On May 12, 2017, there was an outbreak of a Ransomware called WannaCry that attacked and affected approximately 200,000 Windows computers and 10,000 companies spread in 150 countries across the globe. Therefore, it is considered to be the worst ransomware attack till date.
The WannaCry ransomware targets laptops and desktops and encrypts all data on the hard drive preventing access to it. Further, it spreads laterally among all computers connected to the LAN network by using a susceptibility in the execution of Server Message Block (SMB) present in Windows OS. The WannaCry ransomware also spreads through malicious links or attachments in emails, messages containing malware, infected software, infected external storage media, and infects your system.
Precautions To Be Taken After the Malware Attack
If you or your organization’s systems have been affected by this infectious ransomware, we suggest you to take following precautions:
- Disconnect the infected computer from internet or the network.
- Do not update or run any anti-virus on the infected computer.
- Hard Shut down the infected computer, i.e. shut down through its Power button.
- Finally, do not use the infected hard drive on any other computer.
Recover Data With Stellar Data Recovery Professional
Stellar Data Recovery Professional helps in data recovering in many instances. However, there exists certain prerequisites that should be fulfilled which are as follows –
- Get another computer with Windows OS.
- Download and install Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows on the new computer.
- After installing the software shut down the computer.
- Connect the infected hard drive externally to the computer on which data recovery software is installed.
- Next, restart the computer.
Make sure that the another computer has an updated antivirus and malware protection. Besides also make sure that the computer is not connected to the same network from which the malware was spread on your system.
Data Recovery Steps Using Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows
- Run the software and from the main screen ‘Select What to Recover’, select ‘All Data’ under Everything and click the Next.
- From the ‘Recover From’ interface, select the partition of the infected drive that shows up under Connected Drives and then click the Scan. With this, the software starts and displays the scanning process. The ‘Scanning in progress’ shows details such as the Number of files and folders found, Time elapsed, and Time left.
- Once the scanning process is completed, click the Deep Scan.
- Again, with the scanning in progress, details such as the number of files, time elapsed, and time left are displayed.
- Further, on completion of the Deep Scan process, all the recoverable files are enlisted and sorted by File Type, Tree View, and Deleted List.
- Each of the files can be previewed, one at a time in the Preview window. For this, you need to select the file.
- In the preview window, you also have the ‘Search files’ option on the top right corner to search for files using the File name or File extension.
- You can also search for your file in the Raw Data folder present in the Tree View.
- To refine your search for deleted files, you can go to the ‘Deleted List.’
- Finally, once you find the required files, select them and click the ‘Recover’ button to save the files at any desired location on your system.
Conclusion
The Digital World is vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and it is imperative to exercise caution when it comes to the safety and security of your data. Cyberattack is possible as no system is fail-safe; but with Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows, help is close at hand. Download it now and restore your data that is infected by WannaCry ransomware.
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