It's often possible to recover files from ransomware, through restoring your files through clean backups and using available decryption tools from sites like No More Ransom for specific strains of ransomware.
Or you can also leverage features like Windows Previous Versions/One Drive recovery, although the success of file recovery after ransomware also depends heavily on having good offline backups of your files or the right tools for the specific ransomware variant.
If the backups and the tools fail, the data recovery software or professional services are options for file recovery after ransomware, but paying the ransom is an absolute last resort as it's not guaranteed to work.
If you are attacked by ransomware, what happens is your files et encrypted, locking you out of your computer and or devices and the attacks will demand a ransom, which is usually through crypto for a key.
Although paying the ransom does not always guarantee recovery of your files and it funds criminals.
So if you get attacked by ransomware you should disconnect your computer or device from the internet to stop spread and report it to IC3.gov and if you have backups you can wipe your computer clean or have some remove the ransomware from your computer and then restore it.
Malicious software "ransomware" scrambles your files like photo's documents etc and even can lock your computer.
If your computer or device has been infected with ransomware, a message appears demanding payment or ransom, often in Bitcoin for a decryption key.
And more advanced ransomware may also steal your sensitive data before encrypting it and if connected to a network, the ransomware can also spread to other computers and devices, external drives or shared network folders.
Don't pay the ransomware as it funds the criminals and encourages their behavior and it does not guarantee that your files will be recovered.
Ransomware or locking of data for ransom payments as well as Spyware "the stealing of personal info" and large scale Botnets which are networks for massive attacks are worse than malware because they cause more severe and more targeted damage like financial loss, invasion of privacy and even crippling of entire systems.
It's also less about a single malicious program and instead more about the sophisticated attacks that can cause widespread disruption, data theft or even extortion.
Ransomware is often cited as the most damaging as a result of immediate operational shutdown and financial extortion.
The worst computer virus in history was the MyDoom computer virus in 2004.
The 2004 MyDoom computer virus cost damage that cost $38 billion and spread fast and overloaded servers and also created massive botnets for DDoS attacks.
The 2004 MyDoom computer virus spread rapidly through email attachments and turned infected computers into zombies.
Another worst computer virus in history was the 2017 WannaCry virus.
The 2017 WannaCry virus was a ransomware attack which affected over 200,000 computers in 150 countries, which disrupted healthcare like UK's NHS and even businesses.
The 2017 WannaCry virus encrypted files and demanded ransom payments, and exploited a Windows vulnerability.
And another worst computer virus in history was the 2010 Stuxnet virus.
The Stuxnet 2010 computer virus was a highly sophisticated computer virus worm that physically damaged Iranian nuclear centrifuges, which marked the first cyberweapon targeting industrial control systems.
The Stuxnet 2010 computer virus worm exploited multiple zero-day vulnerabilities to infiltrate Siemens control systems.
And finally another very bad worst computer virus in history was the ILOVEYOU virus that occurred in 2000.
The 2000 ILOVEYOU computer virus infected millions of computers within days and overwrote files and cost billions of dollars, which taught the world about social engineering via email.
The MyDoom computer virus was the absolute worst in history for it's sheer scale and economic cost.
The WannaCry computer virus was also worst in history for it's widespread ransomware impact.
The Stuxnet computer virus was worst in history for demonstrating cyber warfare's ability to cause physical damage.