The Ssaw virus falls under the ransomware type of infection. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the как расшифровать файлы.txt text files in each folder containing encrypted files.
Ssaw virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A strictly accurate denomination for the Ssaw would be “a ransomware infection”.
Ssaw will append its specific .ssaw extension to every file’s name. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.ssaw”. Likewise, the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.ssaw”, and so on.
In every folder containing the encoded files, a как расшифровать файлы.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom 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.
Ssaw abstract:
| Name | Ssaw Virus |
| Extension | .ssaw |
| Ransomware note | как расшифровать файлы.txt |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .ssaw extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Ssaw virus |
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Ssaw looks like. Each filename has the “.ssaw” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .ssaw files.
How did Ssaw ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited methods for malefactors to have the Ssaw virus planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.
If you access your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a viral item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse model1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful agent that compromises your data. Since the update package can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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 anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Ssaw virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Ssaw virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware2 can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes racketeers would decrypt few of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. As Ssaw virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the hackers succeed in encrypting someone’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about criminals just disappearing after getting the money without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external disk. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Ssaw, that work similarly. For instance, Iotr, Hhoo, Hhee, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Ssaw are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avert ransomware infiltration?
Ssaw ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect your PC from its injection within several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown senders 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 waiting for, check all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake email will always contain mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted software. Trojans are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, use 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 system.
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 computer for Ssaw 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 How can I open “.ssaw” files?Are the “.ssaw” files accessible?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.ssaw” files are decrypted.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
If the “.ssaw” 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. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Ssaw virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
No way! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The ransomware that has infected your PC is probably still functional and running scans from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been said above, the Ssaw virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Ssaw malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your machine. To block 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.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the blocked data 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 photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got 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.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, mobile, memory stick, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery utilities5 to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you kill the virus with an anti-malware 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove SSAW Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: SSAW Virus
Description: SSAW Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .ssaw 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.
