What is Ransomware?
Malicious software that locks your files and demands payment to access them.
Ransomware is a term for the many variations of malware that infect computer systems, typically by social engineering schemes.
A cryptovirology attack encrypts critical files and systems and renders them inaccessible to the owner.
Ransomware sometimes marks the files for permanent deletion or publication on the internet. The perpetrators then demand a payment (usually in untraceable cryptocurrency like Bitcoin) for the private key required to decrypt and access the files. Infamous ransomware examples include CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, Locky, Cerber, KeyRanger, SamSam, TeslaCrypt, TorrentLocker, and Reveton.