All,

There is a new type of malware making the rounds, in original form named Cryptolocker or in variants such as Gameover Zeus.  The effects of these programs will cause all data (documents, photos, music, etc.) on your local computer, any connected mass storage, and mapped networked drives to become encrypted.  The only way to gain access to the data again is to pay a fee to get the decryption key. This type of malware has been aptly dubbed ransomware due to the demand of payment in order to decrypt the data.

Some of the more popular ways that this software is sprung upon unsuspecting targets is through false emails masquerading as though they were sent from reputable companies. In particular, the use of FedEx, UPS, and USPS "shipping" confirmations is one of the more popular ways that the program propagates.

  Needless to say, an infection by this type of malware has the potential to cause quite a bit of frustration. 

**Adding this post in hopes that it will help save those of you who are small businesses without dedicated IT departments.