ATEK ransomware Removal

What type of infection are you dealing with

ATEK ransomware malicious software is classified as a very malicious threat because it will try to lock your files. It’s also more commonly known as as ransomware. You might have obtained the threat in a couple of ways, likely either through spam email attachments, malicious advertisements or downloads from unsecure sources. If you continue reading the article, you’ll find tips on how infection may be prevented. Become familiar with how to avoid ransomware, because there might be severe consequences otherwise. It may be particularly surprising to find your files locked if you’ve never happened upon ransomware before, and you have little idea about what it is. When you become aware that you can’t open them, you’ll see that you are demanded to pay in exchange for a decryptor. Do keep in mind that you are dealing with criminals and they are unlikely to feel any responsibility to help you. It would be more likely that they won’t send you a decryption utility. You’d also be supporting an industry that does millions of dollars in damages to businesses. There is a feasibility that there’s a free decryption tool available out there, as malicious software analyst could in some cases crack the ransomware. At least try to find a decryption tool before you even consider giving into the requests. And if you had backed up your data before, after you terminate ATEK ransomware, you can access them there.

Download Removal Toolto remove ATEK ransomware

How is ransomware spread

You might have picked up the infection in a couple of ways, which we will discuss in more detail. It commonly employs somewhat simple methods for contamination but more sophisticated ones are not impossible. Spam email and malware downloads are the popular methods among low-level ransomware creators/distributors as not much skill is needed to employ them. It is very probable that you got the malware via spam email. A contaminated file is added to a kind of authentically written email, and sent to all possible victims, whose email addresses they store in their database. It is not really that shocking that people fall for these emails, if they’ve little experience with such things. There could be signs that it’s malware you’re dealing with, something like a nonsense email addresses and a text full of grammar errors. We ought to also mention that oftentimes, criminals claim to be from known companies to put users at ease. Even if you think you know the sender, always check whether the email address is correct. See if your name was used somewhere in the email, particularly in the greeting. Your name will certainly be used by a sender with whom you’ve had business before. For example, if Amazon emails you, your name will be automatically included if you’re their customer.

In short, you just have to be more cautious about how you deal with emails, primarily, do not rush to open files attached to emails and always make sure the sender is legitimate. And if you’re on a questionable page, don’t press on advertisements or engage in what they propose. By clicking on a malicious advertisement, you could end up permitting ransomware to download. Advertisements you encounter on questionable websites are almost never trustworthy, so avoid engaging with them. By using unreliable sources for downloads, you may also be endangering your device. If Torrents are what you use, at least only download torrents that have been checked by other users. In some cases, software vulnerabilities may be employed by the ransomware to get in. So as to prevent malicious software from exploiting those vulnerabilities, your software has to be updated. All you need to do is install the updates, which are released by software vendors when they become aware of the vulnerability.

How does file-encrypting malware behave

Ransomware normally starts the encoding process as soon as it’s launched. Don’t be shocked to see photos, documents, etc encrypted since file encoding malware has to have leverage over you. The ransomware will use a strong encryption algorithm to lock files as soon as they are located. All affected ones will have a file extension attached to them and this will help with locating locked files. If you’re still unsure about what happened, a ransom message will explain the situation and request that you buy a decryptor. You may be demanded to pay as little as $20 or as much as a couple of thousand, depending on the ransomware. While you’re the one to choose whether you’ll pay or not, do consider why this option is not advised. You ought to also research other ways you could be able to restore your data. A decryptor that would not cost anything might be available, if someone specializing in malware analysis was able to crack the ransomware. Try to recall maybe you have backed up at least some of your files somewhere. It might also be possible that the Shadow copies of your files were not deleted, which means you may recover them via Shadow Explorer. If you don’t want this situation to reoccur, make sure you routinely back up your files. If you just realized that you did make backup before infection, you just have to terminate ATEK ransomware, and may then proceed to recover files.

How to eliminate ATEK ransomware

We would like to emphasize that manual removal isn’t recommended. A single error could do permanent damage to your computer. It would be a much wiser idea to use a malicious software removal utility as the program would do everything. You should not come across trouble since those programs are made to eliminate ATEK ransomware and similar infections. Your data will remain locked after ransomware elimination, since the tool isn’t capable of assisting you in that regard. You’ll have to look into how you can recover data yourself.

Download Removal Toolto remove ATEK ransomware

Learn how to remove ATEK ransomware from your computer

• Step 1. Remove ATEK ransomware using Safe Mode with Networking.
• Step 2. Remove ATEK ransomware using System Restore
• Step 3. Recover your data

Step 1. Remove ATEK ransomware using Safe Mode with Networking.

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.
• b) Step 2. Remove ATEK ransomware.

a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.

For Windows 7/Vista/XP

1. Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options appears.
3. Choose Safe Mode with Networking

For Windows 8/10 users

1. Press the power button that appears at the Windows login screen. Press and hold Shift. Click Restart.
2. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. Choose Enable Safe Mode with Networking.

b) Step 2. Remove ATEK ransomware.

You will now need to open your browser and download some kind of anti-malware software. Choose a trustworthy one, install it and have it scan your computer for malicious threats. When the ransomware is found, remove it. If, for some reason, you can't access Safe Mode with Networking, go with another option.

Step 2. Remove ATEK ransomware using System Restore

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
• b) Step 2. Restore files and settings.

a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

For Windows 7/Vista/XP

1. Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options appears.
3. Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

For Windows 8/10 users

1. Press the power button that appears at the Windows login screen. Press and hold Shift. Click Restart.
2. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. Choose Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

b) Step 2. Restore files and settings.

1. You will need to type in cd restore in the window that appears. Press Enter.
2. Type in rstrui.exe and again, press Enter.
3. A window will pop-up and you should press Next. Choose a restore point and press Next again.
4. Press Yes.

While this should have taken care of the ransomware, you might want to download anti-malware just to be sure no other threats are lurking.  

Step 3. Recover your data

• a) Using Data Recovery Pro to recover encrypted files.
• b) Restore files through Windows Previous Versions
• c) Using Shadow Explorer to recover files

While backup is essential, there is still quite a few users who do not have it. If you are one of them, you can try the below provided methods and you just might be able to recover files.

a) Using Data Recovery Pro to recover encrypted files.

1. Download Data Recovery Pro, preferably from a trustworthy website.
2. Scan your device for recoverable files.
3. Recover them.

b) Restore files through Windows Previous Versions

If you had System Restore enabled, you can recover files through Windows Previous Versions.

1. Find a file you want to recover.
2. Right-click on it.
3. Select Properties and then Previous versions.
4. Pick the version of the file you want to recover and press Restore.

c) Using Shadow Explorer to recover files

If you are lucky, the ransomware did not delete your shadow copies. They are made by your system automatically for when system crashes.

1. Go to the official website (shadowexplorer.com) and acquire the Shadow Explorer application.
2. Set up and open it.
3. Press on the drop down menu and pick the disk you want.
4. If folders are recoverable, they will appear there. Press on the folder and then Export.

* SpyHunter scanner, published on this site, is intended to be used only as a detection tool. More info on SpyHunter. To use the removal functionality, you will need to purchase the full version of SpyHunter. If you wish to uninstall SpyHunter, click here.