Cobra Locker ransomware Removal

About Cobra Locker ransomware

Cobra Locker ransomware may cause severe damage to your device and leave your files locked. Having a computer infected with ransomware could lead to permanent data encryption, which is why it’s categorized as such a harmful infection. Once you open the ransomware-infected file, it’ll locate and encrypt certain files. Files that are valued by people the most, such as photos and documents, will be targeted. Unfortunately, you will need to get the decryption key to decrypt files, which the hackers behind this ransomware will offer you for a price. The good news is that ransomware may be cracked by people specializing in malicious software, and a free decryption tool might be developed. If you do not have backup, waiting for the mentioned free decryption tool is probably your best choice.

You’ll see that a ransom note has been placed either on the desktop or in folders that have encrypted files. The note will explain what happened to your files and how you may get them back. It’s not exactly encouraged to pay for a decryption program. Crooks simply taking your money and not helping you restore files is not impossible. Your money would go towards developing more malware. Maybe investing into backup would be wiser. If files have been backed up, you don’t have to worry about losing them and can just eliminate Cobra Locker ransomware.

The infection’s spread methods will be clarified more thoroughly later on but the short version is that bogus updates and spam emails were probably how you got it. Such methods are rather often used by hackers as they don’t require advanced ability.

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Ransomware spread methods

Spam emails and false updates are possibly how you got ransomware, even though there are other distribution methods. Since of how frequent spam campaigns are, you need to learn what dangerous spam look like. When you run into senders you are not familiar with, don’t rush to open the attached file and thoroughly check the email first. It’s also not unusual for crooks to pretend to be from legitimate companies, as a well-known company names would make people less careful. It’s rather usual for the sender to claim to be from Amazon or eBay, with the email saying that a receipt for a purchase has been added as an attachment. Nevertheless, it is easy to confirm this. Compare the sender’s email address with the ones the company actually uses, and if there are no records of the address used by someone legitimate, best not to engage. If you’re uncertain scan the attachment with a trustworthy malware scanner, just to be on the safe side.

The malware could have also slipped in through false updates for software. The false software updates might be encountered when visiting pages with questionable reputation. Oftentimes, the fake update notifications may appear in banner or advertisement form. For anyone familiar with how updates are generally offered, however, this will bring about immediate doubt. Your system will never be infection-free if you continually download things from sources such as advertisements. If a program needs an update, you will be notified by the application itself or it will happen without you needing to do anything.

What does this malware do

Needless to say your files are not openable. As soon as the infected file was opened, the encryption process, which you might have missed, began. You will be able to quickly tell which files have been encrypted since they’ll have a file extension added to them. Attempting to open those files will be of no use since a powerful encryption algorithm was used to encrypt them. The ransom note, which can be seen on folders containing encrypted files, ought to explain what happened to your files and how you could restore them. Usually, ransom notes appear almost identical, they scare victims, ask for money and threaten with permanent file elimination. It’s possible that hackers behind this ransomware have the only available decryptor but despite that, paying the ransom is not recommended. What is there there to guarantee that you’ll be sent a decryptor after you pay. Furthermore, you might be specifically targeted next time, if hackers know that you are willing to give into the requests.

It might be possible that you have uploaded some of your files somewhere, so check storage devices you have and various social media accounts. In the future, malware researchers might develop a decryptor so keep your locked files stored somewhere. Eliminate Cobra Locker ransomware as soon as possible, no matter what you decide to do.

No matter what decision you make, you need to start backing up your files on a regular basis. If you do not take the time to make backups, this situation could reoccur. So as to keep your files secure, you’ll need to acquire backup, and there are a couple of options available, some more expensive than others.

Ways to eliminate Cobra Locker ransomware

If you’re not sure about what you’re doing, manual elimination is not the option you should select. Instead, allow anti-malware program to take care of the infection. You may have to boot your computer in Safe Mode for the anti-malware program to work. You shouldn’t encounter problems when your run the software, so you can successfully erase Cobra Locker ransomware. Anti-malware program will not help you with file decryption, however.

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Learn how to remove Cobra Locker ransomware from your computer

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

Step 1. Remove Cobra Locker ransomware using Safe Mode with Networking.

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.
• b) Step 2. Remove Cobra Locker 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 Cobra Locker 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 Cobra Locker 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.