Unfortunately CryptoPrevent is only designed for malware prevention, and cannot help if you are already infected, at which point you should seek help from your local or remote PC repair specialists.

If you don’t know where to turn for help, consult our new Tech Directory!  

Background:  We at Foolish IT have been seeking a way to help our customers when they need local or remote repair/malware removal services, because frequently customers end up here after they are already infected.  As this site hosts a lot of PC Technician related software, also frequently people will land on this website searching for answers in fixing other PC issues.

In order to stock the database, we’ve recently reached out to our technician clients who use our flagship d7II:  PC Productivity Software, the best tool in the industry for PC Repair, Malware Removal, and workflow automation, to invite them to sign up for approval to appear in our Tech Directory.

All PC Repair shops, Technicians, MSPs, and other IT Service Providers who use the best tools in the industry also receive current and regular or on-demand training from our staff.  While our training is first provided to ensure the tools are used accurately and efficiently, to produce the best and most consistent results, we also provide continuing education courses in malware removal and other repair tactics as well.  We want to ensure our technician customers are getting the best possible result, and that means ensuring that their customers (you) are happy with the work!

While it is just getting started, so there may be very few entries in the list especially for someone local to your area, some of our listed businesses will provide Remote Support services and can possibly remotely assist you with your issues right now!  So visit the Tech Directory today!

YES!  You should periodically check for and update to the latest version using the program’s update function to stay current with the latest methodology in preventing current malware.

This process is entirely automatic for users with a purchased license (which includes automatic updating functionality) however the free edition available in older versions of the product can only update to CryptoPrevent v9.1, the last version in which the free edition was available.

After update it is then necessary to re-apply the protection to your system. It is not necessary to undo the previous protection in place before doing this, or even to uninstall the app before updating.

YES!  A LOT of trojan based malware out there utilizes the same infection tactics and launch point locations as CryptoLocker, therefore CryptoPrevent will protect against all malware that fits the same or similar profile and behavior. Additionally new SRP rules to the existing protection system, plus new protection types (and definition updates) integrated into CryptoPrevent v6/v7 (and another coming soon in v8) will stop far more malware than just ‘crypto’ style ransomware!

We cannot answer that. Your existing Anti-Virus protection is only as good as the latest definition files, and I can’t tell you which products on the market are confirmed to protect against this threat.

What I can tell you is that there is NO Anti-Virus software on the market today that provides the same type of protection that CryptoPrevent provides, it works in an entirely different manner.

Since the two can co-exist on the same PC peacefully, and CryptoPrevent’s protections do not utilize any system resources, why not utilize both methods of protection?

Yes!  CryptoPrevent should co-exist peacefully with your existing security software. There may from time to time be some minor issues, and they will be outlined on the Troubleshooting page.

Process Explorer copies it’s 64-bit version to the temp folder to execute, you may need to whitelist the following location to allow this application to operate.

%localappdata%\Temp\Procexp64.exe

Yes it is compatible, just like a workstation OS. We would highly recommend installing it on a terminal server.

Otherwise it is actually pointless to install CryptoPrevent or other CryptoLocker prevention rules on a server OS, as it is usually company policy that employees do not check their email from the server, or browse the internet, etc.  There is no other reason that malicious files would be executed from the server itself, if no one uses it as if it were a workstation.  What then would be the purpose of installing the protection on the server?

The best way to protect a server from CryptoLocker is to protect the workstations.  Even with CryptoPrevent installed on the server, if a workstation with a mapped drive gets infected, any data on an open network share is still compromised!

Short answer is “No, there is nothing that will protect you in all cases.”  Malicious software is forever evolving, and it will always be a cat and mouse game with both sides playing ‘catch up’ no matter which side of the situation you are on.

CryptoPrevent is a security supplement, filling a need where other solutions fall short, however it is not a replacement for anti-virus software, firewalls, or other security solutions, nor does it render backup software or user education useless.  As a company composed primarily of experienced professionals from the PC repair industry, we believe strongly in a layered security approach, combined with comprehensive backup software that is tested regularly, and user education focusing at a minimum on safe web browsing and email usage habits.

Read more in Best Practices for Avoiding Malicious Software.