CROSSLOCK Virus 🔐 (.CRLK Files) — How to Remove?

The Crosslock virus belongs with the ransomware type of malicious agent. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, leaving the —CrossLock_readme_To_Decrypt—.txt files in each folder which contains the 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 Crosslockvirus?

☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Crosslock would be “a ransomware infection”.

Crosslock will add its extra .crlk extension to every file’s name. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.crlk”. Likewise, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.crlk”, and so forth.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a —CrossLock_readme_To_Decrypt—.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is how they do it.

Crosslock outline:

In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Crosslock looks like. Each filename has the “.crlk” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .crlk files.

How did Crosslock ransomware end up on my PC?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for malefactors to have the Crosslock virus settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.

If you open your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a harmful file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something else. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some program. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful agent that encodes your data. Since the installation package can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. 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 directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove the Crosslock virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Crosslock virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Sometimes racketeers would decrypt some of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. Since Crosslock virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to undo its work. However, the decryption tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Of course, if the evildoers succeed in encrypting someone’s critical data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers simply disappearing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

The best safety measure against 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 disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Crosslock, that work similarly. Examples of those are Nifr, Niwm, Tyos, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Crosslock are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: files become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in every folder containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avert ransomware infiltration?

Crosslock ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can armour your computer from its attack within several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email with caution. A hoax email will always contain a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
• 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 PC.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft¹

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft².

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 Crosslock 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 “.crlk” files?Are the “.crlk” files accessible?

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

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. In case you haven’t, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Crosslock virus?

No way! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual viruses. The malware that has attacked your PC is must be still functional and running scans periodically to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been said above, the Crosslock virus does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.

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

In such an unfortunate situation, you need to prepare a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or brought into your PC. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system start. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your important files via 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 give those images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery programs³ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but be advised: you can do it only after you kill the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.

Also, you can contact the following official 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.

1. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
2. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
3. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.