MERL ransomware Removal

What is file encrypting malicious program

MERL ransomware will encode your files, since it’s ransomware. These kinds of infections are not be taken lightly, as they might result in you losing access to your files. Another reason why it’s thought to be a highly dangerous malicious software is that the infection is rather easy to get. Data encrypting malicious software developers count on users being hasty, as contamination commonly infects via spam email attachments, dangerous ads and malicious downloads. Once a device gets infected, the encryption process starts, and once it is finished, criminals will ask that you pay a ransom if you want to decrypt your data. How much money is demanded depends on the file encoding malicious software, the demands could be to pay $50 or a couple of thousands of dollars. It isn’t recommended to pay, even if giving into the demands is cheap. Considering criminals won’t feel obligated to help you in data recovery, what’s stopping them from taking your money and not giving anything in return. We would not be shocked if you’re left with locked files, and you would certainly not be the only one. Investing the required money into some backup option would be a better idea. You’ll be presented with a lot of backup options, all you need to do is select the right one. If backup is available, restoring data will not be a problem. This isn’t the last time you will get infected with some kind of malicious software, so you need to be ready. If you want to stay safe, you have to familiarize yourself with potential contaminations and how to guard yourself.

Download Removal Toolto remove MERL ransomware

How does file encrypting malicious program spread

People generally get file encrypting malicious program by opening infected files added to emails, engaging with malicious adverts and downloading from unreliable sources. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean more complex way won’t be used by some ransomware.

If you are able to remember downloading a strange file from a seemingly real email in the spam folder, that could be how the file encoding malicious program managed to infiltrate. You open the email, download and open the attachment and the data encrypting malicious program is now able to begin the encryption process. It’s not odd for those emails to contain money-related information, which is the topic people are likely to consider to be important, thus wouldn’t hesitate to open such an email. Usage of basic greetings (Dear Customer/Member), prompts to open the attachment, and obvious mistakes in grammar are what you ought to look out for when dealing with emails from unknown senders that contain files. If the sender was a company whose services you use, they would have automatically put in your name into the email, instead of a general greeting. Do not be surprised to see names like Amazon or PayPal used, as users are more likely to trust the sender if it is a known name. Malicious ads and fake downloads may also be the cause of an infection. Compromised websites might be hosting malicious adverts so avoid pressing on them. Or you may have obtained the ransomware along with some program you downloaded from a questionable source. You ought to never download anything from adverts, as they aren’t good sources. If a program was in need of an update, it would alert you via the application itself, and not through your browser, and commonly they update without your intervention anyway.

What does it do?

It is possible for a data encrypting malicious program to permanently encrypt data, which is why it is an infection you want to definitely avoid. And the encryption process is very quick, it is only a matter of minutes, if not seconds, for all your important files to become encrypted. Weird file extensions will be added to all affected files, and they’ll usually indicate the name of ransomware. Ransomware will use strong encryption algorithms, which are not always possible to break. You’ll get a ransom note once the encryption process has been completed, and the situation ought to be clearer. The ransom note will demand that you buy a decryption utility, but think about everything thoroughly before you make the decision to give into the requests. Do not forget you are dealing with cyber criminals, and how would you prevent them from simply taking your money and giving you nothing in exchange. The money you provide hackers with would also support their future criminal activity. These kinds of infections are thought to have made $1 billion in 2016, and such big sums of money will just lure more people who want to earn easy money. You might want to consider buying backup with that money instead. And your files wouldn’t be endangered if this type of situation reoccurred. If you have made the decision to not put up with the demands, you’ll have to remove MERL ransomware if it’s still present on the system. You can dodge these kinds of threats, if you know how they are spread, so try to familiarize with its distribution ways, in detail.

MERL ransomware elimination

You’re highly recommended to acquire anti-malware utility for the process of getting rid of this infection. Because your device got infected in the first place, and because you are reading this, you may not be very knowledgeable with computers, which is why we would not advise you try to remove MERL ransomware manually. A wiser option would be implementing anti-malware software instead. Those tools are created to detect and erase MERL ransomware, as well as all other possible infections. We will give guidelines below this report, in case you are unsure about where to begin. Take into account that the program won’t help with data recovery, all it will do is ensure the threat is no longer present on your device. However, free decryptors are released by malware specialists, if the file encoding malicious program is decryptable.

Download Removal Toolto remove MERL ransomware

Learn how to remove MERL ransomware from your computer

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

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

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