[email protected] File Virus Ransomware Removal (Recovery Steps)

This page aims to help you remove [email protected] Virus Ransomware. These [email protected] File Virus removal instructions work for all versions of Windows, including Windows 10.

[email protected] is one of the latest variants of ransomware and we’re terribly sorry if the reason for your being here, on this page is due to an infection with this terrible virus. The reason why ransomware is widely considered to be the top cyber security threat for users in all parts of the world is due to the often irreversible effects it can have on a computer. In addition to this, this kind of malware is notoriously stealthy and practically impossible to detect, whilst on the victim’s machine. However, we’re not saying this to panic you – much on the contrary, we have prepared a special guide to help you remove this virus from your system. Not only that, but we’ve also included a few steps within the removal guide dedicated to retrieving the encoded files as well. We cannot promise you that this method will necessarily be successful and help you restore what you’ve lost to the ransomware, but we can assure you that it will by no means do your system any further harm or damage the affected files in any way.

[email protected]: The basics

When dealing with any kind of malware, it’s vital that you are aware of how it functions, how it travels and what exactly it does to your system. This information is important mainly for the purpose of preventing infections like this from happening in the future. First thing’s first and that is how you got infected to begin with. While we cannot tell you for sure how this happened in your particular case, we can outline the main possibilities. Ransomware’s main distribution mechanism is a thing called malvertisements. These are ads that look just like your regular online advertising materials (popups, banners, box messages), only they’ve been injected with the malicious script. Alternatively, they may be programmed by the hackers to redirect you to a malicious or even illegal website with the same purpose. Most times the ads were normal, legit ads until they were hijacked by cyber criminals to be used as vessels for their online extortion scheme.

Another popular way for spreading viruses like [email protected] is via email, only you’re not being sent the ransomware. Instead, you receive a Trojan horse virus – another notorious master of stealth, which then downloads the ransomware onto the victim’s computer. The emails are typically disguised as actual letters from existing companies, like online stores or even utility companies, to gain the target’s trust and make them open the attached file. That’s where the Trojan is embedded and once you’ve opened the attachment – all hell breaks loose. But, as pointed out, it’s a silent hell – you won’t be notified in any way of what’s going on and there will be no indication whatsoever of the process. Once the ransomware has been downloaded onto your PC, it immediately begins encrypting your most used files. Typically this would be pictures, music, videos and documents, but it isn’t necessarily limited to just those. Some famous pieces of ransomware have been known to lock the entire hard drive.

There are rare instances when people are able to detect that something’s not right and that’s usually because their computer isn’t all that powerful and there’s a substantial amount of data stored on it. This would result in a massive slowdown of the machine, due to the amount of resources the virus would call on to execute the encryption. But as this is incredibly rare, most people are usually concerned with the consequences of such an infection and how to deal with them. You might have been considering paying the ransom that was requested by the hackers. We don’t blame you if you have, but you should know that that too represents a certain risk. First of all, there’s no guarantee that they will send you the decryption key, which is necessary for regaining access to your files. Secondly, even if you do receive the key – you might not be able to use it. It could happen, and it has happened before, that it is faulty and won’t unlock the files or will unlock only some of them. Furthermore, paying the criminals money would be pretty much the same as aiding them and supporting their illegal cause.

[email protected] Removal

 Here is what you need to do in order to remove a Ransomware virus from you computer.

I – Reveal Hidden files and folders and utilize the task manager

1. Use the Folder Options in order to reveal the hidden files and folders on your PC. If you do not know how to do that, follow this link.
2. Open the Start Menu and in the search field type Task Manager.
   
3. Open the first result and in the Processes tab, carefully look through the list of Processes.
4. If you notice with the virus name or any other suspicious-looking or that seems to consume large amounts of memory, right-click on it and open its file location. Delete everything in there.
   

• Make sure that the hidden files and folders on your PC are visible, else you might not be able to see everything.

5. Go back to the Task Manager and end the shady process.

II – Boot to Safe Mode

• Boot your PC into Safe Mode. If you do not know how to do it, use this guide/linked/.

III – Identify the threat

1. Go to the ID Ransomware website. Here is a direct link.
2. Follow there in order to identify the specific virus you are dealing with.

IV – Decrypt your files

1. Once you have identified the virus that has encrypted your files, you must acquire the respective tool to unlock your data.
2. Open your browser and search for how to decrypt ransomware, look for the name of the one that has infected your system.
3. With any luck, you’d be able to find a decryptor tool for your ransomware. If that doesn’t happen try Step V as a last ditch effort to save your files.

V – Use Recuva to restore files deleted by the virus

1. Download the Recuva tool. This will help you restore your original files so that you won’t need to actually decrypt the locked ones.
2. Once you’ve downloaded the program, open it and select Next.
   
3. Now choose the type of files you are seeking to restore and continue to the next page.
4. When asked where your files were, before they got deleted, either use the option In a specific location and provide that location or choose the opt for the I am not sure alternative – this will make the program look everywhere on your PC.
   
5. Click on Next and for best results, enable the Deep Scan option (note that this might take some time).
   
6. Wait for the search to finish and then select which of the listed files you want to restore.

• Keep in mind it is possible that not all files might be fully recovered. You can check in what condition the files are from the State column in the list of deleted files.