Remove XINOF ransomware

Is this a severe threat

XINOF ransomware will encrypt your files, as that’s the prime intention of ransomware. It’s a serious threat that can leave you with encoded data and no way to recover them. Because of this, and the fact that getting infected is rather easy, ransomware is considered to be a very dangerous infection. Ransomware developers count on users being hasty, as infection often infiltrates via spam email attachments, infected advertisements and malicious downloads. After files are successfully encoded, it’ll ask that you pay a ransom for a decryptor tool. Between $100 and $1000 is likely what you’ll be asked to pay. Paying is not something you be considering doing do, so think through all scenarios. It is not 100% guaranteed you’ll get your data back, even after paying, considering there’s nothing stopping crooks from just taking your money. If you take the time to look into it, you’ll certainly find accounts of users not recovering data, even after paying. This might easily reoccur, so instead of paying, think about buying backup. You can find all kinds of backup options, and we are sure you will be able to find one that’s right for you. For those who did back up files prior to contamination, simply eliminate XINOF ransomware and restore data from where they’re stored. This is not likely to be the last time malicious program will infect your computer, so you need to be ready. In order to safeguard a machine, one must always be ready to come across possible malware, becoming informed about how to avoid them.

Download Removal Toolto remove XINOF ransomware

How does ransomware spread

A lot of ransomware rely on the most primitive spread methods, which include spam email attachments and corrupted adverts/downloads. Nevertheless, it’s possible for file encrypting malware to use methods that require more expertise.

You could have recently opened a corrupted file from an email which landed in the spam folder. Criminals spreading ransomware add a corrupted file to an email, send it to potential victims, who infect their devices as soon as they open the attachment. Those emails normally end up in the spam folder but some users find them convincing and move them to the inbox, thinking it is credible. You can expect the file encoding malicious program email to have a basic greeting (Dear Customer/Member/User etc), noticeable mistypes and mistakes in grammar, strong encouragement to open the attachment, and the use of an established business name. If the email was from a company whose services you use, they would have automatically put in your name into the email, and a general greeting would not be used. It wouldn’t be surprising if you see big company names (Amazon, eBay, PayPal) be used, as that would make users trust the email much more. It may have also been the case that you interacted with the wrong advertisement when on a suspicious page, or downloaded something from a source that you should have avoided. If you are someone who interacts with ads while visiting weird web pages, it’s not really shocking that you got your computer contaminated. Or you may have downloaded a file encrypting malicious program-infected file from a questionable source. Sources such as advertisements and pop-ups are notorious for being unreliable sources, so never download anything from them. If an application had to update itself, it would not notify you via browser, it would either update without your intervention, or send you a notification through the software itself.

What happened to your files?

Researchers are constantly warning about how damaging ransomware can be, most importantly, its ability to permanently encode data. And it’s only a matter of minutes before your files are encrypted. If not for other signs, the weird file extension added to the files should make everything clear. The reason why your files may be permanently lost is because strong encryption algorithms could be used for the encryption process, and it is not always possible to break them. A note with the ransom will then launch, or will be found in folders that have encoded files, and it should explain everything, or at least try to. The note will demand that you pay for a decryption utility but giving into the demands is not suggested. The crooks may just take your money, they won’t feel obligated to aid you. By paying, you wouldn’t be just risking losing your money, you would also be funding their future criminal projects. And, more and more people will become attracted to the already highly profitable business, which allegedly made $1 billion in 2016 alone. Investing into backup instead of giving into the requests would be a better idea. And your data wouldn’t be endangered if this type of threat took over your computer again. We would suggest you don’t pay attention to the demands, and if the threat still remains on your device, uninstall XINOF ransomware, for which you’ll see guidelines below. And attempt to familiarize with how these types of infections are spread, so that this doesn’t occur.

Ways to eliminate XINOF ransomware

The presence of anti-malware program will be needed to check for the presence of this malware, and its elimination. Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, which is possibly not the case if you are reading this, we do not recommend proceeding to remove XINOF ransomware manually. A wiser choice would be using reliable malware elimination softwareto take care of everything. The program would scan your device and if the infection is still present, it will uninstall XINOF ransomware. If you scroll down, you will see instructions to assist you, in case you encounter some kind of problem. However unfortunate it may be, those tools are not capable of decrypting your data, they’ll merely terminate the infection. In some cases, however, the ransomware is decryptable, thus malware specialists are able to release a free decryptor, so be on the look out for that.

Download Removal Toolto remove XINOF ransomware

Learn how to remove XINOF ransomware from your computer

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

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

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