people are willing pay whatever asked so long as all files get decrypted back but still criminals may not keep promise hence need professional advice either about options available for recovery after attack has been mitigated against or even reporting case relevant authorities depending on severity levels involved.