Ransomware is a type of malware (or pirated software) that prevents the ransomware victim from accessing his computer and requests ransom in return. Additional behaviors of ransomware viruses include stealing user's important information, terminating some useful programs (anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc.), showing survey alerts, and other undesirable functions. It has since been seen in almost every country in the world. There are many different types of ransomware that use different methods that enable computer users to pay the ransom. Ransomware is malicious software that allows hackers to access and ransom your data. It blocks your access until the ransom is paid or until you miss a payment which will result in the deletion or publication. Ransomware, like all malicious software, can be downloaded to your network in a variety of ways. This includes email downloads, false advertising, and social media chat messages. Ransomware can spread through a network to infect shared devices, servers and other systems. Ransomware attacks have been known to target reputable corporations. One example is the attack on the University of California at San Francisco. This was a well-known ransomware attack that saw hackers demand $3 million to ransom academic work from the School of Medicine. Network administrators began to eliminate the ransomware and prevented it from spreading to the core UCSF network. The university eventually paid $1.14 million in bitcoin to cover the cost of the initial stolen documents, due to cybercriminals being able access the network.

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