Get rid of Tornado ransomware

What is ransomware

Tornado ransomware is a file-encrypting kind of malicious software, most commonly known as ransomware. Threat could have serious consequences, as encrypted data might be permanently damaged. Another reason why data encrypting malware is believed to be so dangerous is that it is quite easy to get the threat. A big factor in a successful ransomware infiltration is user negligence, as contamination generally infects via spam email attachments, dangerous ads and bogus software downloads. As soon as it is up and running, it will launch its data encoding process, and when the process is complete, you’ll be requested to buy a decryption method, which in theory should decrypt your data. Depending on what kind of file encoding malicious program has infiltrated your device, the sum asked will be different. We don’t recommend paying, no matter how little the amount is. Trusting criminals to recover your files would be naive, as there is nothing stopping them from just taking your money. You can certainly find accounts of people not being able to recover data after payment, and that isn’t really shocking. This kind of situation could happen again, so consider investing into backup, instead of complying with the demands. You can find all types of backup options, and we are certain you can find one that is right for you. And if by chance you do have backup, simply eliminate Tornado ransomware and then proceed to data recovery. You’ll run into malware like this everywhere, and you’ll possibly get contaminated again, so the least you could do is be ready for it. If you want to stay safe, you have to become familiar with likely threats and how to protect your machine from them.

Download Removal Toolto remove Tornado ransomware

How does ransomware spread

People generally get ransomware by opening infected email attachments, interacting with infected advertisements and obtaining software from untrustworthy sources. Occasionally, however, more elaborate methods may be used.

You probably obtained the infection through email attachment, which may have came from an email that looks entirely real initially. Crooks attach an infected file to an email, which is then sent to hundreds or even thousands of users. It is not odd for those emails to contain money-related information, which encourages users to open it. When you are dealing with unknown sender emails, be on the look out for specific signs that it may be malicious, like mistakes in grammar, encourage to open the attachment. To explain, if someone important would send you a file, they would would know your name and wouldn’t use common greetings, and you would not need to search for the email in the spam folder. Expect to see company names such as Amazon or PayPal used in those emails, as a familiar name would make the email seem more real. It is also likely that when visiting a suspicious website, you pressed on some ad that was malicious, or downloaded something from an unreliable page. If while you were on a compromised site you clicked on an infected advert, it may have triggered the ransomware to download. And use only valid sites for downloads. One thing to remember is to never download anything, whether software or an update, from pop-up or any other types of ads. If a program was in need of an update, you would be alerted via the application itself, not via your browser, and most update themselves anyway.

What does it do?

A very big reason on why ransomware are classified as a high-level threat is because it might make decryption impossible. It could take mere minutes for it to locate its target file types and encrypt them. Weird file extensions will appear added to all affected files, and they will commonly indicate the name of data encrypting malicious programs. A data encrypting malware tends to use strong encryption algorithms to make files inaccessible. If you’re confused about what is going on, everything will become clear when a ransom note appears. The creators/spreaders of the ransomware will request that you use their decryption tool, which you obviously have to pay for, and that isn’t what we recommend. Paying doesn’t necessarily mean data decryption because hackers might just take your money, leaving your files as they are. By paying, you wouldn’t be just risking losing your money, you would also be supporting their future criminal activity. The easily made money is regularly attracting crooks to the business, which reportedly made more than $1 billion in 2016. Instead of paying the ransom, invest the money into backup. In case of a similar infection again, you could just ignore it without worrying about likely data loss. Our advice would be to ignore the demands, and if the threat still remains on your computer, eliminate Tornado ransomware, for which you’ll find guidelines below. If you become familiar with the spread ways of this threat, you ought to be able to avoid them in the future.

Ways to uninstall Tornado ransomware

Take into account that you’ll have to get malicious program removal software if you want to completely eliminate the ransomware. You might unintentionally end up harming your device if you attempt to manually terminate Tornado ransomware yourself, so we don’t recommend proceeding by yourself. It would be better to use credible elimination software because you would not be endangering your computer. There shouldn’t be any problems with the process, as those kinds of programs are made with the intention to remove Tornado ransomware and similar infections. We will provide guidelines to help you below this article, in case you aren’t sure how to begin. The tool is not, however, capable of assisting in data recovery, it will only terminate the infection from your system. However, free decryption tools are released by malware specialists, if the file encrypting malicious program is decryptable.

Download Removal Toolto remove Tornado ransomware

Learn how to remove Tornado ransomware from your computer

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

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

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