The fact that you would even consider paying some ransom is disturbing. I've never heard that ridiculous of an amount, it's usually a few hundred dollars and I've heard that people do/have actually paid them money and NO they do not fix your computer if you pay but the DO take your money! My husband repairs computers and has seen these things, he just normally has to reformat as you ended up doing. There shouldn't be anything left of the virus or whatever they call it. Every once in a while, he can run a scan that will remove them but normally they won't be removed.

Oh I didn't consider paying it, I don't have that kind of money. I just called to see if they would fix it. I never found where they hid that ransom-ware on my laptop. Crazy. None of my antivirus scans removed it permanently.

Personally I don't think it was really Microsoft. I think I talked with someone in Pakistan.

No it almost certainly was not Microsoft but the hijackers. There are e-mails going around saying that your package cannot be delivered or something of that nature and to click here to see the details. Clicking on the link opens a zip file which is ransomware and hijacks your computer as what happened to Pawprint. My DH was able to open the file in a safe environment and see exactly what it contained. Don't click on anything you're not sure of, especially a file with a .zip at the end.

It happened to my friend, but they "only" wanted $600. Like you, paw, after paying to have her computer restored and and spending hours retrieving her documents from other sources, she is ok. I think she reported it to the FBI.

So sorry, pawprint.

As long as you aren't being paranoid about this whole thing...

Where do you think you picked something like that up? Did you click on anything accidentally?

Here's a page w/ some helpful info from a security expert. Scroll down for advice on how to handle it if it happens to you...
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/09/ransomware-getting-more-targeted-expensive/

I have Avira anti-virus software that automatically updates every few days & so far (knock wood), so good.

I don't want to seem like I'm pouncing on you while you're down, so I'll start by saying I'm very glad you had done some advance planning and were able to fix your problem.

That over with, a very high percentage of problems like this are caused by user behavior. Do you have a high quality antivirus AND internet security system ACTIVE at all times? Are you careful to never visit shady or non-mainstream websites and never download unneeded garbage from uncertain places? Are you careful to never click on links in emails (or on websites) of uncertain destination or source and never reply to emails of uncertain origin? And lastly, are you careful that guests using your PC never do any of the above?

For those who can answer Yes to each of these questions, the unfortunate experience that Pawprint describes is very, very unlikely to happen to you. Pawprint, if you're a careful internet user and can answer Yes to all the above questions, you've been most unlucky to experience something that careful internet users really needn't worry about.

I've gotten help at landzdown and can recommend it as well. Corrine is very patient.

I never knew about Corrine. But I will be more careful in the future. I thought I was going to a legit site sent to me in an email. Like Elmer said, I won't be doing that again.

I can't believe that Corrinne hasn't burned herself out already! She offers a lot of in-depth, patient support and she does it for free.

Everyone over there is great. I have been friends with Corrine for many many years and she is an amazing lady. She is relentless when on a case she will get you taken care of. It's why she has been a Microsoft MVP for so many conservative years, she is just that good.

Pawprint as I said it would be very wise to go have her run some special scans to make sure you are totally clean. Many don't know some things can exist even with a reinstall. Root kits for example. It just takes your time that's all.

If you reformat your computer to factory, there shouldn't be any risk of a rootkit remaining. Scanning for infections or reinstalling Windows is not enough though if you've got something tough - which you will never really know. Bleeping Computer's high techies (free) also do a great job of deep scouring systems but they still say you can never be sure. Only a reformat of the disk will take care of some of these infections (which may run silently).

I was hit by one a while back. I was able to reboot, sign in on a different account and run MALWAREBYTES to remove the malware. The scamware may be more sophisticated now, but it worked for me.

The problem is you can't be sure because they can run in background without symptoms. It's just something to be aware of so you can make your own decisions for yourself. Yes, there are some very sophisticated operations today.

Raven, thanks for the link. I just registered.

I can think of no better situation that demonstrates how an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Except, it's a fraction of an ounce of prevention that's worth tens of pounds of cure.

Careless/naive PC and internet use leads to problems, it's guaranteed. It's an easily avoidable problem. With a little common sense and following a few basic ideas that avoid the most likely risks (as mentioned in my first comment), no one will ever need concern themselves with having to fix such a ridiculous and easily avoidable situation as poor Pawprint had to face.

I clicked on a political story on Facebook. I think it was about Ivanka Trump. It was one of those sub stories under a main one. All at once a loud voice said your computer has been hijacked and call this number right away before your information is sent out. I tried to X off the page and nothing worked, so I shut down the computer, waited a minute before firing it up and it was fine.

Snookums, the factory restore worked like a charm. Randy, I just installed malwarebytes & will use that along with cc cleaner & antivirus.

Lily, I've gotten that voice too saying I was hijacked. This time was different though. Everytime I started the computer IE browser would open up & give me the ransome. And I don't even use IE. I used Chrome for everything. Now I'm using Microsoft Edge for my browser & the online reviews said it's pretty safe.

Some browsers - I'm thinking of Chrome - will block certain actions with known dangerous sites. Some. But really, no browser will provide comprehensive protection from the consequences of unwise and risky internet use.

This just points out the value of good, frequent and redundant backups if you have anything you really need/want to keep. How many actually backup on a regular basis? The need for ongoing backups is because you can backup the malware and reinstall it on yourself.

Elmer, Chome was the browser that opened when this mess started. Then everytime I opened Chrome, the IE browser automatically opened with my ransom. I'm not blaming Chrome, but it didn't stop anything.

I also agree on the backup. I have a 1 tarabyte external hard drive I back up to so nothing was lost.

Sounds like a horrible experience. I'm glad you had the external backup, what peace of mind that must have been. I was glad that I had an external back up when my laptop broke. I never bought another computer (I just use a Kindle now) so don't know how long I can depend on the external drive. Funny, but I get phone calls from "Microsoft" saying they are responding to help messages from my computer. Of course I know it's a hoax and have to play with them a little while before hanging up on them. Cons!