It is difficult to manually protect your machine against a sophisticated ransomware attack. Once your device gets infected, you tend to lose control of the system because the creator of the ransomware can do anything with your device. Most hackers steal your personal data by constantly sending personalized data to a centralized repository until your devices are completely disabled.
It is better to have a ransomware protection tool as a precaution against a scrupulous attack; subsequently, you can also use a decryption tool if your data is encrypted.
Let’s take a look at some ransomware protection tools for your system.
1. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is one of the most renowned ransomware and malware protection tools in the tech community. Bitdefender has excellent threat detection rates, ranging from identifying all major malware to providing maximum security for ransomware attacks.
It also comes with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge which block many malicious websites while you are browsing the internet.
The protection tool offers features such as:
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System optimization
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Ransomware protection
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Integrated virtual private network
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Password manager
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Parental control
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Webcam and microphone protection
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Anti-theft protection for Windows and Android
The excellent system optimization feature sets Bitdefender apart from its competitors. You won’t notice that the software is running in the background or even when it scans your entire system. The built-in VPN comes in handy for basic web browsing as it limits the data limit to 200MB / day. You can eliminate the data limit by purchasing a separate VPN plan.
The real-time protection feature alerts you and prompts you to take corrective action as soon as the ransomware enters the system. Bitdefender isolates the attack, so your data remains intact when you choose your course of action.
Bitdefender isn’t quite perfect; it comes with a basic password manager and offers a limited number of passwords, until and unless you upgrade it to the premium version.
2. Kaspersky Antivirus
Kaspersky Antivirus has the best real-time protection and virus detection engine for all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. The Rescue Desktop feature is a great tool to remove malware from infected files without losing the files. Kaspersky comes with a long list of additional features such as:
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Network firewall
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Basic VPN
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System optimization
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Scheduled scan
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Password manager
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Affordable price
Kaspersky offers two versions: free and paid versions. The free version offers basic functionality, but you can upgrade to the paid version for better protection.
In addition, Kaspersky offers five different types of analysis:
- Quick scan: The quick scan typically takes between 2 and 10 minutes on most machines. The quick scan goes through system boot files, system memory files, and boot sectors.
- Full scan: Full scan is Kaspersky’s most detailed scan. It scans all the files and folders on your device and lasts for a few hours in a typical day.
- Selective scan: Selective scan gives you the option to choose which files and folders you want to scan. Selective scanning saves a lot of time and eliminates the need for you to scan for unnecessary files.
- Removable drive scan: Removable drive scan comes in handy when you plug in your USB drive. The scan goes through the USB stick and shows possible threats as soon as the device is plugged in.
- Vulnerability analysis: The vulnerability scan scans the drives and folders most likely to contain malware.
The disadvantages of Kaspersky include the basic VPN service and the password manager. You can only access 200MB / day using the VPN, and the password manager doesn’t come with two-factor authentication.
3. AVG Antivirus
AVG Antivirus has been a popular computer protection tool for over two decades. The Ransomware Protection Tool is light on your hardware and does most of its work without cracking your system. Deep scans can still be difficult on your computer, especially if you are using older hardware.
AVG comes with a free version and a paid version. As expected, the latter is feature rich compared to the old version. AVG browser extension (available in both versions) scans downloads and emails in real time while blocking malicious websites. AVG uses a similar threat protection engine as Avast, but it has far fewer ads in the free version, which makes it a better choice.
The free version is great for essential protection, but you should consider the paid version if you want to have features like:
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Network firewall
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Webcam protection
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Secure DNS
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Folder access control to thwart ransomware
Ransomware decryption tools act like a hand in hand, in case your files are locked during a ransomware attack. These tools eliminate the ransomware attack and return your files safely without paying ransom to hacker groups.
4. Free Avast Ransomware Decryption Tools
Avast Free Ransomware decryption tools should be your first point of call, in the event of a ransomware attack. Each ransomware is different in the way it encrypts your files. This is where a ransomware decryption tool comes in. These tools offer a large database of methods to decrypt files encrypted by each ransomware. Avast contains over 21 different strains of file-locking ransomware.
Avast also provides a detailed description of each ransomware so that you can identify the type of ransomware and take action. You will then need to download the appropriate tool depending on the attack and select the encrypted files that you want to decrypt.
5. Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool
The Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware tool is perfect for small and medium-sized businesses because it is equipped with tailor-made functions for a catastrophic ransomware attack. Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool tries to protect your files against ransomware by eliminating the virus as soon as it detects it. The anti-ransomware tool also decrypts your files, in case the virus creeps in and encrypts your files.
Malware definitions are constantly updated through Kaspersky cloud servers. Kaspersky cloud servers contain all recent virus definitions when detected on any computer connected to the cloud network.
6. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Malwarebytes has a very powerful defense mechanism against ransomware viruses and malware. The underlying real-time protection is powerful enough to alert you to any threat at a supersonic rate. It comes with a variety of tools to fight ransomware in the premium version which offers top notch security.
You can download a series of encrypted files for the decryption tools to tackle. Each of these tools is trained to unravel notorious encryptions and return them in a usable form. The deep scan feature is quite powerful, but you should scan your computer at least once a week, especially if you are working in a vulnerable environment.
Sophisticated ransomware attacks are brutal to fight manually, and it’s best to have a ransomware protection tool installed. The tools mentioned above offer enhanced functionality, rather than just ransomware protection.
On the other hand, these ransomware decryption tools decrypt your files using the decryption methods developed by cracking the ransomware. You should note that decrypting your files is tedious and ransomware protection should always be your top priority.
Having said that, you should try the tools mentioned above to stay safe from ransomware attacks.
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