EXPLUS Files Ransomware – Remove EXPLUS Virus

The Explus virus belongs with the ransomware type of malicious agent. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the RECOVERY INFORMATION.txt text files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.

What is Explus virus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Explus would be “a ransomware malicious agent”.

Explus appends its specific .explus extension to the title of every encrypted file. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.explus”. Just like the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.explus”, and so on.

In every directory containing the encoded files, a RECOVERY INFORMATION.txt file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is how they do it.

Explus abstract:

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

How did my machine catch Explus ransomware?

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

There are currently three most exploited methods for criminals to have ransomware planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer file transfer.

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

As for the peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger 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 done.

How to remove the Explus virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Explus virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes tamperers would unblock few of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. Since Explus virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.

Sure thing, if the criminals do the job of encoding victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After receiving the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of criminals just disappearing after getting the money without even writing back.

The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Of course, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Explus, that work similarly. For instance, Qbaa, Ooii, Fgui, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Explus are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in every directory containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate users were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption code to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware attack?

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

You can defend your PC from ransomware attack in three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious letter with caution. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
• Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft²

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 “.explus” files?Is it possible to open“.explus” files?

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

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

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. 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. The rest of the methods require patience.

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

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received 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. Just ask them to post those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, phone, memory stick, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery programs⁴ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before 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.

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