AnonFive Ransomware Removal Guide

Do you know what AnonFive Ransomware is?

AnonFive Ransomware is a computer infection that is there to encrypt your files and rip you off. Luckily, at the time of writing the main command and control server is already down. It means that the program probably does not spread anymore, and the criminals behind it cannot collect ransom payments. However, in the unlikely event of the program’s reemerging, you should know how to deal with the infection. It is not that hard to remove AnonFive Ransomware on your own, but if you think they may need assistance with the ransomware removal, feel free to leave us a comment.

From what our research lab team told us, we can see that AnonFive Ransomware is somewhat similar to Angleware Ransomware, CryptoKill Ransomware, MafiaWare Ransomware, and many other infections that are modified according to their owner’s requirements. It means that whoever is responsible for spreading these infections around, they did not create the original malware code. The original code is from the open source Hidden Tear ransomware, and this code is publicly available for anyone who wants to try out the ransomware business (of course, the code is out there on the darknet, not the usual Internet ordinary users browse every single day).

Therefore, it is very likely that AnonFive Ransomware also employs the same distribution method, too. Before its server got taken down, it must have spread via spam email campaigns. It is the cheapest and the most massive distribution method used by ransomware and other malware owners and developers. When a lot of email addresses are mined, those addresses are them bombarded by tons of spam email messages that claim to be official notices from banks, online stores, and other reliable organizations. Users think that they are about to open an invoice when they download and attachment, but instead they launch the malicious infection.

Some of you may argue that the attached file could be something you really need to open or something you have been waiting for. If that is really the case, and you simply must check the file, you can always scan it with a security tool before you open it. That way, you will be sure that whatever the file you are about to launch is safe. If, by any chance, the file happens to be malicious, you will be able to prevent a dangerous infection.

There is no public decryption tool that would help users decrypt files affected by AnonFive Ransomware. It is highly unfortunate because the application uses the AES encryption to lock target files, so there is technically no way to restore the files manually unless you have the decryption key. Just like most of the ransomware infections, AnonFive Ransomware drops a ransom note on your desktop and demands more than $500USD in bitcoins to be paid as soon as possible. Otherwise, it says you will never be able to open the files that now have the .anonfive extension appended to them.

Is it possible to buy the decryption key from these criminals? Most probably not. Let us not forget that the command and control center (C&C) can no longer be reached as the server is down. Therefore, even if you were to transfer the payment to the give Bitcoin wallet address, you would not receive anything in return. Not to mention that computer security specialists always point out how disruptive it is to pay these ransom fees: By paying the ransom, users encourage cyber criminals to continue working on their malicious schemes. Therefore, even if it were possible to contact the C&C, you should not pay a single cent.

As far as your files are concerned, users often have multiple copies saved across platforms and devices, and they usually do not realize that. Especially if you often use your mobile device and share the data with your desktop computer, it is very likely that most of your frequently used files will also be on your mobile device or on cloud storage. Therefore, it should be possible to restore most of the files affected by AnonFive Ransomware. Just before you transfer the healthy files back into your computer, you should delete all the encrypted data and the malicious infection.

If you find removing malware on your own too challenging, you can always invest in a reliable security application.

How to Remove AnonFive Ransomware

  1. Open the Downloads folder.
  2. Locate the most recently downloaded executable files.
  3. Delete suspicious files.
  4. Perform a full system scan.

In non-techie terms:

AnonFive Ransomware will probably not infect new computers any time soon, but this program could still be terrorizing a lot of users worldwide. This infection will try to convince users that they need to pay a lot of money to restore their infected files. However, paying the money would not solve anything because the decryption key cannot be issued. Hence, you need to remove AnonFive Ransomware from your computer, and then employ all the means possible to retrieve as many files as possible.