Do you know what Pashka Ransomware is?
Pashka Ransomware might not sound too ominous, but it is a dangerous infection that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It is easy to tell from its name that it is a ransomware program, and we all know that ransomware apps have been some of the biggest cyber threats for years now. They can successfully cripple your system and your activities by locking your files and virtually keeping them hostage. Therefore, you should keep your head on and remove Pashka Ransomware from your computer as soon as possible.
Normally, when ransomware encrypts your files, it usually goes for the file types that regular users access the most often: photos, documents, videos, and so on. Also, Pashka Ransomware might attack individual users, but small businesses happen to be the most common victim of ransomware infections. Now, why is that? Small businesses are less likely to have data backups because they have smaller capital, and they can seldom afford to back up their data. Thus, they would be in a more desperate position than those corporations that keep data backups.
The same can be applied to regular computer users, too. If a few decades ago, our main reason for backing up our files was a potential hardware failure, these days, even your operating system will tell you to create a cloud file backup because of the ransomware threat. The reason we have to have copies of our files is that it is extremely hard to decrypt affected files if we don’t have the unique decryption key. That’s why Pashka Ransomware and all the other ransomware infections make great money by selling decryption keys to their victims. That is, of course, if they do sell it in the first place. More often than not, criminals collect the money and scram. Or the connection between the infected computer and the malware center is so shaky that it dies before the victim is even able to wire the money.
Pashka Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Keeping all of this in mind, we have to make sure that Pashka Ransomware and other similar infections do not enter your systems. The best way to do that is to be really careful about the emails we encounter every single day. If an email has an attached file, we have to be 100% SURE that the file is safe. Maybe you know the sender, and maybe you don’t. But if you feel that something is off, it is always a good idea to scan the received file with a security tool of your choice.
Unfortunately, if Pashka Ransomware manages to slither into the target system, you can expect most of your files to be encrypted in the blink of an eye. This program doesn’t drop additional files on the system, but it is very thorough about the encryption, and it affects all the files in the %PROGRAMFILES%, %HOMEDRIVE%, and %USERPROFILE% directories. Let us point out that once the encryption commences, it is not possible to stop it.
After the encryption, Pashka Ransomware displays a ransom note. You can find the ransom note in the HELP_ME_RECOVER_MY_FILES.txt, which should be in every single folder that was affected by the encryption. The note tells you everything the criminals want you to know about the situation:
Attention! All your important files were encrypted!
to get your files back send 0.03 Bitcoins and contact us with proof of payment and your Unique Identifier Key.
We will send you a decryption tool with your personal decryption password.
The ransom note goes on to give you a list of websites where you can purchase bitcoins. It also gives you the Bitcoin wallet address that receives the ransom payments, and there’s a very long Identifier Key at the end of the note that should help the criminals identify your system (after all, each decryption key is unique to the infected system).
Needless to say, paying should never be an option. We do understand users who resort to paying the ransom. They do not see any other way to restore their files, and losing the files is too much of a toll for them. However, we would like to encourage you to remove Pashka Ransomware from your computer without paying the ransom. Please consider addressing a professional for possible file recovery options instead.
How to Delete Pashka Ransomware
- Remove the recently downloaded files from Desktop.
- Navigate to the Downloads folder.
- Delete the most recent files from the folder.
- Press Win+R and enter %TEMP%. Press OK.
- Remove the most recent files from the directory.
- Use SpyHunter to scan your computer.
In non-techie terms:
When Pashka Ransomware enters your system, this program encrypts your files. It means that the system can no longer read it, and you cannot access your documents any more. To access the documents, you need a decryption tool. Please do not buy the tool from the people who created Pashka Ransomware, don’t let them win. Remove Pashka Ransomware today, and then look for other ways to restore your files. Also, please make sure you do not get infected with similar malware again.