Remove AWT ransomware

What type of infection are you dealing with

AWT ransomware is a very severe malware infection, that may permanently encrypt your files. Ransomware is the name you should be more acquainted with in regards to this kind of malicious program. It’s possible that the reason the threat was able to get into your computer is because you opened a spam email attachment or downloaded something from a source that you ought to have avoided. It will be discussed how you might safeguard your machine from this type of threat later on in the report. There’s a reason ransomware is believed to be so dangerous, if you wish to avoid possibly serious damage, be cautious to prevent its infection. It can be especially shocking to find your files encrypted if it is your first time coming across ransomware, and you have no idea what it is. Soon after you become aware of what is going on, a ransom message will pop-up, which will disclose that so as to unlock the files, you need to pay money. Do not forget who you’re dealing with if you consider paying the ransom, because we doubt criminals will take the trouble sending a decryption program. We very much doubt crooks will help you restore files, it’s more likely that they will ignore you after the payment is made. Furthermore, your money would go towards supporting future malware projects. Furthermore, a malware specialist might have been able to crack the ransomware, which means they may have released a a free decryptor. Before rushing to pay, attempt to find a decryption software. In case you did create backup prior to the infection getting into your computer, after you remove AWT ransomware there should be no issues with recovering data.

Download Removal Toolto remove AWT ransomware

How does ransomware spread

You could have acquired infected in a couple of different ways, which we will discuss in a more detailed manner. While it is more probable you infected your computer through a simple method, file encrypting malware also uses more elaborate ones. When we say simple, we mean methods such as spam email, dangerous advertisements and downloads. Through spam is probably how the threat managed to get in. Cyber crooks have access to huge databases with potential victim email addresses, and all they need to do is write a semi-convincing email and add the file contaminated with the ransomware to it. It isn’t really that unexpected that users fall for these emails, if it’s their first time coming across it. There could be signs that it is malware you’re dealing with, something like a nonsensical email addresses and a text full of grammar errors. Users tend to let their guard down if they know the sender, so cyber crooks might pretend to be from known companies like Amazon or eBay. Thus, even if you do know the sender, always check whether the email address is right. In addition, if there is a lack of your name in the greeting, or anywhere else in the email, it may also be a sign. Your name, instead of a typical greeting, would definitely be used if you’ve dealt with the sender in the past, whether a company or a single person. Let’s say you’re an Amazon customer, all emails they send you will have your name (or the one you have supplied them with) used in the greeting, since it’s done automatically.

If you want the short version, just bear in mind that you have to confirm the identify of the sender before opening the files added. It is also not suggested to click on advertisements when you are on dubious reputation pages. If you do, you could end up with a malware infection. Advertisements shouldn’t always be relied on so avoid interacting with them, even if they are proposing something of interest. In addition, don’t download from untrustworthy sources. If Torrents are your favored download source, at least download only torrents that have been used by other users. Infection is also possible via flaws that may be discovered in software, because programs are flawed, malicious software can use those flaws for infection. Make sure your programs are always up-to-date because of this. All you need to do is install the patches that software vendors make available for you.

What happened to your files

When you open the ransomware file on your computer, the ransomware will begin scanning for files in order to lock them. Don’t be shocked to see photos, documents, etc encrypted because those are likely to be the highly valuable files to you. As soon as the data is discovered, the file-encrypting malware will encrypt them using a strong encryption algorithm. If you are uncertain which files were locked, check the file extensions, if you see strange ones, they have been affected. The ransom message, which you should find soon after the ransomware is finished locking your files, will then ask payment from you to receive a decryption software. You could be asked to pay as little as $20 or as much as a couple of thousand, the sum depends on the ransomware. While generally, ransomware investigators believe paying to be a bad idea, the decision is yours to make. Before even considering paying research other data restoring options. A free decryption tool might be available, if someone specializing in malware research was able to crack the ransomware. Or maybe you have backed up the files a short while ago but forgotten about it. It might also be possible that the Shadow copies of your files weren’t deleted, which means they are restorable via Shadow Explorer. And if you don’t want to end up in this kind of situation again, ensure you do regular backups. If you just realized that you did make backup prior to the infection taking place, you simply need to delete AWT ransomware, and may then proceed to data restoring.

Ways to eliminate AWT ransomware

For primarily one reason, we do not suggest manual termination. If you make an error, you may end up permanently damaging your machine. It would be more secure to use an anti-malware program since it would erase the threat for you. Those utilities are created with the purpose to eliminate AWT ransomware and similar threats, therefore there should not be issue. Unfortunately, the utility won’t decrypt your files. You’ll have to look into how you can restore data yourself.

Download Removal Toolto remove AWT ransomware

Learn how to remove AWT ransomware from your computer

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

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

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