Do you know what Ako Ransomware is?
Going through a ransomware infection is always a terrible experience. It’s sometimes even worse to get infected with a new an obscure ransomware infection rather than a world-wide menace like WannaCry. For instance, if you find Ako Ransomware on your computer, it can be quite gutting because no public decryption tool is available at the moment. At least you can remove Ako Ransomware and then restore your files from a file backup (provided you have one). If you don’t have a file backup, you might want to address a professional who could help you with that.
It is not too surprising to know that Ako Ransomware usually spreads through spam. Although the cybersecurity awareness is on the rise, spam and phishing emails remain one of the most popular means of malware distribution. The success rate of such distribution method might not be too high, but the sheer amount of spam being sent out balances the low success rate. Thus, we can expect cybercriminals to continue employing this distribution method to attack their potential victims at random and through specially targeted attacks.
At the same time, it also means that users allow Ako Ransomware to enter their systems without even realizing that. Spam emails that deliver this infection must look like regular notifications from reliable parties. It might look like some budget plan, a shipping invoice, or some other important document you might have forgotten about. Therefore, if you receive something from an unknown sender, don’t open the document recklessly. Take your time and scan the received file with a reliable antispyware tool. If the tool doesn’t detect anything suspicious about the file, then you can open it. Unfortunately, very few users employ such security measures. As a result, they get infected with Ako Ransomware, and other dangerous ransomware applications.
Ako Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Aside from being a new player on the field, Ako Ransomware works pretty much like any other similar infection we have encountered before. Once it enters your computer, it scans the entire system and locates the files it can encrypt. Needless to say, the infection doesn’t encrypt every single file on the machine because it still needs your computer to function if it intends to collect the ransom fee. As far as our research team can say, this program also deletes the Shadow Volume Copies. Thus, if you have them enabled, Ako Ransomware will make sure that you cannot restore your files from the Shadow Volume.
The infection also targets the system network by running a search for machines with enabled file-sharing. So, if you have several computers connected to the same network, the infection might “jump” from one machine to another through the network. This way, it would encrypt a lot more files than one can expect.
On the other hand, as mentioned, Ako Ransomware leaves certain files be. It doesn’t encrypt files with the EXE, DLL, SYS, INI, and KEY extensions. It also doesn’t encrypt Program Files, AppData, Microsoft, Windows, and other folders that might be necessary for the ransom transfer.
To tell you more about the ransom, Ako Ransomware displays a ransom note. The ransom note can be found in the ako-readme.txt file that is dropped into every single folder that contains encrypted files. Here’s an extract from the ransom note:
--- We apologize! ---
Your network have been locked.
<…>
All your files, documents, photos, databases and other important data are encrypted and have the extension: .d7PudZ
Backups and shadow copies also encrypted and removed. Any third-party software may damage encrypted data but not recover.
<…>
The only method of recovering files is to purchase an unique private key.
Only we an give you this key and only we can recovery your files.
The crooks clearly want to convince you that they are your only hope. However, no matter what you do, you should never buy the decryption key from these people. There is no guarantee they would issue the key in the first place. In fact, they might just collect your money and make a run for it.
Please remove Ako Ransomware today, and then explore other possible file recovery options, if you do not have copies of your files saved on an external drive. What’s more, do not forget to learn more about ransomware so that you do not get infected with such dangerous threats again.
How to Remove Ako Ransomware
- Delete the most recent files from Desktop.
- Open the Downloads folder.
- Remove the most recent files from the folder.
- Press Win+R and type %TEMP%. Click OK.
- Delete the most recent files from the directory.
- Scan your computer with a licensed antispyware tool.
In non-techie terms:
Ako Ransomware is a dangerous computer infection. It is a ransomware program that can encrypt your personal files in a blink of an eye. It might be really challenging to restore the encrypted files, so you have to be ready for the worst. To battle this dangerous infection, you need to learn more about ransomware distribution patterns and the ways you can protect your data from this intruder. Of course, your best choice would be creating a file backup either in an external hard drive or an alternative cloud storage.