LOCK Ransomware 🔐 (.LOCK3 File) — Removal Guide

The Lock virus belongs to the MedusaLocker ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the How_to_back_files.txt text files in each directory with the encrypted files.

What is Lock virus?

☝️ Lock is a MedusaLocker family ransomware infection.

Lock appends its extra .lock3 extension to every file’s name. The number in the end differs from one case to another. In our attack, an image named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.lock3”. Just like the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.lock3”, and so forth.

In every folder that contains the encrypted files, a How_to_back_files.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the Lock developers. You can obtain this decoding tool after contacting [email protected] through email. That is it.

Lock Summary:

The How_to_back_files.txt document coming in package with the Lock ransomware provides the following frustrating information:

YOUR PERSONAL ID:
-
/!\\ YOUR COMPANY NETWORK HAS BEEN PENETRATED /!\\
All your important files have been encrypted!

Your files are safe! Only modified. (RSA+AES)

ANY ATTEMPT TO RESTORE YOUR FILES WITH THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE
WILL PERMANENTLY CORRUPT IT.
DO NOT MODIFY ENCRYPTED FILES.
DO NOT RENAME ENCRYPTED FILES.

No software available on internet can help you. We are the only ones able to
solve your problem.

We gathered highly confidential/personal data. These data are currently stored on
a private server. This server will be immediately destroyed after your payment.
If you decide to not pay, we will release your data to public or re-seller.
So you can expect your data to be publicly available in the near future..

We only seek money and our goal is not to damage your reputation or prevent
your business from running.

You will can send us 2-3 non-important files and we will decrypt it for free
to prove we are able to give your files back.

Contact us for price and get decryption software.

email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
* To contact us, create a new free email account on the site: protonmail.com
IF YOU DON\'T CONTACT US WITHIN 72 HOURS, PRICE WILL BE HIGHER.

* Tor-chat to always be in touch:

qd7pcafncosqfqu3ha6fcx4h6sr7tzwagzpcdcnytiw3b6varaeqv5yd.onion

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Lock looks like. Each filename has the “.lock3” extension appended to it.

How did my computer get infected with Lock ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

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

• If you access your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Thus it is even riskier to open 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 gets into your PC pretending to be something else. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that encodes your data. Since the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The optimal way is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the peer networks like torrents 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. So you’d better be using 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 ransomware?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Lock virus will most likely install Vidar Stealer on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

How to avoid ransomware attack?

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

You can armour your PC from ransomware injection within several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A hoax email will always contain a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.lock3” files?Is it possible to open“.lock3” files?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.lock3” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

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

If the “.lock3” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 What to do if the Lock ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal

• If you sent or received your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to give 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 drives might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, mobile, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can employ data recovery utilities² to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes 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 can do it only after you eradicate the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.