Do you know what WCH Ransomware is?
WCH Ransomware might sneak in without you noticing anything, and by the time it reveals its presence, it might be too late. The malware hides its existence until it finishes encrypting targeted files and then shows a ransom note. The message ought to say that users can get their files decrypted if they contact the malicious application’s developers. It also suggests that the victim would need to pay a ransom first. We do not know what the price for the decryption tools could be, but we do not recommend paying it if you do not want to risk losing your money in vain. That is because there are no guarantees that hackers will deliver what they promise. We encourage you to read our full article to learn more about their terms and the malware’s working manner. If you want to learn how to erase WCH Ransomware manually, you could use the removal guide available below the article.
There are a few ways how users could come across WCH Ransomware. Such threats can enter a system by exploiting vulnerabilities like unprotected Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections, weak passwords, or unpatched/outdated software. Thus, one way to protect your system from such threats is to ensure that it does not have any weaknesses. It would help if you also watched out for suspicious files found on the Internet or received unexpectedly from unknown sources. The safest thing to do is avoid opening any data that you are not one hundred percent sure about. If you want to check if a file is secure, you could scan it with a reputable antimalware tool. As for links, we recommend checking their full URL address so you would know where exactly they might lead you. Even if a message or a website claims that the link will lead you to a legit website, you should still investigate it if you do not want to be tricked into clicking a malicious link unknowingly.
WCH Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
If the malware gets in, it should start encrypting targeted files like photos, videos, various documents, and so on. Each file that gets encrypted should receive an additional extension. Our researchers say that each infected device should get a unique ID number that should be in the malware’s extension. For example, files that were encrypted on our test computer got the following extension: .id-F44048E7.[wecanhelpu@tuta.io].wch. After encrypting files, the threat should drop a ransom note containing a message from the WCH Ransomware’s developers. It should include contact information so that users could get in touch with hackers. It is said that users who do so can get their files decrypted. While the note does not say anything about paying a ransom, it claims that looking for help elsewhere might cost more, which suggests that cybercriminals mean to charge victims for decryption tools. We cannot say what the sum might be, but we advise against paying it if you do not want to risk losing it in vain.
Lastly, our researchers recommend deleting WCH Ransomware because leaving it on the device might be risky and dangerous. To get rid of it manually, you could use the removal guide available below. Keep in mind that the task might still be complicated even if with our instructions, which is why it might be best to employ a reputable antimalware tool that could eliminate WCH Ransomware for you. All you would have to do is let your chosen tool perform a full system scan and then press its displayed deletion button.
Erase WCH Ransomware
- Restart the computer in Safe Mode with Networking.
- Press Windows Key+E.
- Navigate to these paths:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
%USERPROFILE%\Downloads
%TEMP% - Find the malware’s launcher (suspicious recently downloaded file), right-click it, and select Delete.
- Check these locations:
%LOCALAPPDATA%
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup - Locate suspicious executable files that could belong to the ransomware, right-click them, and press Delete.
- Go to:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%WINDIR%\System32
%APPDATA% - Find files called Info.hta, right-click them, and press Delete.
- Then find and delete files named info.txt.
- Close File Explorer.
- Empty Recycle Bin.
- Restart your computer.
In non-techie terms:
WCH Ransomware is a malicious file-encrypting threat that enciphers pictures, documents, and data alike with a robust encryption algorithm. As a result, affected files become unreadable, and you cannot open them. The process can be reversed only with special decryption tools that, unfortunately, are in the hackers behind the malware possession. We suspect the cybercriminals may demand paying a ransom as the ransom note created by the threat says that purchasing such tools from third parties might cost more. Therefore, it is likely that users who contact the malicious application’s creators, as the ransom note asks, might be asked to pay some amount of money in exchange for decryption tools. It is vital to understand that hackers could be trying to trick you and that you may not necessarily get what you would be paying for. Thus, if you do not want to risk losing your money for nothing, we advise you to ignore the malware’s ransom note and erase WCH Ransomware.