Remove Sphinx ransomware

About ransomware

Sphinx ransomware is malicious program that will encrypt your data. Ransomware isn’t something every user has heard of, and if you’ve just encountered it now, you’ll learn how harmful it could be first hand. When files are encrypted using a powerful encryption algorithm, you will be unable to open them as they’ll be locked. Because data decryption is not always possible, not to mention the effort it takes to return everything back to normal, file encoding malicious software is considered to be one of the most dangerous malware out there. You do have the option of paying the ransom but for various reasons, that wouldn’t be the best idea. First of all, paying will not ensure that files are restored. Keep in mind that you would be paying criminals who will possibly not bother to recover your data when they could just take your money.

Additionally, that ransom money would finance future ransomware or some other malicious program. Ransomware is already costing a fortune to businesses, do you really want to support that. People are also becoming more and more attracted to the industry because the amount of people who pay the ransom make ransomware a very profitable business. You might find yourself in this kind of situation again in the future, so investing the demanded money into backup would be better because you would not need to worry about your files. If backup was made before you got an threat, you can just erase Sphinx ransomware virus and proceed to unlock Sphinx ransomware files. File encoding malware spread methods may be not known to you, and we will explain the most common ways in the below paragraphs.

Ransomware distribution methods

Email attachments, exploit kits and malicious downloads are the spread methods you need to be careful about. Seeing as these methods are still quite popular, that means that people are pretty negligent when they use email and download files. That isn’t to say that distributors do not use more sophisticated ways at all, however. Crooks write a rather persuasive email, while pretending to be from some legitimate company or organization, attach the malware-ridden file to the email and send it off. You’ll generally come across topics about money in those emails, because users are more likely to fall for those kinds of topics. Quite frequently you will see big names like Amazon used, for example, if Amazon emailed someone a receipt for a purchase that the user doesn’t remember making, he/she would not wait to open the attached file. There a couple of things you ought to take into account when opening email attachments if you wish to keep your computer secure. Most importantly, see if the sender is known to you before opening the file attached they’ve sent, and if you do not know them, investigate who they are. Even if you know the sender, don’t rush, first check the email address to make sure it matches the address you know to belong to that person/company. Also, look for mistakes in grammar, which can be pretty evident. Another notable clue could be your name being absent, if, lets say you are an Amazon user and they were to send you an email, they would not use typical greetings like Dear Customer/Member/User, and instead would insert the name you have provided them with. Out-of-date program vulnerabilities might also be used for infection. Those vulnerabilities in programs are generally fixed quickly after they are discovered so that malware can’t use them. However, as widespread ransomware attacks have proven, not all users install those patches. Situations where malware uses vulnerabilities to enter is why it is so essential that you update your programs often. Updates could be set to install automatically, if you do not want to bother with them every time.

What can you do about your data

Ransomware will scan for specific file types once it gets into the device, and they’ll be encrypted as soon as they’re located. Even if what happened wasn’t obvious initially, you’ll definitely know something’s not right when you cannot open your files. Files that have been affected will have a weird file extension, which can help people find out the ransomware’s name. It should be mentioned that, file restoring may be impossible if the ransomware used a strong encryption algorithm. You will see a ransom note placed in the folders with your files or it’ll show up in your desktop, and it should explain that your files have been encrypted and how you may decrypt them. What they will offer you is to use their decryption tool, which won’t come for free. A clear price should be shown in the note but if it is not, you would have to use the provided email address to contact the hackers to find out how much the decryptor costs. As you have likely guessed, we don’t suggest complying with the requests. Only consider giving into the demands when you have tried all other alternatives. Maybe you’ve stored your data somewhere but just forgotten about it. Or maybe a free decryption program is an option. We ought to say that sometimes malware specialists are capable of cracking a data encrypting malware, which means you might recover data with no payments necessary. Take that into account before you even think about giving into the requests. If you use some of that money on backup, you wouldn’t face likely file loss again because your data would be stored somewhere secure. If you had backed up your most important files, you just eliminate Sphinx ransomware virus and then restore data. If you familiarize yourself with how ransomware, you ought to be able to avoid future file encoding malware. Make sure your software is updated whenever an update becomes available, you do not open random files added to emails, and you only download things from sources you know to be legitimate.

Ways to fix Sphinx ransomware

If the ransomware still remains, a malware removal software will be required to get rid of it. If you try to erase Sphinx ransomware virus manually, you could end up damaging your computer further so that’s not suggested. Instead, we recommend you use an anti-malware software, a method that would not put your system in danger. An anti-malware tool is designed to take care of these threats, depending on which you have picked, it could even prevent an infection from entering in the first place. Choose the malware removal utility that could best deal with your situation, and scan your device for the threat once you install it. The software is not capable of restoring your files, however. If the ransomware has been terminated completely, restore files from backup, and if you don’t have it, start using it.

Learn how to remove Remove Sphinx ransomware from your computer

• Step 1. Delete ransomware via anti-malware
• Step 2. Delete Remove Sphinx ransomware using System Restore
• Step 3. Recover your data

Step 1. Delete ransomware via anti-malware

• a) Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP
• b) Windows 8/Windows 10

a) Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP

1. Start menu -> Shut down -> Restart.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options loads.
3. Select Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter.
4. When your computer boots, download anti-malware software via your browser.
5. Launch the program, scan your computer and delete the infection.

b) Windows 8/Windows 10

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard and click on the power icon.
2. Select Restart while holding the Shift key.
3. Choose Troubleshoot and then Advanced options.
4. In Advanced options, choose Startup Settings and select Enable Safe mode with Networking (or just Safe Mode).
5. Press Restart.

Step 2. Delete Remove Sphinx ransomware using System Restore

• a) Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP
• b) Windows 8/Windows 10

a) Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP

1. Start menu -> Shut down -> Restart.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options load.
3. Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and press Enter.
4. In Command Prompt, type in cd restore and press Enter.
5. Then type in rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
6. A new window will appear where you will have to choose a restore point. Choose one dating back prior to infection and press Next, and then Finish.

b) Windows 8/Windows 10

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard and click on the power icon.
2. Select Restart while holding the Shift key.
3. Select Troubleshoot and then Advanced options.
4. In Advanced options, choose Startup Settings and select Enable Safe mode with Command Prompt.
5. In the Command Prompt window that appears, type in cd restore and press Enter.
6. Then type in rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
7. In the window that appears, you will have to select a restore point dating back prior to infection. Select one and press Next, then Finish.

Step 3. Recover your data

• a) Method 1. Data Recovery Pro
• b) Method 2. Windows Previous Versions
• c) Method 3. Shadow Explorer

When your files are encrypted by ransomware, you may be able to recover them. Below, you will find methods that could help you with file decryption. However, bear in mind that file decryption is not guaranteed. These methods are not always reliable, thus the best way to recover files would be via backup. And if you don't already have it, we suggest you invest in it.

a) Method 1. Data Recovery Pro

1. Download the Data Recovery Pro program.
2. Install and run the program.
3. Press Start Scan to see if data can be recovered.
4. If it finds recoverable files, you can restore them.

b) Method 2. Windows Previous Versions

If you had System Restore enabled prior to infection, your files should be recoverable through Windows Previous Versions.

1. Find a file you want to recover and right-click on it.
2. Properties -> Previous Versions.
3. Choose a version from the list and press Restore.

c) Method 3. Shadow Explorer

Some ransomware does not delete automatically created copies of your files, which are known as Shadow Copies. If they were not deleted, you should be able to recover them via Shadow Explorer.

1. Download Shadow Explorer from a reliable source.
2. Install and run the program.
3. Choose a disk that contains encrypted files and if it contains folders with recoverable files, press Export.