The Arai virus falls under the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the READ_TO_RESTORE_YOUR_FILES.txt files in each directory which contains the encrypted files.
What is known about the Araivirus?
☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Arai is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Arai adds its extra .araicrypt extension to every file’s name. For example, a file named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.araicrypt”. In the same manner, the Excel sheet with the name “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.araicrypt”, and so forth.
In each directory that contains the encrypted files, a READ_TO_RESTORE_YOUR_FILES.txt file will be found. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.
Arai outline:
| Name | Arai Virus |
| Extension | .araicrypt |
| Ransomware note | READ_TO_RESTORE_YOUR_FILES.txt |
| Detection | Win32/GenKryptik.FXXR, Win32/Packed.CAB.K suspicious, Trojan:Win32/Zbot.RB!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .araicrypt extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Arai virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Arai looks like. Each filename has the “.araicrypt” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .araicrypt files.
How did my machine catch Arai ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for criminals to have ransomware working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.
If you access your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a malicious item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse scheme1. A Trojan is a program that gets into your machine disguised as something else. For example, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. Since the update wizard can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Arai virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Arai virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware2 can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often criminals would decrypt few of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Arai virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.
Of course, if the malefactors succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about hackers simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external drive. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.
There are other ransomware products, besides Arai, that work similarly. Examples of those are Hhwq, Ggwq, Llqq, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Arai are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in every folder containing encoded files.
Some fortunate users were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.
How to avert ransomware attack?
Arai ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from ransomware injection in three easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax email will surely contain a mistake.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often distributed as an element of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such programs at all.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect armor for your system.
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 system for Arai 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 “.araicrypt” files?Is it possible to open“.araicrypt” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.araicrypt” files are decrypted.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.araicrypt” files ASAP. How can I do that?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Arai virus?
No way! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your system off the actual threats. The virus that has infiltrated your device is most likely still active and launching checks every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has already been said, the Arai virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Arai malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or imported into your PC. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do 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 mailbox.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, cellphone, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can use data recovery programs5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove ARAI Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: ARAI Virus
Description: ARAI Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .araicrypt extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- You can read more on spyware variants and nature in the respective section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
