WPS Customers Prepared for Petya Ransomware as Virus Infects PCs Globally

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 12, 2017) - WPS Office Software, a leading office productivity suite for PC and mobile devices, today announced the successful defense against data loss caused by the Petya ransomware virus by WPS Office users. The new breed of virus continues to spread rapidly and has begun to negatively affect businesses and individuals around the world. Some of the largest organizations hit include A.P. Moller-Maersk, one of the largest cargo and shipping operators and FedEx's TNT Express division.

Petya (AKA: Not Petya) is malicious software that prevents access to computer system data until a financial payment is made. In the case of Petya, the sum is $300 in Bitcoin. Once infected by Petya, the virus spreads rapidly using the EternalBlue vulnerability in Microsoft Windows or through two Windows administrative tools. The virus uses intelligence to try multiple entry points into the computer consecutively until gaining access. Once infected, the virus encrypts documents and files. Because of the inability of some victims to recover their data, the virus has also been described as a wiper virus which has the goal of destroying and damaging data -- eliminating the possibility of restoration.

With WannaCry and Petya being the two latest major ransomware attacks and more expected in the coming months, WPS Office has supported customers with alerts and provided guidance on avoiding ransomware attacks. Provided below are actions that can be taken to recover from a ransomware attack that has encrypted WPS Office files. In the event of an attack, these remedies allow for the user to retrieve encrypted files if an attack has already occurred.

To recover lost files, WPS customers using the WPS Cloud file storage service can simply log into their account and download all lost files in a matter of minutes to either the impacted computer or another computing device of their choosing. This provides fast and full access to all WPS Office files. WPS Office users with files stored only on their PC have the ability to use the WPS DataRecovery Master tool. This can be used to recover any office file on the user's device. This includes Writer, Presentation, or Spreadsheet files that have simply disappeared as a result of ransomware encryption or any other virus. To use the free tool, users simply download WPS DataRecovery Master at the following WPS Office link: https://www.wps.com/data-recovery

"Our team of experts have followed the exploits of Petya and continue to review the analysis of these attacks and are assuring customers that their WPS Office data will remain available and accessible using one of the retrival methods provided by the company," said Megan Sharar, Senior Director, Marketing, WPS Office. "Both WPS Cloud and DataRecovery Master help WPS Office users to retain access to their file data regardless of how their files are lost."

FREE Download of WPS DataRecovery Master:
https://www.wps.com/data-recovery

Purchase WPS Office software suite with WPS Cloud:
https://www.wps.com/office-personal-home-smb?click_from=April_promotion&coupon_code=WPSTG2017

About WPS Office Software
Palo Alto-based WPS Office Software is a leading office productivity suite for PC and mobile devices. With more than 1.2 billion installs, WPS Office is a high performing, yet considerably more affordable solution that is recognized as a preferred alternative to Microsoft® Office and is fully compatible and comparable to Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel and Word. The WPS Office suite is available for Windows and Linux-based PCs as well as Android and iOS. WPS Office Software is a subsidiary of Kingsoft Corporation, China's leading Internet services and software company. More information can be found at http://www.wps.com. 

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