Do Not Restart Your PC If You Get Hit By Ransomware, and Here’s Why

Do Not Restart Your PC If You Get Hit By Ransomware, and Here’s Why

There are plenty of issues for PC where users are generally advised to try restarting to see if the problem persists. While it’s normally a good thing to try, it’s not advisable when it comes to ransomware. In fact, it can make things much worse.

A recent study from Stanford University found that out of 1,180 adults, 30% of them restart their PC after being infected by ransomware. This is particularly problematic as new ransomware and malware can overwrite encryption keys during a reboot. It is said that rebooting in safe mode or putting the computer the sleep is the better solution.

In an interview with ZDNet, Bill Siegel, Co-Founder & CEO of Coveware, talks about how dangerous new forms of malware are.

Generally, the [ransomware] executable that actually encrypts your data is designed to crawl through attached, mapped and mounted drives to a given machine. Sometimes it trips, or is blocked by a permission issue and will stop encrypting.

Bill Siegel, Co-Founder & CEO of Coveware

If you were to restart your PC while a task is still going on, it will continue when it comes back on. This means that if a malware / ransomware has started doing some funny business with your files, it will continue to do that. Needless to say, it’s not good for you.

Aside from the actions mentioned earlier, experts recommend infected users to disconnect the PC from the network or connected servers. This will ensure that the infection will not spread to other devices. If this is for a business, have an IT firm or in-house IT person monitor the ransomware.

Lastly, you will have to find the source of the infection and remove it immediately. As a precautionary action, back up your work and other important data onto an external server. This will ensure that you won’t suddenly be without your necessary files in case the worst possible scenario becomes a reality.

Source: ZDNet

Pokdepinion: I’m glad it hasn’t happen to me…yet. Hopefully it never happens either, it sounds super stressful.