IWSG: Ransonware and Backing Up Your Work / Wattpad Wednesdays: Reborn Chapter Four / Smashwords July Sale

It's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find out the other members of the group here. A special thanks to July's co-hosts: Krista McLaughlin, Kim Van Sickler, Heather Gardner, and Hart Johnson! 

On June 5th, a writer's worst fear happened to me.

It started out a normal day. I came in, started my work computer, did a bit of work, and then finished my work emails. I had an email from someone in the building about a fax. Thinking that perhaps a fax had come there instead of the library, I clicked on the Dropbox link.

A little later, I opened up my writing folder on my USB drive. Some strange files were showing up in it. I clicked one of my blog tour files.

Nothing.

I clicked on the strange file that had shown up.

I thought I was going to be sick.

I was struck my ransonware. RSA-2048 to be exact. Basically, I had so much time to pay the ransomers for the decryption codes or my files would remain encrypted forever. I started researching rapidly for a solution. Almost every single .doc, .pdf, and .jpeg were affected in my writing folder. I found a way to get rid of the malware, but my files will remain encrypted until someone comes up with a decryption code.

Worst of all, it had been awhile since I'd backed up my work. Like months on one flash drive and a year or more for the other. *gulps*

Taking stock of what I still had, I realized I had lost my newest outline of Reforged, my outlines for Repledged, Remarked, and Redestined, and the first three chapters of Remarked and the first two chapters of Repledged. I'm sure there are other things I'll miss, but those are the worst of what happened.

So I feel lucky. I maybe lost 20,000 words or so of work and a few pictures I'll have to recreate. I've lost time. But I didn't lose anything I couldn't redo. I lucked out.

I'm now backing up my work in multiple places. Every. Single. Day.

It sucks, but we persevere. And I know what I recreate will be even better than the original.

Have you backed up your files today?


Today's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's time to put up another chapter of Reborn on Wattpad. You can click  here  to start at the beginning or click  here  for Chapter Four.

By the way, I'm off work for the rest of the week, so I apologize that I'll be slow in commenting back. Have a good Independence Day to those in the States.


Smashwords is having its annual Summer/Winter sale. You can purchase Reborn , Gravity: The Complete Trilogy , and The Nightmare Collection  for 50% off their retail prices with coupon code SSW50. The sale ends July 31st.