—-Beware—- There is a number of different types of “Ransomware” viruses going around, some causing great havoc to important data files. One of the most common and most dangerous “Ransomware” viruses is known as the CryptoLocker Virus. This virus will scan your entire hard drive for important data files such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, .PDF files, .JPG picture files etc. The virus will then encrypt these data files which will make it nearly impossible to retrieve this data. However, you can get your data back if a ransom payment is made (usually $500-$750). Once they receive your payment, they will unlock your data and you will have your documents back, however, there were several instances where even after the ransom was paid, that the data was not fully restored. This virus can be blocked by most up to date antivirus programs, but even with good protection and firewalls etc. this virus can still sneak through and cause great damage. It is important to have your data backed up to another source such as an external hard drive, flash drives, cloud backup etc. If you feel as if you are not protected properly and would like to inquire about being protected and backed up, please give us a call and our technicians will be happy to assist you. If you already have the virus and lost your data, we recommend not paying the ransom because doing so just supports the cause. You should in fact, contact the authorities and they will get involved in trying to put a stop to this horrible catastrophe.