AIRACROP Ransomware 🔐 (._AIRACROPENCRYPTED! File) — Removal Guide

The Airacrop virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the How to decrypt your files.html files in each folder containing encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is known about the Airacropvirus?

☝️ A strictly accurate designation for the Airacrop is “a ransomware-type infection”.

Airacrop adds its extra ._AiraCropEncrypted! extension to the name of every encrypted file. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg._AiraCropEncrypted!”. Likewise, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx._AiraCropEncrypted!”, and so on.

In each directory that contains the encrypted files, a How to decrypt your files.html file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. You can obtain this decryptor after contacting [email protected] by email. That is basically the scheme of the felony.

Airacrop outline:

The How to decrypt your files.html file accompanying the Airacrop malware provides the following frustrating information:

To get information on how to reverse the encryption of files
send email to:
[email protected]
Containing the subject or email field, your public key.
Remember if your email is not answered within a maximum of 24 time
return to this site we will update it with a new email, as we
constantly exchanging email.

In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Airacrop looks like. Each filename has the “._AiraCropEncrypted!” extension appended to it.

That is how encrypted “._AiraCropEncrypted!” files look.

How did Airacrop ransomware end up on my PC?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most exploited methods for malefactors to have the Airacrop virus planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan virus model¹. A Trojan is a program that gets into your computer disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. Since the update package can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove the Airacrop virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Airacrop virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware² can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes racketeers would decode several of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. As Airacrop virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Understandably, if the evildoers do the job of encoding someone’s critical data, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of criminals simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The optimal solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system restoration.

Airacrop is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Mppn, Uyit, Isza, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Airacrop are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.

Some lucky victims were able to decode the arrested files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding code to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware attack?

Airacrop ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can protect yourself from ransomware infiltration within several easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the dubious letter carefully. A fake letter will surely contain mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or untrusted software. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try to find information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect shield for your personal computer.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft⁴.

Download Removal Tool.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your computer.

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your PC for Airacrop infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has completed, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

FAQ

🤔 How can I open “._AiraCropEncrypted!” files?Are the “._AiraCropEncrypted!” files accessible?

There’s no way to do it, unless the files “._AiraCropEncrypted!” files are decrypted.

🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. All other solutions require time.

🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Airacrop virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?

Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual viruses. The malware that has infiltrated your computer is probably still active and it scans your system every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the Airacrop malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.

🤔 What should I do if the Airacrop malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your computer. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system start. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the encoded files might still be within your reach

• If you exchanged your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to post those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, cellphone, external storage, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery programs⁵ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the virus with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following governmental fraud and scam sites to report this attack:

• In the United States: On Guard Online;
• In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
• In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
• In Australia: SCAMwatch;
• In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
• In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
• In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
• In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;

To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.

How to Remove AIRACROP Ransomware & Recover PC

Name: AIRACROP Virus

Description: AIRACROP Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific ._AiraCropEncrypted! extension. So, you can't use them at all.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Virus

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