Mobile Computer Wizard - A scary one in the wild.

Cryptolocker Virus is Nasty!

There's a new virus on the loose that actually destroys your files. It falls under a category of software called 'ransomware'. It encrypts and destroys all of your common files and then asks for $300 to decrypt them. The scary part is if you get infected, your files are permanently damaged. Your only reasonable recourse is to restore a back up version. This has only been in the wild for a few weeks and it's hard to say exactly how folks are getting infected. A potential source is bogus emails with shipping notifications. We are not trying to cause panic, but you need to have three things in order. First is a good antivirus program, though we have read it's working around even the best ones as this writing. Second is to not open webpages and emails unless you are absolutely certain of their origin. Thirdly, you need a backup program that does versioning.