Jcoder Ransomware Removal Guide

Do you know what Jcoder Ransomware is?

Jcoder Ransomware is a harmful malicious application we are sure you would not want to encounter. According to our researchers, it is still in development, but it already encrypts files on compromised machines using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), so it would definitely not be fun to discover this infection on the system. Are you reading this article because you have already found this infection on your computer? If the answer to this question is “yes,” you must delete it right away. If you do not remove this malicious application fully from your computer, you might accidentally initiate the encryption of files again by opening its launcher and, consequently, find all new files encrypted too. Jcoder Ransomware is, without a doubt, serious malware that might cause many problems, but, from the technical standpoint, it is not very sophisticated, as research has clearly shown, so its removal should not be very complicated. You just need to kill the malicious process representing this ransomware infection and then delete the malicious file launched. This does sound easy, but you should still read this article till the end first before you go to disable the crypto-threat discovered active on the system.

Jcoder Ransomware does not try to stay unnoticed on compromised machines. It starts working on them immediately. The first symptom showing that the entrance of this ransomware infection was successful is a ton of encrypted files. It has been programmed to encrypt .eml, .vsd, .pptx, .ppt, .xls, .doc, .docx, .c, .cs, .wav, .mp3, .db, .wma, .pl, .3gp, .potx, .potm, .pl, .vb, .sxw, .odf, .pem, .exe, .dll, and a bunch of other files, so it scans the system the first thing after the successful entrance and then performs the encryption of files. All these affected files get .HDK appended, so you do not need to go to check them all to find out which files have been affected. Additionally, like similar threats, Jcoder Ransomware drops HDK.txt, which is a ransom note, in all affected folders. The ransom note informs users that they cannot access their files because they have been encrypted. Also, they are told that the decryption of files is impossible without “decryption service.” Surprisingly, Jcoder Ransomware does not demand a ransom. You will not find an email indicated in the ransom note either, meaning that you could not contact cyber criminals behind it and purchase the decryption tool. To be honest, it is never a good idea to pay money to crooks because the chances are high that they will not give you decryption software, so our recommendation for those users who discover ransomware infections on their PCs is one – to eliminate malware from their PCs as soon as possible. Once the system is clean, these encrypted files could be restored for free from a backup.Jcoder Ransomware Removal GuideJcoder Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

Most probably, you are the one who has allowed Jcoder Ransomware to enter your system. You could have done that by opening a malicious attachment from a spam email. Alternatively, you could have downloaded the launcher of this malicious application from the web by mistake. Research has shown that it works from the place it has been launched and does not have a point of execution (Poe), which suggests that it should not be very hard to delete it from the system. Make sure you eliminate it from your computer as soon as possible because you might launch it again accidentally. In such a case, you will find even more files encrypted on your system.

There are only three removal steps you need to take to remove Jcoder Ransomware fully from your system. First, kill the malicious process representing the ransomware infection. Second, delete the malicious file you have launched recently. Third, remove the ransom note HDK.txt from all affected directories. There is also a way to eliminate this ransomware infection quicker – you can scan your computer with a powerful antimalware tool.

Delete Jcoder Ransomware manually

  1. Open Task Manager by simultaneously pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
  2. Open the Processes tab.
  3. Locate the malicious process and kill it.
  4. Close Task Manager.
  5. Open Explorer (Win+E).
  6. Remove the recently launched file (it should be located in %USERPROFILE%\Desktop, %USERPROFILE%\Downloads, %TEMP%, or %APPDATA%).
  7. Delete HDK.txt from all affected directories.
  8. Empty Trash.

In non-techie terms:

Specialists say that Jcoder Ransomware is still in development, but it does not mean that this infection is harmless. Just like similar ransomware-type infections, it also locks files on compromised machines right away. At the time of writing, it did not demand money from users, but there is no doubt that it will demand a ransom in the future. Do not pay money to cyber criminals in such a case because it is unclear whether you will get a special tool for decrypting your files from them. No matter what you decide to do, the ransomware infection must be deleted from the system fully as soon as possible.