How to remove Wizard Ransomware

What is Wizard Ransomware

Wizard Ransomware is because it will encrypt your files, making them unopenable. Ransomware is the typical name for this type of malware. If you’re unsure about how such an threat got into your device, you likely opened a spam email attachment, pressed on an infected advertisement or downloaded something from a dubious source. We’ll examine these methods further and give tips on how you can avoid similar threats in the future. Ransomware is not thought to be such a dangerous threat for nothing, if you wish to dodge possibly severe outcomes, make sure you know how to prevent an infection. It may be particularly shocking to find your files locked if you have never happened upon ransomware before, and you have no idea what kind of infection it is. A ransom note should make an appearance soon after the files become locked, and it’ll ask that you buy the decryption tool. Do keep in mind who you’re dealing with, as criminals will unlikely feel any responsibility to aid you. We’re more inclined to believe that you’ll be ignored after making the payment. Ransomware does hundreds of millions of dollars of damages to businesses, and by paying, you’d only be supporting that. Occasionally, malware analysts can crack the ransomware, and might release a decryptor for free. Look into a free decryptor before you give into the requests. In case backup was made prior to contamination, after you remove Wizard Ransomware there should be no issues with data recovery.

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How does Wizard Ransomware spread

You could have acquired the infection in a couple of ways, which we’ll discuss in a more detailed manner. Ransomware generally prefers to employ simple ways, but it is not impossible that more sophisticated ones are employed. Spam email and malware downloads are the popular methods among low-level ransomware creators/distributors as not much skill is required to employ them. Infecting via spam email is still one of the most frequent ways people get infected. The file infected with malware was attached to an email that may be composed kind of authentically, and sent to all potential victims, whose email addresses they have in their database. If you know what to look for, the email will be pretty evidently spam, but otherwise, it is quite easy to see why someone would fall for it. Particular signs will make it apparent, such as grammar mistakes and nonsensical email addressees. We would not be unexpected if you encountered popular company names like Amazon or eBay because users would lower their guard when dealing with a sender they know. So if you get an email from someone saying to be from Amazon, check if the email address genuinely matches the one of the company. Additionally, if your name is not used in the greeting, or anywhere else in the email, it may also be a sign. If you get an email from a company/organization you have dealt with before, instead of greetings like Member or User, your name will always be used. If you’re an Amazon customer, your name will be used in the greeting in every email they send you, since it’s done automatically.

To summarize, check that the sender is legitimate before you rush to open the file attached. We also do not suggest clicking on advertisements hosted on sites that have a questionable reputation. By just pressing on a malicious ad you might be authorizing ransomware to download. Adverts hosted on suspicious sites are almost never trustworthy, so avoid engaging with them. Using unreliable web pages as download sources could also result in a contamination. If Torrents are your favored download source, at least only download torrents that were downloaded by other people. Infection is also possible through vulnerabilities that could be discovered in software, the malware could use those flaws to contaminate a system. For these reasons keeping your software updated is important. You just need to install the fixes that software vendors release.

What happened to your files

If you open the ransomware malware file, your device will be scanned for certain files to encrypt. Because it needs to hold some leverage over you, all your important files, like media files, will become targets. The file-encrypting malware will use a strong encryption algorithm for file encryption once they’ve been found. The ones that have been affected will have a file extension attached to them and this will help you recognize encrypted files. If you are still uncertain about what happened, a ransom message will explain the situation and request that you buy a decryption program. You could be asked to pay a couple of thousands of dollars, or just $20, the sum depends on the ransomware. We have discussed before why giving into the demands is not the suggested option, you’re the one that needs to make the decision. There may be other data restoring options, so look into that before you make any decisions. Malicious software specialists are on some occasions able to crack ransomware, therefore you may find a free decryption tool. It is also probable that your files were backed up, and you just have little memory of doing it. Or maybe the ransomware left the Shadow copies of your files, which means that by using a certain software, you could be able to recover them. And start using backup so that you don’t risk losing your data again. If you had backed up files prior to infection, you will be able to recover files after you terminate Wizard Ransomware.

Wizard Ransomware termination

It should be said that it isn’t encouraged to try manual removal. If you make a mistake, you may end up permanently harming your machine. Using a malware removal tool to eliminate the infection is what you should do because everything would be done for you. Because those applications are developed to remove Wizard Ransomware and other infections, you shouldn’t come across any trouble. However, take into consideration that a malware elimination tool won’t help you restore your data, it’s not created to do that. This means you will need to research how to recover files yourself.

Download Removal Toolto remove Wizard Ransomware

Learn how to remove Wizard Ransomware from your computer

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

Step 1. Remove Wizard Ransomware using Safe Mode with Networking.

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