I purchased avast and have been running it for over a year. On October 5th I was hit with ransom ware that encrypted every personal file on my machine. Avast was running and was up to date. I spent the next 4 days frantically searching for a way to decrypt my files and after running every “fix” program I could find. Nothing worked. I was getting physically sick as all my family pictures, financial and personal files seemed to be gone. I ended up paying the ransom, 1 bitcoin.
Avast and all of its 6 guards, including internet security, did nothing as my files were being ripped away in the back ground.
Yea, I have heard it all by now but to me, the bottom line is… avast failed me. I have since uninstalled it and moved to a different protection software.
Saying “Have a backup” shouldn’t be an excuse for weak or no prevention methods against ransomware. The fact is, avast! has no special prevention systems for ransomware. And this has been a trend for quite a while now. Thy have the HIPS module, that could probably be utilized for this and yet it’s pretty much worthless as it does nothing by default. CyberCapture could have special ransomware detection systems and yet almost all ransomware goes through it unrecognized for some reason.
Other vendors proactively design protective features for currently actual malware. avast! is just stumbling behind them for few years now. I love avast! and I want it to be the best AV in the world, but these are just facts.
They could so easily design the anti-ransomware system and yet they just don’t. Why? I have absolutely no clue.
They could simply add a new setting menu for Anti-Ransomware where you can define protected folders. And then these protected folders can only be accessed for write by apps already whitelisted under Hardened Mode (Aggressive) whitelist. They already have all the functionality there, they just aren’t using it for whatever reasons unknown to me.
This way, they could create almost 100% generic protection against ransomware.
Hell, they could extend this even further by incorporating the already existing whitelist and extend it to entire computer drive and only have control over what extensions are covered. So, users wouldn’t even have to specify what folders to protect, avast! would simply keep an eye on all file types that are known to be affected by ransomware. If app unverified by the whitelist tries to modify JPG or I don’t know, MP3 file anywhere on the disk, avast! should warn the user about it. If it’s modified by a whitelisted app, it would work like nothing is blocking it. It’s a very simple yet very effective method. And with extensive whitelist base avast! has, it would work absolutely great. But again, it’s just not used and I have no clue why not. It just baffles me. ???
avast didn’t failed you.
There is no tool in the world that offers 100% detection/protection.
If there was, it would be the same as doctors already making medicines that will cure all diseases that doesn’t even exist yet.
avast (and tools alike) are there to help the user, not to replace him/her.
Security starts and falls with what a user knows and does, not with software.
As ransomware in most cases are spread through emails with attachments, it would not surprise me that you (or someone else using that system) has opened the attachment (clicked on it).
Having a reliable and recent backup is a must.
It has been that way for as long as software (data) is stored.
In the “old days” it was just because storage media wasn’t as reliable as they are now.
Nowadays storage media hardly breaks down anymore, but there is the huge amount of various malware now. https://www.backblaze.com/backup-your-computer.html
A backup should never be stored close to the system.
It is a huge mistake many people make.
Sure it is really convenient if you have a backup on e.g. a usb stick and keep it close to the system.
But guess what will happen if e.g. the house burns down…
Gone will be the system as well as the backup.
Luckily nowadays there are easy ways to store the backup far away enough from the system. (e.g. cloud storage, a safe at a bank etc.)
Paying was the stupidest thing you could do.
It only encourage the developers of malware to keep going on with their practices.
Next time you pay, they might only take your money and do nothing else.
What you have done is like paying the guy that stabs the tires of your car.
I agree with Pondus by doing backup on gmail account. I for personally, don’t use any online free/pay backup programs because I have backup copies. One on my 16 GB usb, one on my 8GB usb, and the other 1 TB external hard disk ;D