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[Ed. note: I had mixed feelings about running this story. It reads like a slashvertisement, but might be of genuine use to some members of our community (or people whose systems they help support). Decided to give it a try — please provide feedback in the comments.]

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware review: A free tool that actually works:

Ransomware is malicious software that can lock your computer and files while demanding a ransom be paid to unlock it. This sort of attack can be much more serious than a typical virus or malware attack because much of the time, you end up losing all of your files that weren't backed up. Ransomware can be especially hard to prevent because it typically comes disguised as another trusted file.

Anti-ransomware software comes packed in with most of the best antivirus software or PC security packages including Windows Security. Anti-ransomware software needs to get very frequent updates to stay in front of threats. Since ransomware often comes disguised as something a user wants, they can let it through the first lines of security before they know there's a problem.

Kaspersky's Anti-Ransomware Tool looks for behavior and commonly infected files to offer a last line of defense on your system. It's also backed by a cloud-connected set of definitions to stay updated without waiting for a scheduled definitions update.

Always updated Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool

Bottom line: When it comes to PC security, you can never be 100% sure your PC is risk-free, Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool adds another layer of security with an up-to-date and well-reviewed knowledgebase of safe and risky applications. It's also able to watch out for suspicious app behavior in case a threat is new enough that it hasn't been detected yet.

The author notes some shortcomings in the tool, as well, so it's a mixed recommendation. Read the full article for details. Would you get/use it?

Original Submission