Remove Waldo file virus

About this threat

Waldo file virus is a very severe malware infection, that might lead to permanently encrypted data. Ransomware is another word for this type of malicious software, one that could ring a bell. If you’re confused how such an infection managed to enter your computer, you possibly opened an infected email attachment, clicked on an infected advert or downloaded something from a suspicious source. If you do not know how you might stop ransomware from infecting your machine, read the following paragraphs cautiously. If you’re worried about how much damage a ransomware infection may do, familiarize yourself with with its distribution methods. If that isn’t an infection you’re familiar with, seeing encrypted files might be especially surprising. Soon after you understand what is going on, a ransom message will pop-up, which will reveal that in order to unlock the files, you have to pay the ransom. Remember who you are dealing with if you consider complying with the demands, because we doubt criminals will bother sending a decryption tool. It’s probably more likely that they will not restore your data. This, in addition to that money supporting an industry to blame for millions dollars worth of damages, is why giving into the demands is not recommended. We advise looking into free decryption tool available, a malware specialist might have been able to crack the ransomware and make a decryptor. Before you even consider paying, carefully research the alternatives first. For those who do have backup, just uninstall Waldo file virus and then access the backup to restore files.

Download Removal Toolto remove Waldo file virus

How does ransomware spread

If you want to stop future threats, we suggest you carefully study the following paragraphs. It commonly employs pretty basic methods for infection but more elaborated ones aren’t out of the question. Low-level ransomware authors/distributors like to use methods that do not need advanced knowledge, like sending spam or hosting the infection on download platforms. It is quite likely that by opening a spam email attachment you got the infection. Criminals attach a contaminated file to a somewhat valid looking email, and send it to potential victims, whose email addresses were bought from other cyber criminals. Normally, those emails have signs of being fake, but for those who have never run into them before, it may appear quite real. You may note particular signs that an email might be harboring ransomware, such as the text being full a grammar mistakes, or the sender’s email address being weirdly random. You might also run into famous company names used because that would put you at ease. So if the email is seemingly from Amazon, check the email address to see if it matches the company’s actual one. A red flag should also be your name not used in the greeting, or anywhere else in the email for that matter. If you receive an email from a company/organization you had business with before, instead of greetings like Member or User, your name will always be included. For instance, if Amazon sends you an email, they will have automatically inserted your name if you are a customer of theirs.

In a nutshell, before rushing to open the email attachment, ensure you check that the sender is who they say they are. And if you are on a questionable website, don’t click on adverts or engage in what they offer. Not all advertisements are safe to press on, and you could be redirected to a website that will launch ransomware to download onto your system. No matter how appealing an ad could seem, do not engage with it. In addition, you ought to stop downloading from unreliable sources. Downloads through torrents and such, are a risk, therefore you ought to at least read the comments to ensure that what you’re downloading is safe. Infection is also possible through program flaws, because programs are flawed, malware can use those flaws to enter. You have to keep your programs up-to-date because of that. Whenever software vendors release a patch, install it.

How does ransomware behave

File encryption will be initiated soon after the infected file is opened. Files that will be locked will be documents, media files (photos, video, music) and everything else that would be considered valuable to you. As soon as the files are located, the file-encrypting malware will lock them using a powerful encryption algorithm. The locked files will have a weird extension added to them, and that’ll help you quickly identify encrypted files. The ransom note, which you should find soon after the ransomware is finished with your file locking, will then ask payment from you to receive a decryptor. How much you’re requested to pay really depends on the ransomware, you could be asked $20 or a $1000. While you’re the one to choose whether to give into the demands or not, do consider the reasons why ransomware researchers do not encourage paying. You should also look into other ways data recovery may be accomplished. Maybe a decryptor has been made by people trained in malware research. It might also be probable that your files were backed up, and you simply don’t realize it. Your device stores copies of your files, which are known as Shadow copies, and it is possible ransomware did not delete them, therefore you might recover them via Shadow Explorer. If you don’t wish this situation to reoccur, make sure you regularly back up your files. If backup is available, you should only access it after you remove Waldo file virus.

Ways to delete Waldo file virus

Unless you are completely certain about what you are doing, manual uninstallation is not encouraged. If you end up making an error, your device may be severely harmed. It would be best for you to obtain anti-malware utility to get rid of the ransomware. The program would successfully delete Waldo file virus as it was created for this purpose. Your data will stay locked however, as the software cannot assist you in that regard. Instead, you will need to research other file restoration methods.

Download Removal Toolto remove Waldo file virus

Learn how to remove Waldo file virus from your computer

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

Step 1. Remove Waldo file virus using Safe Mode with Networking.

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.
• b) Step 2. Remove Waldo file virus.

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 Waldo file virus.

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 Waldo file virus 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.