[spdustin]

For the record, it's the FBI's advice on cryptowall, cryptolocker and their ilk that it's easier to pay the ransom because it's largely automated to the point that no human is directly involved in processing your ransom and returning the keys to your files - the web site you're directed to even gives you one single file recovered for free. Isn't technology grand? Aren't the disenfranchised youth of Eastern Europe (the primary agents responsible for crypto-ransomware) generous? So unless you had backups from before you were infected, pay the automated system its Bitcoin. It's a shame that so many people have this as their introduction to cryptocurrency.