Do you know what Charm Ransomware is?
Ransomware infections are used as tools to obtain money from users easier these days, so it is not a surprise that they are so prevalent. Charm Ransomware is one of the threats developed recently. It does not seem to be distributed very actively by cyber criminals, but it does not mean that you cannot encounter this computer threat. Once this happens, it will be too late to take security measures in order to protect the system against malicious software. Charm Ransomware does not differ much from other ransomware infections, i.e. it is very likely that it also encrypts files on affected computers with the intention of extracting money from them. Judging from the message it drops after the successful entrance, it targets servers primarily, but we cannot promise that ordinary computer users cannot encounter it as well if they keep their systems unprotected. If you have already fallen victim to Charm Ransomware and your important files have been ruined, you must erase this infection no matter it has affected your PC or your server. It should not be too hard to remove it, but, unfortunately, we cannot promise that you could fix your encrypted files easily. We can assure you that your files will not be unlocked when you delete this infection from your system.
Charm Ransomware acts just like any other ransomware infection. It enters computers illegally and then searches for valuable files on the affected computer. Once these files are found, the ransomware infection locks them all immediately. All affected files should get the .charm filename extension appended to them all, as research has shown, so we are sure you will soon find out about the entrance of the ransomware infection and which files it has locked on your system. After encrypting data successfully, the ransomware infection drops a ransom note HOW_TO_RETURN_FILES.txt on the affected computer/server. This file contains a message for users. The exact amount of money is not indicated in the ransom note dropped; however, two words “before payment” in the ransom note make it clear that cyber criminals behind the ransomware infection expect money from affected computers’ owners. If we believe the information the ransom note contains, the encryption of files was performed using the AES-256 encryption algorithm, which means that you need to have a decryption key to be able to unlock those affected files. Only cyber criminals have it, but you should not purchase it from them by any means because the chances are high that you will simply not get it from them. Restoring files from a backup is the only free option you have. Data recovery tools available on the web might help you to get some files back as well, so it is worth giving them a shot. Make sure the tool you use can be trusted 100% and you have downloaded it from a reliable website.
We do not have much information about the Charm Ransomware distribution, but specialists who have analyzed it are sure that it does not ask for permission to affect the computer/server. There are several typical ransomware distribution methods cyber criminals adopt to promote their creations. It is known that these threats might be sent to users via email, so users should always carefully inspect emails and their attachments before opening them if they do not want to encounter harmful malware. Also, users should make sure that their credentials, for example, RDP credentials are secure so that they could not get hacked. Last but not least, it is very important that users only install reliable software downloaded from a reliable website on their PCs.
Charm Ransomware does not seem to be sophisticated malware, so it should be possible to erase it by deleting its launcher, i.e. the executable file that launches it and its ransom note (HOW_TO_RETURN_FILES.txt) from the affected system. Alternatively, this computer threat can be removed from the system automatically. To do this, you need to acquire a reputable antimalware scanner first.
How to remove Charm Ransomware
- Open Windows Explorer.
- Access %USERPROFILE%\Downloads, %USERPROFILE%\Desktop, %TEMP%, and %APPDATA%.
- Inspect all files and delete those that turn out to be malicious.
- Remove HOW_TO_RETURN_FILES.txt from the affected computer.
- Empty Trash.
In non-techie terms:
Charm Ransomware is a harmful threat that targets servers but might affect personal computers as well. If you ever encounter it, you will find a bunch of files locked on your system using a strong encryption key. You will be offered to purchase it for Bitcoin, but this is not what you should do. You must remove the ransomware infection in the first place. It does not mean that you could purchase the tool from malware developers once you remove Charm Ransomware. We cannot let you do that – the chances are high that you will not get anything from them.