Do you know what CryptoMeister Ransomware is?
If you are introduced to a window that states “Votre ordinateur à été verrouillé,” it is possible that the malicious CryptoMeister Ransomware has found its way in. Considering that the information that this threat represents is in French, we assume that this threat is only targeted at those users who speak the language. Of course, it is possible that this infection has different versions. How has it entered your operating system? Although there is not much information regarding that, it is possible that spam emails are carrying the launcher of this ransomware. Needless to say, the entrance of this malware indicates that your operating system is not protected in the best way possible. After you remove CryptoMeister Ransomware from your operating system, you need to make sure that this situation is fixed. The good news is that there is a way to delete infections and reinforce the system’s protection in one move.
When CryptoMeister Ransomware slithers in, it silently downloads the Tor Browser to %APPDATA%. According to our research, the infection attempts to connect to either wcn3a2igdpgxxlsg.onion or jop76omwbjfttasu.onion; however, at the time of research, both sites were dead. It is not exactly clear what the purpose of this connection is. The ransomware also kills a process called “explorer.exe”, because of which the Task Bar and all Desktop icons disappear. That is meant to paralyze you, as well as to make you focus on the ransom demands. CryptoMeister Ransomware also adds a RUN entry (at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run) in the Windows Registry to make sure that the infection is active even if you restart the computer. According to our research, you actually can close the ransomware window by tapping keys Alt+F4 or by killing the malicious process via the Task Manager. Once you kill the ransomware, you can restore explorer.exe as well.
The purpose behind CryptoMeister Ransomware is to make you surrender to the ransom demands. Using the window that we have already mentioned, the infection informs that you need to pay a ransom of 0.1 Bitcoin to the presented Bitcoin Address. In our case, this address was not listed. The message includes instructions on how to purchase Bitcoins and then make the transaction. There is a warning as well, and it might push you into paying the ransom. According to this warning, all of your files will be published online, and that is something any victim would want to avoid. To make you pay the ransom quickly, without thinking about it, CryptoMeister Ransomware also starts deleting your personal files. Next to the ransomware window, a timer shows up indicating how much time you have got left until the next file is removed. It appears that a file is deleted every 10 minutes.
CryptoMeister Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
There is no time to postpone the removal of CryptoMeister Ransomware because this threat will keep deleting your files. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to recover your files from storage or using third-party file decryptors, but we definitely do not recommend paying the ransom because that it is unlikely to be helpful. If you are able to identify the launcher of the ransomware, you can follow the instructions that show how to delete CryptoMeister Ransomware manually (see below). If you are not sufficiently experienced, it is wise to install anti-malware software. First of all, it can automatically erase all malicious components. Second, it can help you protect your operating system in the future.
Remove CryptoMeister Ransomware
- Tap keys Alt+F4 to close the ransomware window.
- Tap Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch Task Manager.
- Click File and then New Task.
- Enter explorer.exe and click OK. Exist Task Manager.
- Right-click and Delete the {unknown name}.exe launcher file.
- Launch Windows Explorer (tap keys Win+E at the same time).
- Enter %APPDATA% into the dialog box at the top.
- Right-click and Delete the file named rnsm.exe.
- Launch RUN (tap Win+R keys at the same time). Enter regedit.exe.
- Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
- Right-click and Delete the value named rnsm.
- Empty Recycle Bin.
In non-techie terms:
If your operating system is vulnerable, there are tons of different infections that could invade it. One of them is CryptoMeister Ransomware, and this infection is extremely devious because besides taking your files hostage, it can also erase them in the hopes of making you pay the requested ransom sooner. If you do not remove the ransomware, you can expect to have one file removed every 10 minutes. It is hard to say whether or not you will be able to decrypt your files, but it is unlikely to happen by you paying the ransom. You can eliminate this threat manually, but you should think about installing anti-malware software instead because it not only can automatically delete CryptoMeister Ransomware but also ensure that your operating system is reliably guarded against malware attacks in the future.