chrcarlson

I downloaded a virus and wiped out a lot of documents...all of them. what a mess. It was a brain dead thing to do. I just wasn't thinking. 6 months sober, when is my head going to clear??? I have a dull headache and feel a "brain cloud" I drank for 30 years a couple of times a week usually. I feel real bad for what I did, I have to try to fix it some how. I did think about getting drunk. sometimes it would be nice to escape for a while. Tomorrow the problem is still going to be there and I'd be hungover. that would be a hell of a lot worse.

I looked for a fix on the internet. It's ransom malware (cerber). I think I removed the virus but the files are all encrypted. ^$%# much profanity.

D122y

Congrats on not drinking up.

I went to a wedding/reception today and there was temptation.

But, I had 13 months of sober time. It carried me through.

I enjoyed the party drinking water and coffee all day....I feel pretty strong right now knowing I can handle myself well at these types of free drinking functions....

Regarding your computer issue...

I use avg anti virus...it is free.

No problems for years. I go to every site on the internet and haven't yet had a problem.

It this virus something new?

chrcarlson

I think it's a new variant. I opened a suspect email ...very dumb. They want $ for codes to unencrypt. I'm not paying thieves. I'll throw the computer in the trash and buy another before I reward a thief.

OceanGuy

chr - As D122 mentioned, Avg is an excellent av program. It's actually too good since it blocked some of my fun game stuff online haha! But, it's a good one and it's free.
MallwareBytes is another program that seeks and destroys mallware and all sorts of trojans, etc. Between the two (I do a full scan once every couple of weeks), I'm trouble free. Let me know how it turns out either way. Viruses can suck but can be dealt with. Just please don't turn to the bottle, it'll just make things much worse. Sounds like you already get that though. Keep your chin up!

MythOfSisyphus

Sorry about your files, chrcarlson! That sucks. I once did something equally awful; when swapping HDs a couple years ago I accidentally overwrote five years worth of files and docs that I was never able to recover!

Venecia

I'm really sorry to hear that but proud of you for not drinking at it.

The whole ransom cybercrime thing really is scary. For what it's worth, I've got a seven-year-old MacBook Pro and have never had a virus.

chrcarlson

I ran MallwareBytes and it grabbed 3 problems. I typed another word doc and restarted the computer. I think the virus is gone but the damage remains.

Kinda beating myself for being so dumb but that's life. I'll get over it. In a few days something positive will happen and this will be a bad memory. I just have to realize there's up and downs and drinking doesn't help either one.

LadyBlue0527

chr, check your private messages

There are many tools out there that can decrypt files after a ransomware attack. I gave you a link to one, not a recommendation rather just showing one of the choices.

For anyone reading, if you ever have a question, be it technical or non technical, there's a world of answers out there waiting for you to find them.

Go to Google and type your question in and hit enter. Sometimes you may not get the direct answer you're looking for then you can refine your question and try again.

chr, I hope this helps!

Mountainmanbob

It is amazing how we try to deceive ourselves yet again.
Once you come through all of this sober you will feel stronger in your sobriety.
For us, there is never a real reason to drink again.
For we know deep inside -- it will not really make things better only worse.
MB

hpdw

Great that you didn't drink , shame about the virus . I think with computers everything can be fixed . I read about this encryption virus and you pay for codes to unscramble your files . I bet there is a work around for this . When I go to work tonight I will scour the internet for you . There are some decent forums out there too you could post what youve done . if you run W10 try this Windows 10 Forums , good luck

chrcarlson

Mountainmanbob, thanks. Yes it's really not about a computer problem. I bang into something and I want to drink it away. I always want to go hide. Sadly there is no hiding. Bob, I think you are right. I didn't and am not going to drink today. I just need to get use to real life.

Delilah1

Nice job not drinking, and ins six months of sobriety!!

I once lost many files and pictures because my computer crashed, since then I back everything up to Dropbox. You may want to use something similar it saved me recently when my work computer decided to stop working.

biminiblue

Well, something good happened from this.

I backed up all my music to a flash drive. I had been procrastinating it and there was no reason for me to do so. I could have lost it all. Again. Like I have before. I mean, it took all of three minutes.

Thanks for posting. It got me in motion.

Sorry for your loss.

FormerWineGirl

Sorry about the computer issue, it's so easy to randomly open an infected email without thinking.

As for the "brain cloud", it took me over a year to get over it. There were times at work that I really struggled. My issue specifically was concentration - I simply couldn't. It was very frustrating. It was my biggest hurdle, but thankfully now at almost 21 months sober the fog has lifted. I am genuinely happy for those who feel productive and energetic early in recovery, but that wasn't me. Definitely worth the time it took, though!

OceanGuy

Glad I could help. You're welcome.

hpdw

I'm sure you know your stuff but thought i'd give you a link anyway . Your misfortune has reminded me to be vigilant with email attachments etc .

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-cerber-virus/