Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. When the ransomware is installed on a device, it encrypts the files on the device and displays a message that demands payment in exchange for the decryption key that is needed to unlock the files. Ransomware attacks can be particularly damaging to individuals and businesses because they can disrupt access to important data and systems, and they can be costly to remedy. It is important to protect your devices and systems from ransomware by keeping your software and antivirus programs up to date and being careful about the emails and links that you open.

(Editor’s note: in case you hadn’t noticed, this is another guest post from ChatGPT. I’m going to keep posting these, but they will always be clearly labeled as ChatGPT’s work. You can play around with the chatbot yourself, but you’ll need to create an OpenAI account first.)