Remove PassLock

What type of infection are you dealing with

PassLock is believed to be a highly dangerous threat due to its aim to lock your data. Ransomware is another word for this type of malware, one that may ring a bell. You might have contaminated your device in a couple of ways, probably either through spam email attachments, infected ads and downloads. If you don’t know how you can prevent ransomware from getting in the future, read the following paragraphs thoroughly. If you’re worried about the harm a ransomware infection could bring about, you need to familiarize yourself with with its spread methods. It may be particularly shocking to find your files locked if it is your first time coming across ransomware, and you have no idea what type of threat it is. A ransom note ought to appear soon after the files are encrypted, and it’ll ask that you buy the decryptor. In case you consider paying, we need to warn you who you’re dealing with, and they are not likely to keep their promise, even if you pay. It is more probable that you’ll be ignored after you pay. By paying, you’d also be supporting an industry that does damage worth hundreds of millions yearly. It ought to be said that malicious software specialists do help victims in data recovery, so you might get lucky. Try to find a decryption tool before considering paying. If you were careful enough to set up a backup, simply terminate PassLock and proceed to recover files.

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How to avoid a ransomware infection

This section will attempt to learn how you got the threat in the first place. Ransomware likes to to use quite basic methods for infection but a more sophisticated method is not impossible. We’re talking about methods such as attaching malware to emails or concealing malware as legitimate downloads, essentially ones that only require minimum skill. Ransomware via spam is still probably the most frequent infection method. The file contaminated with ransomware is added to a kind of convincingly written email, and sent to potential victims, whose email addresses hackers were given by other hackers. If you know what to look for, the email will be rather obviously spam, but otherwise, it’s not hard to see why some users would fall for it. Particular signs can make it rather evident, like the sender having a random email address, or countless mistakes in the text. We should also say that criminals pretend to be from legitimate companies to put people at ease. So, as an example, if Amazon sends you an email, you still need to check whether the email address is correct just be sure. You should also take note of if your name was used somewhere in the email, the greeting in particular. If a company with whom you have dealt with before emails you, they’ll always address you by name, instead of Member/User/Customer. For example, Amazon automatically includes customer names (or the names users have provided them with) into emails they send, thus if the sender is actually Amazon, you will see your name.

If you want the short version, just remember that looking into the sender’s identity before you open the file attachment is crucial. Also, refrain from engaging with ads when you are visiting questionable websites. If you’re careless, ransomware could end up slithering into your machine. However appealing an ad might look, avoid interacting with it. Infection might also be brought about by you downloading from sources that aren’t trustworthy, such as Torrents. Downloading via torrents and such, are a risk, thus at least read the comments to ensure that you are downloading safe content. Vulnerabilities in programs may also be used for malware to enter. For such reasons it’s so important to install updates, whenever the software offers an update. Software vendors release vulnerability patches a regular basis, you just need to authorize them to install.

How does ransomware behave

The file encoding malicious software will start file encryption as soon as it’s launched. It’ll mainly target documents and photos, as they are likely to be important to you. A powerful encryption algorithm will be used for locking the data ransomware has located. The ones that have been locked will now contain a weird file extension. You ought to then see a ransom note, explaining to you what happened to your files and how much you have to pay to get a  decryption software. You might be requested to pay as little as $20 or as much as a couple of thousand, the sum depends on the ransomware. While we’ve already stated why we do not recommend paying, in the end, this is a decision you must make yourself. It’s might be probable that you can accomplish data recovery via other ways, so research them before you decide anything. A free decryptor may have been made so look into that in case malicious software researchers were successful in cracking the ransomware. Or maybe you’ve created copies of your files some time ago but simply do not recall doing so. Or maybe the Shadow copies of your files weren’t erased, which means that by implementing a specific software, file restoring may be successful. If you don’t wish this situation to occur again, we really hope you have invested money into a backup option so that your data is kept safe. If backup is an option, you can proceed to restore files from there after you uninstall PassLock.

How to terminate PassLock

We would like to emphasize that manually eliminating the infection is not encouraged. Irreversible damage may be done to your computer, if mistakes are made. It would be much wiser to employ a malware elimination software instead. Those tools are designed with the purpose to delete PassLock and similar infections, therefore there should not be issue. Your files won’t be recovered by the application, however, as it does not posses that functionality. Data restoring will need to be carried out by you.

Download Removal Toolto remove PassLock

Learn how to remove PassLock from your computer

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

Step 1. Remove PassLock using Safe Mode with Networking.

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

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 PassLock.

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 PassLock 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.