CRYSTAL ransomware Removal

What kind of infection are you dealing with

CRYSTAL ransomware will encrypt your files, which is why it is a threat you certainly want to bypass. File encrypting malware is generally known as ransomware, which is a term you should be more familiar with. If you are confused how you managed to get such an infection, you possibly opened an infected email attachment, clicked on a malicious advertisement or downloaded something from a source you should not have. This will be further discussed in a further paragraph. A file-encrypting malware infection may bring about very serious consequences, so it’s essential to know its spread methods. If that isn’t an infection you’re familiar with, seeing that your data has been locked might be especially surprising. Soon after you realize what’s going on, a ransom message will pop-up, which will disclose that if you want to get your files back, you have to pay the ransom. If you consider paying to be a good idea, we ought to remind you that you’re dealing with crooks, and they are unlikely to keep their promise, even if you pay. We are pretty doubtful that criminals will help you recover files, them just ignoring you is much more probable. Ransomware does damage worth hundreds of millions to businesses, and you’d be supporting that by paying the ransom. Something else you ought to take into consideration is that a malware specialist might have been able to crack the ransomware, which means they could have released a a free decryption software. Look into alternative options file recovery, such as a free decryption tool, before considering paying. If you were cautious enough to set up a backup, you can recover them after you delete CRYSTAL ransomware.

Download Removal Toolto remove CRYSTAL ransomware

CRYSTAL ransomware distribution methods

In this section, we will discuss how you may have acquired the threat in the first place. Usually, ransomware uses quite basic methods in order to infect a machine, but it is also probable you have gotten infected using something more elaborate. Those simple methods don’t require much abilities and are popular among ransomware creators/distributors who are on lower levels when it comes to abilities. By opening a spam email attachment is probably how you got the malware. Cyber crooks attach the ransomware to an email that looks kind of convincing, and send it to future victims, whose email addresses were sold by other crooks. If you’ve never encountering such a spam campaign, you may fall for it, although if you know the signs, it ought to be pretty obvious. You may see certain signs that an email may be malicious, such as grammar mistakes in the text, or the sender’s email address being weirdly random. What you may also notice is the sender claiming to be from a legitimate company because that would cause users to lower their guard. We suggest that even if the sender is familiar, you ought to still always check the sender’s address to make sure it matches. If your name is not mentioned in the email, for example, in the greeting, that itself is quite suspicious. Senders whose attachments are important enough to be opened ought to be familiar with your name, thus would include it in the greeting, instead of a general Sir/Madam or Customer. To be more specific, if you’re an Amazon customer, the name you’ve given them will be automatically inserted into any email you are sent.

To summarize, look into the sender and make sure they are who they say they are before rushing to open the attachment. We also do not encourage clicking on adverts hosted on sites with dubious reputation. Don’t be surprised if by clicking on one you end up permitting malware to download. It’s best if you ignore those ads, no matter how tempting they may be, seeing as they are hardly trustworthy. Infection could also be caused by you downloading from unreliable sources, like Torrents. If you are a devoted torrent user, at least make sure to read the comments made by other people before you download it. There are also situations where flaws in software could be used for infection. Keep your programs updated so that malicious software cannot exploit the flaws. All you have to do is install the updates that software vendors release.

How does file-encrypting malware behave

When you open the ransomware file on your device, the ransomware will start checking for files so as to encrypt them. All files that would be considered valuable, like photos and documents will be targeted. When it has found the data, it uses a powerful encryption algorithm for their encryption. The file extension attached will help you figure out with files were encrypted. You won’t be able to open them, and a ransom note should soon appear, in which the hackers will attempt to convince you to pay them the ransom in exchange for a decryptor. You could be requested to pay from $50 to a couple of thousand dollars, it really depends on the ransomware. We’ve already provided reasons for considering paying to be a bad idea, but in the end, the choice is yours. There is possibility that there are other ways to recover files, so research them before you make any decisions. There’s some possibility that analysts specializing in malicious software were able to crack the ransomware and release a free decryption program. Maybe you uploaded your files somewhere, and simply do not remember it. Or maybe the Shadow copies of your files are available, which means that by implementing a specific software, you could be able to restore them. And if you do not want to risk losing your files again, ensure you back up your files routinely. If you just realized that backup is indeed available, restore files after you eliminate CRYSTAL ransomware.

Ways to delete CRYSTAL ransomware

The manual termination option is not recommended, for primarily one reason. While you maybe successful, you may end up permanently harming your system. It would be a much better idea to employ a malicious software elimination software since the tool would take care of everything. The utility would successfully remove CRYSTAL ransomware since it was developed for this purpose. Because this utility is not capable of decoding your data, don’t expect to find recovered files after the infection is gone. You yourself will need to look into data recovery methods instead.

Download Removal Toolto remove CRYSTAL ransomware

Learn how to remove CRYSTAL ransomware from your computer

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

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

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