content: I agree, often people take for do not consider any value of their data up until the point they lose it. This is the environment which ransom ware is allowed to grow: one where the victim has waved or refused to learn about their responsibility for their livelihood against disaster. When victims find themselves in these situations, they sometimes find it cheaper to pay the digital mugger then to recreate the data. I always like to talk game about getting as much realistic protection as possible, use proven backup solutions, and have a sound contingency plan.  By the way, there is a funny thing with ransoms: if the muggers didn't decrypt afterwards, then no future victims would even bother paying.  We need to encourage people to seek information for defending themselves against malware before it claims their work, time, and money.