ARCHITEK Virus Files of Ransomware — How to remove virus?

The Architek virus belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (images, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the How to decrypt files.txt files in every directory which contains the encrypted files.

What is known about the Architekvirus?

☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the Architek would be “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.

Architek appends its extra .architek extension to every file’s title. For example, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.architek”. Likewise, the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.architek”, and so on.

In each folder containing the encoded files, a How to decrypt files.txt file will be found. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about 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. That is it.

Architek abstract:

In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Architek looks like. Each filename has the “.architek” extension appended to it.

How did Architek 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 ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a malware item attached to them. Thus it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.

As for the peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger 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 resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove the Architek virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Architek virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware² can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Sometimes criminals would decrypt few of your files to prove that they do have the decryption tool. Since Architek virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption tools are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the malefactors do the job of encoding someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of racketeers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

Architek 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, White, Unlock, Rsfdd, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Architek are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in every directory containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware infiltration?

Architek ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from ransomware infiltration in several easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax email will surely contain mistakes.
• Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are difficult to tell from reliable ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution 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 “.architek” files?Can I somehow access “.architek” files?

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

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.architek” files ASAP. How can I do that?

Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. 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 to do if the Architek ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them 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 computer, a notebook, phone, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities⁵ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: 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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