REC_RANS Virus 🔐 (.REC_RANS Files) — How to Remove?

The Rec_rans virus belongs to the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the HOW_TO_RECOVERY_FILES.txt files in every directory 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 Rec_ransvirus?

☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the Rec_rans is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.

Rec_rans will add its own .rec_rans extension to the name of every encrypted file. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.rec_rans”. Just like the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.rec_rans”, and so forth.

In every folder that contains the encrypted files, a HOW_TO_RECOVERY_FILES.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is basically the scheme of the malefaction.

Rec_rans summary:

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

That is how encrypted “.rec_rans” files look.

How did my machine catch Rec_rans ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most popular ways for evil-doers to have the Rec_rans virus acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a viral file attached to them. So it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse model. A Trojan is a program that gets into your machine pretending to be something different. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. As the update file can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The optimal way is to trust the software companies’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents or eMule, the danger 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove the Rec_rans virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Rec_rans virus will probably deploy Vidar Stealer on your computer 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 data.

Often tamperers would decrypt few of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. Since Rec_rans virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the decoding instruments are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Of course, if the hackers do the job of encoding someone’s essential files, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. However, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The best safety measure 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. Surely, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Rec_rans, that work similarly. Examples of those are Coty, Foza, Coza, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Rec_rans are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in every directory containing encrypted files.

Some lucky people were able to decrypt the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avert ransomware injection?

Rec_rans ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can armour yourself from ransomware attack within three easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email carefully. A fake email will surely have a mistake.
• Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect defense for your personal computer.

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 Rec_rans 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 finished, 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 “.rec_rans” files?Are the “.rec_rans” files accessible?

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

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.rec_rans” files ASAP. How can I do that?

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Rec_rans malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual viruses. The virus that has infected your system is must be still functional and running scans periodically to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Rec_rans malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your system after some time.

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

In such a case, you need to have a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or imported into your machine. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted files can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, mobile, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities³ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, 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.

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 are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.