What is a .ENCRYPTED file?
An .ENCRYPTED file is a type of file that has been locked by a harmful computer program called Crypren ransomware. This means that the information inside the file has been scrambled in a way that makes it impossible to read or use unless it is unscrambled or decrypted. You cannot make the file usable again just by changing its name to remove ".encrypted" from the end.
To deal with this problem, one suggested method is using System Restore on your computer. This might help return your files to a state before they were encrypted, but it doesn't work in all cases.
Crypren ransomware is a dangerous software created by people who want to steal money. They sneak this software onto your computer, usually by tricking you into opening a bad email attachment or clicking on a harmful link. Once activated, this ransomware searches for important files on your computer, like your pictures, documents, and videos, and locks them by adding ".encrypted" to the end of each file's name. For example, a picture named "holiday.jpg" would be changed to "holiday.jpg.encrypted".
After locking your files, the ransomware leaves a note (either as a .HTML or .TXT file) in every folder that has locked files. This note tells you that your files have been taken hostage and demands that you pay money (usually in Bitcoin, a type of digital currency) to get them back.
It's very important to know that paying the ransom does not guarantee that you will get access to your files again. The best protection against ransomware is to regularly back up your files and to be very careful about opening email attachments or clicking on links in emails from people you don't know.
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