Ransomware is the latest buzzword in cybersecurity circles. After a ransomware attack that forced a Los Angeles hospital to pay $17,000, it has been observed that hospitals are particularly vulnerable to ransomware attacks.
With hundreds of ransomware, it's important to identify which ransomware has infected you. This helps because security researchers are able to decrypt some of the top ransomware from infected files.
Now a coder, Michael Gillespie has created ID Ransomware, a free online tool that helps victims determine which specific ransomware they have already been hit with. Gillespie's tool detects and identifies 52 different types of ransomware based on the ransom note displayed and/or a file that has been encrypted. Victims simply have to upload the files to the site and wait for a response.
If there is no known way to decrypt data at that time, he or she is advised to backup the encrypted files in the hope that a decryption method will be discovered/created in the future.
There is a large list of identified ransomware.
Gillespie has also created a password generator to unlock files hidden in a password-protected archive by the CryptoHost ransomware. Meanwhile, another coder has put together a password generator tool for the dreaded Petya ransomware.
To use the password generator, victims must remove the boot drive from the infected computer and connect it to a separate, uninfected Windows computer. The victim then extracts the data from the hard drive.
By entering the data into this Web app created by @leostone, the victim can recover the Petya password used to decrypt the critical file.
