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Welcome to our Spora Virus removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC for free.
More and more people are reporting that their personal files have gotten locked by a malicious program called Spora Virus, which demands a ransom payment if the user is to regain access to their own data. The method used to lock the files is called encryption and the only way to unlock them is to have a specific decryption key. This is typical Ransomware virus behavior and today we will explain to you how viruses of this type work and what you can do so as to keep your files safe from it. Since a lot of you have probably come here because their PC has already been attacked by Spora Virus, we have devised a removal guide, which could help you get rid of the malicious virus. We can also offer you a file decryption method, but we ought to inform you that its success and effectiveness might vary depending on the specific situation. However, one thing’s for certain and that is the fact that opting for our guide is a much better course of action in contrast to agreeing to the terms of the hacker and paying them the demanded ransom money. This will not only further encourage the cyber criminal to keep on using Ransomware to blackmail people, but it could also be an absolute waste of money, since you never know if they are actually going to send you the decryption key that you need.
The problem with antivirus programs
The most common method for dealing with malware is the use of specialized software such as an antivirus program. Unfortunately, when Ransomware attacks your PC, the chances are that your security software will not be able to detect it. This is due to the fact that viruses the likes of Spora Virus are not damaging anything on your PC. Their encryption does not cause any actual harm – it simply places a “protection” on your files that does not allow you to access them. A typical antivirus program will not “see” this as threatening or malicious and will allow the encryption process to be completed. Lately, attempts are being made towards developing more reliable security tools that would be able to handle Ransomware threats, but there is a lot of improvement that is yet to be made in that area.
Signs of a Ransomware attack
With viruses the likes of Spora Virus, symptoms are rare and difficult to spot. Even the most observant of users will have a hard time noticing the subtle system changes that are only visible during the encryption period. However, we will still give you a general idea about what the most common symptoms of a Ransomware attack are, so that you know what to look out for.
- Increased CPU time and RAM usage or in other words “CPU/RAM spikes” are not something uncommon during a malware infection and Spora Virus is no exception to that. Therefore, if you notice that your PC is using unusually high amounts of system resources for no visible reason, then there might be Ransomware.
- Something very typical about Ransomware viruses is that they require physical space on your PC during the encryption process. If you see that there is less free space on your HDD than you last remember it to have been, you should probably shut down your machine and call for professional aid or your files might get locked by Spora Virus.
- Finally, if your machine starts acting weirdly and experiencing a lot of crashes, freezes and is generally slowed-down, this might be yet another indication of an attack by Spora Virus. Even if it is not Ransomware that you have, there still might be some other kind of virus on your machine, which you’d need to get rid of.
System protection rules
Make use of the following list of rules in order to prevent Ransomware viruses from getting onto your PC and encrypting your files in the future.
- Do not allow your browser to automatically download anything. If there is an automatic downloads setting, be sure to disable it so that you always know what is trying to get downloaded on your machine.
- Online spam is everywhere and you should at all times be on your guard when checking your e-mail or when somebody sends you a shady link/file attachment whether that would be on Facebook, Skype or some other message platform. Malicious spam is commonly used for spreading Ransomware.
- One very common method for infecting computers with Spora Virus is through backdoor viruses (for example, Trojan horses). To protect your machine against those, make sure it is equipped with a good and high-quality antivirus program.
- Being vigilant and cautious while browsing the internet is always a good idea. Beware of sites that seem shady and that might be illegal since those can be used to distribute Ransomware.
- Lastly, backing up all of your important data is by far one of the best and most effective anti-ransomware precautions that you can take. Therefore, if you haven’t done that already, be sure to do it as soon as possible.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Spora Virus |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Danger Level | High (Ransomware is by far the worst threat you can encounter) |
| Symptoms | Few symptoms such as increased CPU and/or RAM usage and less-than-normal free HDD space can sometimes be noticed during the encryption. |
| Distribution Method | Sites with shady contents, harmful junk mail messages and Trojan horses or some other form of backdoor malware. |
Spora Virus 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
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- 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.
- Open the Start Menu and in the search field type Task Manager.
- Open the first result and in the Processes tab, carefully look through the list of Processes.
- 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.
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- Make sure that the hidden files and folders on your PC are visible, else you might not be able to see everything.
- 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
- Go to the ID Ransomware website. Here is a direct link.
- Follow there in order to identify the specific virus you are dealing with.
IV – Decrypt your files
- Once you have identified the virus that has encrypted your files, you must acquire the respective tool to unlock your data.
- Open your browser and search for how to decrypt ransomware, look for the name of the one that has infected your system.
- 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
- Download the Recuva tool. This will help you restore your original files so that you won’t need to actually decrypt the locked ones.
- Once you’ve downloaded the program, open it and select Next.
- Now choose the type of files you are seeking to restore and continue to the next page.
- 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.
- Click on Next and for best results, enable the Deep Scan option (note that this might take some time).
- 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.
