HELP: Restoring after a Ransomware Attack

Hello,
I have a major dilemma.
I have a question about restoring backed-up files after mitigating a bad ransomware attack. All of my data files were encrypted with additional file extensions. After exhausting attempts to decrypt the files, I learned that the newer virus variants use a random generator to create the decryption key. In other words, I have to pay the ransom and the criminals will issue me a unique decryption file to unlock everything. However, they cost $Thousands and they don’t always give the victim a working unlock key.

SO: I have a My Passport backup of the whole computer consisting of the C Drive (OS and documents) and a D Drive with just photo data.

MY QUESTION IS: Do I need to erase the encrypted files before running a restore? I am thinking that I need to save the encrypted files just in case something doesn’t work with the WD drive in performing a restore on the D Drive. That way I still have the encrypted files that could be unlocked some day with cyber security help. That just isn’t available in 2024.

MY SECOND QUESTION IS: After having cleaned out all the ransomware and restoring the Windows 10 OS, I don’t want to replace the entire contents of the C Drive. I only want to replace the locked data files (WORD docs, pdf’s, audio files) on that drive also and keep the current restored Windows OS components. Is this possible or do I need to wipe both drives completely clean after copying everything from both drives to yet another new backup drive? Can I pick and choose folders and files from the backup and only restore them? Thanks for reading. I really appreciate any help with this.

 

Sometimes cyber experts can crack these things years down the road. For the restore, you can definitely pick and choose files from your backup without wiping everything, just make sure you restore only the data files you need. It worked for me when I had to restore some photos and documents. Also, I’ve heard that ipstresser tools can sometimes be used in security contexts to test your network’s resilience, though they’re not typically for file recovery.