RANS-A Ransomware 🔐 (.RANS-A File) — Removal Guide

The Rans-a virus belongs under the Xorist ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, documents, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, creating the HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt files in every folder containing 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 Rans-avirus?

☝️ A scientifically correct designation for the Rans-a would be “a Xorist family ransomware malicious agent”.

Rans-a will add its specific .Rans-A extension to every file’s title. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.Rans-A”. In the same manner, the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.Rans-A”, and so on.

In every directory containing the encoded files, a HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is pretty much the scheme of the malefaction.

Rans-a outline:

In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Rans-a looks like. Each filename has the “.Rans-A” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .Rans-A files.

How did my computer get infected with Rans-a ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most popular ways for malefactors to have the Rans-a virus settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration 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 “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a viral item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme². A Trojan is a program that gets into your computer disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some program. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encodes your data. As the update file can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.

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 Internet. You can never know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove the Rans-a virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Rans-a virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Sometimes tamperers would decrypt few of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. As Rans-a virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the hackers succeed in encoding someone’s essential data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about criminals simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The optimal solution against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud storage or at least on an external storage. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

Rans-a 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, Qoqa, Goaq, Coaq, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Rans-a are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in every folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky victims 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 decoding code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avert ransomware infection?

Rans-a ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your system from its infiltration within three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A hoax letter will surely contain mistakes.
• Never use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
• And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect shield for your system.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft⁴.

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 Rans-a 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.Rans-A” files?Can I somehow access “.Rans-A” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.Rans-A” files you will not be able to access them.

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

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.

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

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

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your system off the actual viruses. The ransomware that has infiltrated your PC is most likely still functional and running scans every so often to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has been said above, the Rans-a virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your system after some time.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Rans-a malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

In such a case, you need to have a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to post those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, phone, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery programs⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the virus 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.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
3. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
4. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
5. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.