All sorts of dangerous malware and viruses exist on the internet. These nasty bugs cause all sorts of issues on a personal computer once a system is infected, from slowing things down to outright ruining the hard disc. But there’s also another kind of infection which isn’t mentioned as often: ransomware.
Ransomware is malicious like the aforementioned bugs, but as the name implies, it tries to hold a PC hostage. The payload accomplishes this by disguising itself as a benign program but once run, attempts to lock down specific processes on a PC or the system entirely. In some cases, the malware will claim the identity of an authority figure like the FBI, warning you of illegal material on the infected hardware. In other cases, users will be attacked and told their compromised programs will only be unlocked after they pay a fee.