Do you know what Agho Ransomware is?
Agho Ransomware is a malicious computer infection that will not leave you alone unless you transfer the ransom payment to the criminals behind it. At least, that’s what this infection wants you to think. In reality, it is really easy to remove Agho Ransomware from your system, but some users might not be inclined to do so because they think that removing the infection would make them lose their files. Please do not feel threatened by this infection. There might be ways to restore your files, but it’s not related to this intruder’s claims.
The reason there might be ways to restore your files is the fact that Agho Ransomware comes from the STOP Ransomware family. There are tons of programs that belong to this group, and all of them are really similar. Normally, it is not possible to apply the same decryption tool across several programs from the same group. However, the “descendants” of the original STOP Ransomware may employ the offline encryption key to locked up the target files. If that is really the case, then the public decryption tool that was developed for STOP Ransomware actually works. You just need to run this publicly available tool and see whether you can restore the files that were encrypted by Agho Ransomware.
In the files cannot be restored with the public decryption tool, it means that the application used an online encryption tool. Then, you need to look for other ways to unlock your files. Of course, the best option would be a file backup, but not everyone can boast that they regularly back up their files on some other storage space. Actually, getting infected with ransomware could be a good reason to start doing so. It is very seldom that public decryption tools are available, and the best remedy against this kind of infection is actually a file storage that contains copies of your files. When you remove ransomware from your system, you can delete all the encrypted files without any qualms of conscience, and you can transfer the healthy copies back into your computer.
Agho Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Of course, rather than dealing with this infection, it would be for the best to avoid Agho Ransomware in the first place. As far as we know, this infection should employ the same distribution methods as CLUB Ransomware, Decme Ransomware, Nypd Ransomware, and many other programs from the same group. In other words, you have to be weary of spam emails and their attachments. Some users think that spam emails are not dangerous, and most of them land in the Junk folder anyway. However, spam email campaigns that distribute malware could be rather sophisticated, and they might trick you into opening the said attachment.
For instance, it is not unheard of for spam emails to masquerade as notifications from online shipping companies, looking like shipping invoices. They might also look like reports from financial institutions, thus pushing users into opening malicious files thinking they are important documents that must be checked immediately.
However, the moment users open those files, they start the chain of a ransomware infection where the malicious code in the file connects to a remote server and downloads the malicious payload. After that, when the infection is installed, it scans your system looking for the files it can encrypt. Usually, most of the files that are stored in the %USERPROFILE% directory get affected by the encryption. And of course, when the encryption is complete, you can also see a ransom note that says the only way to recover your files is by paying the ransom.
Cybersecurity specialists are strongly against paying the ransom because it would only encourage the criminals to create and distribute more infections. Also, they might just collect your money and take down their server, not even issuing the coveted decryption tool. Thus, you should focus on other malware removal and file recovery options.
You can remove Agho Ransomware either manually or automatically. Manual removal might not be your cup of tea if you’re not used to it. Also, automatic removal can help you locate other potential threats that could have been hiding on your computer. So, choose the malware removal options that suits your needs the best.
How to Remove Agho Ransomware
- Remove the latest files from Desktop.
- Delete the latest files from the Downloads folder.
- Press Win+R and enter %TEMP%. Click OK.
- Delete recent files from the directory.
- Press Win+R and type %LOCALAPPADATA%. Click OK.
- Remove the folder with a long random name.
- Scan your PC with the SpyHunter free scanner.
In non-techie terms:
Getting infected with Agho Ransomware is not the end of the world even though it might seem like it. You can use the manual removal instructions above to remove Agho Ransomware for good. However, we would recommend investing in a security application that can protect and regularly scan your computer, helping you find unwanted programs and remove them at once. Also, please consider learning more about ransomware and their infection methods so you could avoid similar problems in the future.