My home server got hit with a ransomware attack last Tuesday

I woke up to find all my family photos and tax documents encrypted with a .lockbit extension. It happened because I forgot to update the port forwarding rules on my router after setting up a new game server. I spent the next 48 hours restoring everything from a 6-month-old backup I had on an external drive in my closet. Has anyone else dealt with a home network breach from a simple config mistake like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopher4022mo ago

Man, that's rough. Port forwarding is like leaving your front door wide open, you know? At least you had a backup, even if it was old.

nina_harris392mo ago

Tell me about it, @christopher402. That front door wide open thing is way too real. Got lazy with a router once and learned that lesson the hard way. An old backup is better than nothing, but restoring from one feels like digging your car out of a ditch. Still makes you wish you'd just locked the door in the first place.

uma_baker991mo ago

Locking the front door wide open thing is way too real" - I mean come on, is it really that serious? I've been forwarding ports on my router for years and never had an issue. People act like you're asking for a hacker to move in and start paying your bills or something. Half the time the risk is blown way out of proportion by people who don't even know what they're talking about. Just keep your firmware updated and stop panicking about every little thing.