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In this article we are going to try and help you remove [email protected] Ransomware. Our instructions cover all Windows versions.

Ransomware is the main horror of the online world, infecting millions of computers worldwide and extorting even larger sums of money from innocent users. This plague of the Internet has been around for nearly thirty years now, but has only reached the monstrous proportions it has today in the last few years. To begin with, it wasn’t even around in most parts of the world with its initial presence only bothering Russia back in the nineties. Today, on the other hand, it seems to have spread everywhere and literally anyone can become affected by its nasty payload. But you’re here because of one particular version of ransomware and that’s [email protected]. This one is among the latest to be unleashed onto users, but most of its features match those of just about any other member of the ransomware family.

Distribution tactics

When you are battling a virus of any kind, it’s important to learn from the experience so as to prevent it from happening again. Now, you might not be aware of the exact instance, when you contracted [email protected], but here are several of the most common distribution techniques hackers employ to make sure their ransomware lands its hooks in someone’s system. Perhaps one of these will ‘speak’ to you and you’ll know where you might have been most likely to get infected from. This will also be helpful in the sense that once you’ve learned these methods, you can substantially increase the safety of your browsing experience.

  • Malvertisements. These cunning things may seem like your regular adverts at first, but they’re actually malicious vessels for ransomware. The ads may have been legit at some point, but were then injected with the virus in order to infect the next person to click on the ad. These are more likely to be found on various shady websites with questionable content and an even more questionable reputation. Always be smart about the locations you visit online.
  • Spam emails. Spam email campaigns were and still are a thing. In this case, though, the ransomware is usually not distributed directly. In fact, the spam emails contain a different type of malware, but a no less nasty one – a Trojan horse. Once the infected attachment or link is opened, the Trojan then downloads the ransomware, sort of leading it into your system. Be careful, though: spam emails can sometimes be amazingly deceptive, pretending to come from legitimate institutions or companies. Don’t let them fool you into opening any of the attachments, so always approach new emails with caution and a healthy portion of skepticism.
  • Program bundles and/or infected torrents. Remember what we said earlier about the shady websites and their content? You should be careful when visiting those, but you should be many times more careful if you’re looking to download something from places like that. Certain torrents may be compromised or you might be downloading some freeware that has ransomware bundled in it. You just never know and for this reason we highly recommend you view your download sources like you do your food – if it looks rotten, it probably is.

Paying the ransom

Perhaps you’re debating this matter, perhaps you’ve already decided that you’re not going to pay anyone anything, which is also why you’ve sought out this page. Whichever it is, it’s your decision to make and there isn’t exactly a right or wrong one in this case. There are certain pros and cons to paying the requested amount, though in our opinion the cons outweigh the pros. Here’s how we see it:

Pros:

  • You get the decryption key, it works like a charm and you have your files back.

Cons:

  • You don’t get the decryption key.
  • You get it, but it doesn’t work.
  • You’re funding criminals.

See what we mean? Paying doesn’t necessarily buy you back your data, not to mention the moral side of the question. In addition to this, the payments are most times requested in Bitcoins – the famous cryptocurrency, which is notoriously hard to trace. Aiding the cybercriminals by making sure they’re not caught doesn’t seem like a very good idea either. Below is our removal guide that will help you delete the nasty infection, deleting everything including any leftover components of it. Follow the steps to clean your computer and within that same guide we’ve also included an option that might help you restore you’re encoded files. We cannot guarantee you that it will be 100% successful, but we can promise that your files will not be harmed. Please leave us a comment to let us know how it went and in case you have any questions.

[email protected] Ransomware Removal

# 1

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Enter Windows Safe mode.

  • Win 7 Users: Restart your PC –> keep on clicking F8 –> In the subsequent Menu select Safe Mode with Networking.
  • Win 8 Users: Start Button –> Control Panel –> System and Security –> Administrative Tools –> System Configuration –> In the subsequent Menu select Safe Boot –>
  • Win 10 users: Start Menu –> Power Options Menu –> Hold down the SHIFT button while clicking on Restart –> Troubleshoot –> Advanced Options –> Startup Settings –> Restart –> In the subsequent Menu select Safe Mode with Networking.

# 2

Open Task Manager and locate any processes associated with [email protected].

  • Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keys simultaneously –> Processes Tab –> Select a suspicious process (use Google or ask us in the comments if you are not sure about a process) –> Right Click and Open File Location –> End the suspicious process in Task Manager –> Delete the Folders containing the suspicious files.

# 3

Open the Registry Editor and search for [email protected].

  • Win 7 Users: Click Start and type regedit –> Enter –> Press CTRL + F buttons –> Type Cryp1 Virus in the search field.
  • Win 8/10 users: Start Button –> Choose Run –> type regedit –> Enter Press CTRL + F buttons –> Type [email protected] in the search field.

# 4

Try to recover your files. First you will need System Restore.

  • Win 7 Users: Start button –> Type Windows System Restore –> Enter –> Open System Restore –> Select a Restore Point and revert to it.
  • Win 8 Users: Hold down the Windows key + Q –> Type Recovery –> Settings –> Choose the Recovery icon –> Open System Restore –> Select a Restore Point.
  • Win 10 Users: Start Menu –> Power Options Menu –> Hold down the SHIFT button while clicking on Restart –> Troubleshoot –> Advanced Options –> System Restore –> Select a Restore Point and apply it.

Secondly use program that can access your Shadow Copies.

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  • Use Google to find the official website of such a program and download it.
  • Use the program to select the file types and the hard drive locations you want the program to scan for.
  • Start the scan and keep in mind that it might take a while.
  • Once the scan has been completed just select the files you want to be recovered.

If you have questions or suggestions feel free to use our comments section!