Sigh...never, ever, ever let someone else use your computer...

Some of you guys just don't understand how dangerous and hard this stuff is to get rid of. My dad got by by the skin of his teeth because he shut everything off and contacted Dropbox in time so Cryptolock couldn't access his online files. He needed a brand new laptop too and the other one couldn't be used at all. You can't decrypt that stuff easily.

I'm just curious, but what kinda malware is ransomware? Does it like, hold you PC hostage for ransom money, or something?

YDI for not having a password on your computer

just google it. a lot of ransomware is crackable, i bet you can find it. not before ransomming your housemate though ...

Flash drive could have saved you

That's one bill you do NOT split with the roommate.

If you can communicate with the people holding your PC hostage, try to talk to them about it. I know they're assholes and absolutely terrible, but there HAVE been cases where they'll listen to reason and, if anything, delay the deadline of the encryption to allow you your paper. Or you could tell them to decrypt your paper in order to prove that they are, in fact, able to decrypt any of your files if you give them the money. There's an episode of RadioLab about this, where a woman missed her deadline to pay them $500 because of the storm on the East Coast and, when she explained everything, they actually gave her the files back. It was kind of unbelievable, but they can get a lot of money pretty easily, so it makes sense that they'd use their tiny conscience to let off the people who are desperate.

Rule of 3. 1TB of data should be 3TB when you are done backing it up. 1. The file on your computer 2. A local backup 3. An off site backup. Back up as often as you can

That's your own fault mate. Having an unsecured computer is basically like walking around telling people your credit card details. Seriously, people are so idiotic when it comes to security as of late.