Coin Locker

Coin Locker is an irritating ransomware infection that encrypts the victims' files and then demands a ransom in exchange for the decryption key. These types of infections may be quite disruptive and difficult to recover from. Because of this, PC security analysts strongly advise computer users to prevent these types of infections by taking steps to protect their computers and sensitive files from these kinds of attacks. If your computer has become infected by Coin Locker, malware analysts advise removing this threat infection and recovering any encrypted files from a backup.

Particularities of Ransomware Infections Like Coin Locker

Ransomware attacks like Coin Locker tend to follow the same basic patterns. They may infect a computer using general threat distribution methods to enter a computer. Some examples of how Coin Locker may enter a computer include spam email messages and attachments, attack websites and threatening files distributed on torrents or file sharing networks. Once Coin Locker has entered a computer, Coin Locker will automatically encrypt files on the victim's computer and display a ransom message. Coin Locker may affect mobile devices, claiming to have blocked all of the victim's phone operations. In some respects, Coin Locker attacks are similar to typical ransomware infections that are limited to a threatening message and lock access to the affected computer, without encrypting any of its files. If you can access your files as normal after removing Coin Locker with a reliable security program, then it is likely that Coin Locker has not been paired with an encryption feature.

Preventing Attacks Involving Coin Locker or Other Ransomware Infections

The best protection from Coin Locker and other ransomware threats is prevention. Because of this, PC security researchers advise taking the following steps to prevent Coin Locker attacks or being affected by other threatening ransomware infections:

1. It is strongly recommended that computer users back up all of their important files, preferably in an off-site backup. Many things may happen: drives may fail, and data may be lost. Because of this, it is always smart to back up all data and especially sensitive files. If ransomware like Coin Locker cannot hold your files hostage and you can recover from an attack, then there will be no reason to pay any amount of money to the makers of this threatening threat.
2. Use a reliable security program that is fully up-to-date to scan your computer in real time. A firewall and a real-time threat scanner can prevent any threats from entering your computer before its harmful code can be executed on your computer. All security software should be kept fully up-to-date so that it will be capable of intercepting Coin Locker and other threatening software.
3. It is essential that computer users take precautionary steps when browsing the Web to avoid being exposed to threatening or harmful content unnecessarily. For example, computer users should refrain from visiting websites considered unsafe (for example, pornographic websites, online casinos, file sharing websites or websites with unsafe, suspicious advertisement content). Computer users should also avoid clicking on unknown links, downloading unknown files or clicking on unknown email attachments.

Dealing with Coin Locker

If Coin Locker is installed on your computer, a reliable security application can be used to remove this threat as soon as possible. Once Coin Locker has been removed, PC security researchers advise making sure that other threats have not been installed as well. Only after confirming that all threats are completely gone should computer users restore any encrypted or lost files using their backup utility or device.