CryptoDrop Could Stop Ransomware

When it comes to viruses and malware, they can often come at the worst times and cost you everything from a presentation you are working on up to family photos and irreplaceable memories. The worst to hit people recently is the recent string of ransomware that often puts you in between the choice of your files or your money. A new piece of software, CryptoDrop, could stop this from happening, if only by a little.

CryptoDrop was created by the University of Florida (UF) with the hope of helping slow down and if not stopping ransomware. CryptoDrop works by detecting when ransomware starts to encrypt files on your system, as explained by Patrick Traynor, an associate professor in UF’s department of computer and information science who worked with both Nolen Scaife and Henry Carter, both PhD students from Villanova University.

Scaife explained that “our system is more of an early warning system” going on to say that:

“It doesn’t prevent the ransomware from starting… it prevents the ransomware from completing its task… so you lose only a couple of pictures or a couple of documents rather than everything that’s on your hard drive, and it relieves you of the burden of having to pay the ransom.”

With 100% success at stopping ransomware after just an average of 10 files encrypted the new software shows promise in helping others and stopping the recent spread of ransomware.