Do you know what AIR Ransomware is?
AIR Ransomware is a malicious application that is used for money extortion. It encrypts victims’ files to hold them as hostages and then shows a ransom note asking to pay for their decryption. The note may say the cybercriminals behind this malicious application are sorry to do this, but considering this is how they might be making their living, we doubt they care about their victims’ files at all. Thus, we advise considering what could happen if hackers appear to be not as willing to help their victims as their ransom note may claim. If you want to find out more about this malware as well as how you could delete AIR Ransomware, we invite you to read our full report. You might also find useful the removal guide available at the end of this article as it shows how to erase the malicious application in question manually. If you do not feel up for such a task, we advise using a reputable antimalware tool of your choice.
The first thing you should know about AIR Ransomware is how it could be spread. In many cases, such threats travel with Spam emails or unreliable files downloaded from sources like file-sharing websites, ads, and so on. If your system has any weaknesses such as outdated software or unsecured RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) connections, it could allow such a threat to find a way into your system too. Thus, when it comes to ransomware, you may want to stay away from doubtful data and scan all files received under suspicious circumstances or from unknown sources with a legitimate antimalware tool. Additionally, we recommend doing regular backups of your most precious files. You could store them on removable media devices, cloud storage, and so on. If you do so, you might be able to recover your data even if your computer does get infected with threats like AIR Ransomware.
AIR Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Our researchers say that AIR Ransomware encrypts all files but data located in the following directories: Default, Content.IE5, Local Settings, Windows, Microsoft, Program Data, Intel, and NVIDIA. Thus, it seems the malicious application ought to encrypt pictures, photos, archives, documents, and other files that might be considered personal. The reason such files often get encrypted is that they might be valuable or irreplaceable to a victim. After encrypted them, the threat should append a unique extension that might look like this: 8680670591972527474.ex_parvis@aol.com.AIR to each encrypted file. As said earlier, such data should become unreadable. Once all files are encrypted, AIR Ransomware should change a victim’s Desktop wallpaper and drop a note with a message explaining how to contact the hackers behind this malicious application.
You should know that if you do contact the malware’s creators, they will most likely ask you to pay a ransom. Agreeing to it could be risky as there are no guarantees the cybercriminals provide what they promise. Consequently, we advise not to pay if risking your money does not seem like a good idea to you. Instead, we suggest deleting AIR Ransomware. To eliminate it manually, you could use the removal guide available below. If you want to use a security tool instead, we recommend getting a reputable antimalware tool.
Erase AIR Ransomware
- Restart your computer in Safe Mode with Networking.
- Click Windows Key+E.
- Navigate to this directory: %WINDIR%
- Locate the malware’s launcher; it should be an executable file with a random name.
- Right-click the malicious file and select Delete.
- Check the same directory (%WINDIR%).
- Locate a picture called Tulips.jpg.
- Right-click the malware’s created image and select Delete.
- Exit File Explorer.
- Empty Recycle bin.
- Restart the computer.
In non-techie terms:
AIR Ransomware is a file-encrypting application written in the C++ programming language. It encrypts data in folders that are not called “Windows,” “Microsoft,” “Program Data,” and so on. Thus, the files it affects ought to be personal documents, photos, and so on. Next, the malware should display a ransom note and change a user’s Desktop imagine. The new wallpaper ought to be called Tulips.jpg. Unfortunately, instead of beautiful flowers, users ought to see a message stating that their most precious files were encrypted. Both the text on the image and the ransom note should ask to contact the malicious application’s developers via email. We are almost sure that they ought to ask to pay a ransom in return for decryption files, which would be risky because such people cannot be trusted. The safest way to get your data back would be to replace it with backup copies stored on cloud storage or removable media devices. Sadly, shadow copies or other system backups might be erased by the malware. To get rid of this threat, we recommend using the removal guide placed above or a capable antimalware tool that could delete AIR Ransomware for you.