Xorist-XWZ Ransomware Removal Guide

Do you know what Xorist-XWZ Ransomware is?

A new Xorist Ransomware variant has been detected by our team of malware researchers. It has got the Xorist-XWZ Ransomware name because this new variant marks all encrypted files with the .XWZ extension. Yes, this nasty malicious application also encrypts users’ personal files. Without a doubt, even though it is a new version of an older threat, it is used to achieve the same goal – to obtain money. Those unfortunate users who encounter this malicious application should not send money to cyber criminals because they might not even give them the decryption tool. Actually, it is even unclear whether they have it in their hands. If not, they could not share it with you either. In such a case, you will not get the paid money back. Ransomware infections use strong encryption algorithms to lock users’ personal files, so do not expect to remove the added extension from all your affected files easily and thus unlock them yourself. We are not going to lie – you might not be able to decrypt your files for free. Luckily, there is still one possible solution to the problem. If you have copies of your files, it should not be hard for you at all to transfer these untouched files to your computer from a backup. Make sure the ransomware infection is removed from the system fully first. Otherwise, you might find your fixed files encrypted again.Xorist-XWZ Ransomware Removal GuideXorist-XWZ Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

Researchers have a full list of extensions Xorist-XWZ Ransomware targets. According to them, this threat locks the most popular files on users’ computers, including documents, images, and other media files. All these files get the .XWZ extension, for example, file.jpg becomes file.jpg.xwz after the successful entrance of the ransomware infection, so users soon find out about the installation of nasty malware on their computers. A bunch of other ransomware infections encrypt files, but it is not hard to recognize Xorist-XWZ Ransomware. You can be sure that it is the one you have encountered if your files have .XWZ next to their original filename extensions, they can no longer be accessed, and, finally, there is a .txt file READ ME FOR DECRYPT.txt dropped on the system. Users are not told that they will need to pay money to get their files unlocked. Instead, they are told to write an email to BlackStarMafia@qq.com. Even though the ransomware infection does not demand money at first, we are sure you will be told how much money you need to transfer to cyber criminals in Bitcoin after you write an email because the ransom note contains a link explaining how to buy Bitcoins. You should not send money to cyber criminals because you have no guarantees that you could unlock your data once you do this.

The majority of ransomware infections cyber criminals create to obtain money from users are distributed via spam emails. It seems that Xorist-XWZ Ransomware is no exception. In some cases, users might find malicious links inside those emails, but, as has been observed by malicious software analysts, in most cases, ransomware infections are disguised as ordinary email attachments. If users click on malicious links or open attachments, they soon discover their all personal files encrypted. We cannot guarantee that Xorist-XWZ Ransomware will not distributed in a different way as well, so you cannot be careless if you do not want to discover this infection on your system anytime soon. Being cautious does not always help to prevent malware from entering the system. Because of this, you should, additionally, install a reputable security application on your system.

Xorist-XWZ Ransomware is not one of those ransomware infections that place a bunch of executable files on victims’ computers, so you should not find it hard to delete it from your system. What you will need to do to erase it from the system is to simply delete all recently downloaded suspicious files and its ransom note. If this sounds too complicated, you can delete the ransomware infection from your computer with an antimalware scanner.

Delete Xorist-XWZ Ransomware

  1. Tap Win+E.
  2. Access %USERPROFILE%\Downloads and %USERPROFILE%\Desktop.
  3. Delete all recently downloaded suspicious files.
  4. Remove READ ME FOR DECRYPT.txt.
  5. Empty Trash.

In non-techie terms:

Xorist-XWZ Ransomware is a threat that causes problems to users. Once it successfully infiltrates computers, it locks all valuable files on them immediately. These files are usually various users’ documents, pictures, music, and more. This threat only wants users’ money, but they should not pay a cent to cyber criminals, specialists say. Instead, this infection must be removed from the system ASAP. Once it is gone from the system, encrypted files could be restored from a backup.