Remove Goodmen ransomware

Is this a serious infection

Goodmen ransomware will lock your files, since it is ransomware. Infection could have serious consequences, as encrypted data might be permanently damaged. Because of this, and the fact that infection happens quite easily, ransomware is considered to be a very dangerous infection. Data encrypting malware developers target reckless users, as contamination generally occurs by opening a malicious email attachment, clicking on a malicious ad or falling for bogus ‘downloads’. Once the encoding process is completed, you’ll see a ransom note, asking you to pay for file decoding. How much is requested of you depends on the file encoding malicious program, some ask for thousands of dollars, some for way less. Even if a small amount is asked of you, we do not recommend giving in. Don’t forget these are crooks you’re dealing with and they may not give you anything, even after you make the payment. If you’re left with still locked files after paying, it would not be that shocking. This type of situation may happen again, so consider investing into backup, instead of giving into the requests. While you will be presented with many different options, it should not be hard to choose the best option for you. And if by chance you had made copies of your data before the infection occurred, just eliminate Goodmen ransomware and then proceed to data restoration. This isn’t likely to be the last time you will get contaminated with some kind of malware, so you ought to be ready. In order to guard a system, one must always be on the lookout for potential malware, becoming informed about their spread methods.

Download Removal Toolto remove Goodmen ransomware

File encoding malicious software spread methods

File encrypting malware typically sticks to the basic methods for distribution, such as through unreliable downloads, malicious adverts and corrupted email attachments. Nevertheless, it is possible for ransomware to use more sophisticated methods.

It’s possible you opened an infected file added to an email, which is what authorized the data encrypting malicious program to enter. You open the email, download and open the attachment and the ransomware is now able to begin encoding your data. Those emails may be written in an authentic way, usually covering money topics, which is why users may open them without thinking about it. What you could expect a file encrypting malware email to contain is a basic greeting (Dear Customer/Member/User etc), grammatical errors, encouragement to open the attachment, and the use of a famous company name. Your name would certainly be used in the greeting if the sender was from some legitimate company whose email should be opened. Crooks also tend to use big names such as Amazon so that users don’t become suspicious. If you recall pressing on some questionable ads or downloading files from suspicious websites, that’s also how you could’ve picked up the threat. If you are someone who engages with ads while on questionable pages, it is not really surprising that you got your computer contaminated. And if you have to download something, only trust legitimate pages. You ought to never get anything, whether it is programs or updates, from dubious sources, which include advertisements. If an application had to update itself, it would not alert you through browser, it would either update without your intervention, or alert you through the program itself.

What happened to your files?

If you infect your computer, you could be facing permanently encoded data, and that is what makes ransomware a very harmful threat to have. And the encoding process is very quick, it’s only a matter of minutes, if not seconds, for all your important data to become encrypted. Weird file extensions will appear attached to all affected files, from which you can judge which ransomware you are dealing with. Strong encryption algorithms will be used to lock your files, which can make decoding files for free pretty difficult or even impossible. You should then see a ransom note, which should explain the situation. The note will request that you buy a decryption tool to recover files, but giving into the demands isn’t what we recommend. Hackers might just take your money without giving you a decryptor. The money you provide them would also probably be financing future data encrypting malware activities. Reportedly, data encoding malware made $1 billion in 2016, and such a profitable business will just attract more and more people. A better choice would be a backup option, which would always be there in case something happened to your files. If this kind of situation occurred again, you could just ignore it without worrying about potential file loss. If you aren’t planning on complying with the requests, proceed to erase Goodmen ransomware if it’s still on your device. You can dodge these types of infections, if you know how they are distributed, so try to become familiar with its distribution methods, at least the basics.

Ways to terminate Goodmen ransomware

We strongly suggest obtaining anti-malware utility to get rid of this infection. You might unintentionally end up harming your computer if you try to manually terminate Goodmen ransomware yourself, so we do not recommend proceeding by yourself. A better option would be using valid malware elimination softwareto take care of everything. Malware removal tools are developed to delete Goodmen ransomware and all other similar infections, so it should not cause issues. If you scroll down, you will find instructions, if you are unsure where to begin. Unfortunately, the anti-malware will simply terminate the threat, it isn’t able to restore data. Although in some cases, malicious software researchers release free decryptors, if the data encoding malicious software is decryptable.

Download Removal Toolto remove Goodmen ransomware

Learn how to remove Goodmen ransomware from your computer

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

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

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