Category talk:Error

I had a virus, and now I cannot open .PDF files or memos. What do I do?

I had a virus on my computer, and now I cannot open .PDF files stored inside of Agency Systems. When I select a file to open, my Adobe Acrobat Reader displays a message stating the files are corrupt.

Also, any memo document displays gibberish instead of the previously stored text. What do I need to do?

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Answer

If you are ever the victim of a malware attack, it is important to notify us immediately. There are critical steps that must be followed, and while we cannot perform the service, we can provide support for your technician.

There are specific kinds of malware that encrypt attachments such as images, and documents. The Crypto Locker virus makes most attachments impossible to access, while other files are left untouched. Sometimes a complete restore is not even necessary, only requiring attachments to be recovered from a backup.

To perform a partial Agency Systems restore:

1. Remove the malware threat.
2. Make a copy your current data or at least insure it is renamed to prevent overwriting it.
3. Locate your most recent unaffected backup, and verify the attachment data is complete and of the date you expect.
4. Overwrite only the attachments, instead of the entire Agency Systems data directory.

If the steps above are not followed, and the current "live" data is not copied or renamed, an in-place full restore by your tech can be problematic for many reasons.

• You cannot know for sure you have a viable backup until you restore, and overwriting current data (even with known problems) with corrupt or incomplete data could present even greater problems.
• Sometimes your current data can be repaired and copying over it eliminates the opportunity to repair it.