MikeB Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 I've been out of the IT world for 4 years so this is the first I've heard of "ransomware". Really amazing...and despicable. If you have "irreplaceable" data and don't have a good backup you may want to register with Bitcoin. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/opinion/sunday/how-my-mom-got-hacked.html?hpw&rref=opinion&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 Few of us have 'irreplaceable' data and for many of us it is a good idea to delete everything and start over. Some of us are hoarders and never delete anything from their computers. I have found out the hard way, quite a few times, that the files I thought were 'irreplaceable' either were obtainable or not really needed. Shame about some of the pictures I have lost over the years but nothing on my computer is worth $500 to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i am bob Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 Unfortunately I do have irreplaceable files on my computer... Make that 3 laptops, tablet, my phone, 8 flash drives, 4 SD cards and 275 DVDs... Oh, wait, I manually back everything up to the DVDs, flash drives and SD cards every day! I'm covered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 5, 2015 Author Posted January 5, 2015 Although the article focused on "Mom's computer", the problem is a little bigger then the data on your pc. Critical government agencies, hospitals, and huge corporations have also fallen prey to this and similar hacks. Lax security and things like outsourcing entire IT departments to the lowest bidder have put virtually every single person at risk. The whole system is as strong as the weakest link. Sony is the tip of the iceberg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 Shame about some of the pictures I have lost over the years You could always store them on services like dropbox. the original stays on your computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virginprune Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 The only stuff that I would consider irreplaceable is my music, 147G and rising. I do have it all on my laptop plus backed up twice on two ext drives plus on a friends ext drive in England, so I consider myself secure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonjack2847 Posted January 5, 2015 Posted January 5, 2015 Unfortunately I do have irreplaceable files on my computer... Make that 3 laptops, tablet, my phone, 8 flash drives, 4 SD cards and 275 DVDs... Oh, wait, I manually back everything up to the DVDs, flash drives and SD cards every day! I'm covered! Bob you have had a haircut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 5, 2015 Author Posted January 5, 2015 Yea, same here. I'm golden with the backups. But I'm not so sure about gigantic financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase where 80 million "households" were compromised in the latest hack. Not to mention govt entities like Social Security. So if there's a financial meltdown because of a security breach and our direct deposits are suddenly cut off or our ATM cards don't work we can all rest easy b/c the data on our personal HDs is safely backed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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