Do you know what FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware is?
FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware is one of the malicious file-encrypting applications created during the holiday season. It encrypts user’s files, shows a festive image with instructions on how to get decryption tools in return, and plays a message through the victim’s speakers. Fortunately, after some time of distributing it, the malware’s creators decided to release decryption keys, which allowed cybersecurity specialists create a decryption tool. It is difficult to say whether the hackers did not want to ruin Christmas for their victims or if they did not receive any payments anyway, but one way or the other if you have encountered this threat you may want to look for the free decryption tool on the Internet. After your data gets restored, our specialists recommend erasing FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware at once. To learn how to get rid of it manually, you should take a look at the removal guide provided below. Of course, if you need more information about the malware, you should read our full report.
Like most of the other ransomware programs similar to FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware, it might be spread with Spam email attachments and through unsecured RDP connections. Meaning the malicious application could settle in on your computer after launching a suspicious email attachment, for example, some file received from an unknown sender. Another scenario is the threat could exploit weak passwords or other computer’s vulnerabilities to gain access to it. Naturally, to make sure your system is safe it is essential to consider both possibilities, which is why you should not only stay away from unreliable email attachments but also ensure your system has no vulnerabilities. A reputable antimalware tool could help you with this task, so if you do not have such software yet, we highly recommend installing it.
One of the first things the malicious application does is encrypting user’s files with a robust encryption algorithm. Soon after the process is finished, FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware should replace user’s Desktop picture with a festive image. On it, you should see a message saying to read the malware’s ransom note. Additionally, the threat may play the following message several times: “Hello, Merry Christmas, Attention! Your documents, images, databases and other important files have been encrypted!” As for the malicious application’s ransom notes, they ought to explain how to make a payment in exchange for decryption tools. The price the hackers mentioned in the notes was 0.3 Bitcoins. At the moment of writing it is more than one thousand US dollars. Thus, we would not be surprised if most victims either did not want to risk losing so much money in vain or at least did not rush with making a decision. Perhaps this is why they released the decryption keys needed to create a decryption tool.
FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
All in all, even though FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware appeared to be a vicious threat, in the end, all worked out. There is a free decryption tool on the Internet that you could download to unlock your data. After this, we urge you not to leave FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware unattended and erase it at once. Users who need any help with this task should have a look at the removal guide available below. On the other hand, it might be easier to install a reputable antimalware tool and let it deal with the malware.
Erase FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware
- Click Ctrl+Alt+Delete simultaneously.
- Pick Task Manager.
- Take a look at the Processes tab.
- Locate a process associated with this malicious program.
- Select this process and tap the End Task button.
- Click Windows Key+E.
- Navigate to the suggested paths:
%TEMP%
%USERPROFILE%Desktop
%USERPROFILE%Downloads - Find a file launched when the system got infected, right-click the malicious file and select Delete.
- Locate the malware’s ransom notes; right-click them and press Delete.
- Close File Explorer.
- Empty Recycle bin.
- Restart the computer.
In non-techie terms:
FilesLocker-Christmas Ransomware encrypts user’s files and then shows a message claiming the victim has to pay a ransom. The warning is presented in three languages, which suggests the malicious application might have been distributed among different countries. The malware’s creators asked for a considerable sum, and it is possible, not a lot of users were willing to pay it. We always recommend against it since one cannot know if the hackers will keep up to their promises. Luckily, in this case, the threat’s developers decided to release decryption tools for some reason. As a result, cybersecurity specialists were able to create a decryption tool, and they are sharing it with victims free of charge. Therefore, if you came across this threat, all that is left for you to do is find the free decryption tool on the Internet, decipher your data and then erase the malicious application. Our removal guide available above this paragraph should be able to help with this task, although if it still looks too complicated, you could leave it to a reliable antimalware tool.