The idea behind ransomware attacks is simple. The attacker finds a way to take something of yours and demands payment for its return. Encrypting ransomware—the most common type—takes away access to your important documents by replacing them with encrypted copies. Pay the ransom, and you get the key to decrypt those documents (you hope). There is another type of ransomware that denies all use of your computer or mobile device. However, this screen locker ransomware is easier to defeat and just doesn't pose the same level of threat as encrypting ransomware. Perhaps the most pernicious example is malware that encrypts your entire hard drive, rendering the computer unusable. Fortunately, this last type is uncommon. If you're hit by a ransomware attack, you won't know it at first. It doesn't show the usual signs that you've got malware. Encrypting ransomware works in the background, aiming to complete its nasty mission before you notice its presence. Once finished with the job, it gets in your face, displaying instructions for how to pay the ransom and get your files back. Naturally, the perpetrators require untraceable payment; Bitcoin is a popular choice. The ransomware may also instruct victims to purchase a gift card or prepaid debit card and supply the card number. As for how you contract this infestation, it often happens through an infected PDF or Office document sent to you in an email that looks legitimate. It may even seem to come from an address within your company's domain. That seems to be what happened with the WannaCry ransomware attack a few years ago. If you have the slightest doubt as to the legitimacy of the email, don't click the link. Report it to your IT department. Of course, ransomware is just another kind of malware, and any malware-delivery method could bring it to you. A drive-by download hosted by a malicious advertisement on an otherwise safe site, for example. You could even contract this scourge by inserting a gimmicked USB drive into your PC, though this is less common. If you're lucky, your malware protection utility will catch it immediately. If not, you could be in trouble. Until the massive WannaCry attack, CryptoLocker was probably the best-known ransomware strain. An international consortium of law enforcement and security agencies took down the group behind CryptoLocker ages ago, but other groups kept the name alive, applying it to their own malicious creations.