Do you know what Petya+ Ransomware is?
Recently researchers discovered a malicious application that imitates a highly dangerous malware called Petya Ransomware; thus, it was named Petya+ Ransomware. Unlike the infection it tries to copy, the threat does not cause any harm to the system or user’s personal files located on the computer. However, by locking your screen and showing scary messages, the malware may try to convince you that all data on the device is encrypted and will stay this way if you do not pay a ransom. Of course, knowing these messages provide false information, we would advise users not to waste any money on paying the ransom. Our specialists report users can unlock the screen with no trouble and at any time after the infection is launched. If you wish to know how to take control of your system and eliminate Petya+ Ransomware as well, you should read the rest of the article and see the removal guide available at the end of the main text.
It appears to be the malware could be distributed through malicious installers or email attachments. The computer gets infected as soon as the user downloads and launches this infected file. If you would like to avoid such mistakes the next time we recommend scanning all files that raise suspicion or are downloaded from unreliable sources like various file sharing web pages, Spam emails, etc. To perform such a scan, the user should have a reputable antimalware tool. Just do not forget such software could be useless if you do not keep it up to date as an outdated tool might be unable to recognize newer threats.
As we said earlier, Petya+ Ransomware is an imitation of an infection called Petya Ransomware. Right after its launch, it shows a black screen with a fake system warning similar to the one that is shown by the malicious program it imitates. For the original malware the false warning is placed to distract the user until it finishes enciphering user’s data, but in this case, the screen is placed most likely just to scare the user as the copy of the ransomware does not encrypt data. If at this point you do not press Alt+F4 and unlock the screen you should see another warning with a skull and a phrase saying “Press any key!” located on the red background. Clicking any key displays the malicious application’s ransom note.
Petya+ Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
The ransom note does not say how much the user is supposed to pay for decryptor as it merely mentions you can purchase it on “the darknet page.” Apparently, this website can be accessed if the user follows the instructions provided in the ransom note. Needless to say, there is no reason for you to follow these instructions if you come across Petya+ Ransomware since it does not encipher data. In fact, even if it did we would not advise dealing with the cyber criminals behind it as there is always a chance the user could get scammed and might lose his money for nothing.
The threat may not cause you a lot of trouble, but still, you should not leave it unattended and delete it from the system right away. The removal guide available below this paragraph is here to help you with this task since it will explain to you how to unblock the screen and erase data belonging to the malicious program. We could also suggest erasing Petya+ Ransomware with a reputable antimalware tool. This way you could remove not just this infection, but also other possible threats, so if you fear there might be other dangerous applications on the system a full system scan with a legitimate security tool is probably the best option.
Eliminate Petya+ Ransomware
- Click Alt+F4 to unblock the screen.
- Open File Explorer (Windows Key+E).
- Go to Desktop, Temporarily Files, Downloads, and other directories where the file infected with the threat could have been downloaded.
- Identify the malware’s source; it could be any recently downloaded file with a random title.
- Right-click this file and select Delete.
- Exit the Explorer.
- Empty your Recycle bin.
- Restart the computer.
In non-techie terms
Petya+ Ransomware is a threat designed to scare the user into paying a ransom. It tries to convince the user his computer was infected by an extremely harmful malware known as Petya Ransomware. Luckily, the malicious application only imitates the mentioned threat and in reality, does not harm your computer or ruin files on it. Therefore, if you encountered it, you should try to exit the infection’s displayed messages by clicking Alt+F4 and then remove the malicious program itself either by following the removal guide placed slightly above this text or by installing a reputable antimalware tool. Lastly, we would like to remind our readers they can always contact us via social media or comments section below the text if they have any questions relate to the discussed malware or need more help with its deletion.