The Ransomcrow virus falls under the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, leaving the readme.txt text files in every directory with the encrypted files.
Ransomcrow virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Ransomcrow is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Ransomcrow will add its specific .encrypted extension to every file’s name. For example, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.encrypted”. Likewise, the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.encrypted”, and so forth.
In each folder that contains the encoded files, a readme.txt file will appear. 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 usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is how they do it.
Ransomcrow summary:
| Name | Ransomcrow Virus |
| Extension | .encrypted |
| Ransomware note | readme.txt |
| Ransom | €50 |
| Detection | TrojanDownloader:Win32/Waledac.C, Win32:SMSSend-ADN [Trj], Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PCG!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .encrypted extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Ransomcrow virus |
The readme.txt file accompanying the Ransomcrow ransomware provides the following frustrating information:
All of your files have been encrypted Your computer was infected with a ransomware virus. Your files have been encrypted and you won\'t be able to decrypt them without our help. What can I do to get my files back? You can buy the decrypter, it will leave your pc as it was before the encryption. The price is 50€ You can buy cryptos here Coinmama - hxxps://www.coinmama.com Bitpanda - hxxps://www.bitpanda.com Payment informationAmount: 0.1473766 BTC Bitcoin Address: 1Cee1QKq46myiLVL1v1y5gq751piPGGHNs
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Ransomcrow looks like. Each filename has the “.encrypted” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.encrypted” files look.
How did my machine catch Ransomcrow ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for hackers to have the Ransomcrow virus working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.
If you access your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a viral item attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something legal. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some software. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that corrupts your data. As the update wizard can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat 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 websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Ransomcrow virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Ransomcrow virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware2 can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes racketeers would decrypt several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. Since Ransomcrow virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decoding tools are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Of course, if the criminals do the job of encrypting victim’s essential data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of ransomware developers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The optimal solution 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. Of course, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system restoration.
Ransomcrow is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. Examples of those are Oori, Ooxa, Ggew, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Ransomcrow are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in every directory containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding 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 pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware attack?
Ransomcrow ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect yourself from its injection in three easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email carefully. A hoax email will always have mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful 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 PC.
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 PC for Ransomcrow 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 “.encrypted” files?Are the “.encrypted” files accessible?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.encrypted” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
If the “.encrypted” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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. All other solutions require time.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Ransomcrow malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your PC off the actual threats. The virus that has infiltrated your device is most likely still active and it scans your system from time to time to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has already been said, the Ransomcrow virus does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Ransomcrow malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your machine. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to give 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 media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, memory stick, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery programs5 to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original 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 eradicate the virus with an antivirus 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove RANSOMCROW Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: RANSOMCROW Virus
Description: RANSOMCROW Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .encrypted extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- You can read more on spyware variants and nature in the respective section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
