ARAI Ransomware (.ARAICRYPT File) — Removal Guide

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:

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.

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.

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.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

Download Removal Tool.

Run the setup file.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

Click on “Clean Now”.

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.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Arai malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.

🤔 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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