Is this true

dannny_2

Since my mainframe days it was always grandfather/father/son as backups. That may not have protected her but it would have saved her files.

I still use 3 hard drives, 2 are full backups.

donny-gal

Our Photos, music, videos, important documents on desktop and laptop, 2 x usb HDD & Important Docs & recent photos on cloud too.
Belt & Braces
DG

Ant555

Does anyone know if 'crypto locker' spreads through Facebook and the like or is it just email attachments?

Most of the info I have read refers to attachments sent via spoof emails from HMRC, Government gateway, Companies house etc.

Can it spread through clicking on a link though - which would be even more worrying to me.

WTFH

Lots of things "spread" through Facebook, 99% of them are garbage. The biggest issue is people clicking on links. "Oh, but it came from my friend" - nope, that's exactly what your friend will have said as well.
If you click on a link - in an email, on Facebook, etc, it's your responsibility to take care. Not Facebook, or your ISP or anyone else.
Problem is, the number of people (and I regret to say that it's mostly older people) who will click on anything without thinking is quite remarkable.
Also, "liking" pages can give that page owner access to your email address.
So, an untrustable person sets up a facebook group with a picture of a child in hospital and a sob story about the child dying of cancer with a message at the end saying "like/share this page if you have a heart" and loads of people like the page, then forget that they have.
Said scammer now has your email address and sells that on.

Prothet_of_Doom

I can think of better reasons not to use facebook.

closed

backup properly using disk imaging, and create a copy of important data on dvd, then no worries

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Cornucopia

I've heard similar tales to the OP. The problem is that there are many. many people out there now who are reliant upon PCs & Laptops, but have no idea how to maintain them. They also have no way to access self-help via the Web, because they lack the jargon and the knowledge to accurately specify the problem(s).

They are not only vulnerable to viruses, but also to doing the wrong thing semi-voluntarily. Then when the device is "broken" they are also vulnerable to local experts who would sooner sell them a new machine than take the time to sort out the mess on their old one.

It's a big problem, and I suspect there is a market out there for the PC equivalent of the "Big Number phone" - something that is not only very simple to use, but also has lots of protection built in.

donny-gal

Yes agree closed, you shared that hint some while ago, and I did it. It saved me hours when had to return laptop under warranty for hardware fault, and they unnecessarily re-load OS.

Still does not answer the question, would virus ptotection keep you save from this?
DG

Cornucopia

It would have to be a pretty severe virus to start trashing data files. So, yes, most professional AV would be preventative.

chunter

This seems to be a real humdinger of a virus.
If it rattles across network drives, it causes a real problem.
- most personal backups are to network drives or to external drives, that are generally plugged in all the time. Leaving your backups as open to virus encryption as the original files.
Did the cloud invent this one?