MERL ransomware will encode your files, since it's ransomware. These kinds of infections are not be taken lightly, as they might result in you losing access to your files. Another reason why it's thought to be a highly dangerous malicious software is that the infection is rather easy to get. Data encrypting malicious software developers count on users being hasty, as contamination commonly infects via spam email attachments, dangerous ads and malicious downloads. Once a device gets infected, the encryption process starts, and once it is finished, criminals will ask that you pay a ransom if you want to decrypt your data. How much money is demanded depends on the file encoding malicious software, the demands could be to pay $50 or a couple of thousands of dollars. It isn't recommended to pay, even if giving into the demands is cheap. Considering criminals won't feel obligated to help you in data recovery, what's stopping them from taking your money and not giving anything in return. We would not be shocked if you're left with locked files, and you would certainly not be the only one. Investing the required money into some backup option would be a better idea. You'll be presented with a lot of backup options, all you need to do is select the right one. If backup is available, restoring data will not be a problem. This isn't the last time you will get infected with some kind of malicious software, so you need to be ready. If you want to stay safe, you have to familiarize yourself with potential contaminations and how to guard yourself.
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