Remove PSAFE ransomware

What is ransomware

PSAFE ransomware is regarded as a serious infection, known as ransomware or file-encrypting malware. You may not necessarily have heard of or came across it before, and it may be particularly shocking to see what it does. Strong encryption algorithms are used to encrypt your data, and if it successfully encrypts your files, you will not be able to access them any longer. This is why data encrypting malware is categorized as dangerous malicious software, seeing as infection might mean your files being encrypted permanently. You do have the option of paying the ransom but for various reasons, that wouldn’t be the best choice.

Giving into the requests does not automatically lead to file decryption, so there is a possibility that you might just be spending your money on nothing. Bear in mind that you’re expecting that crooks who locked your files in the first place will feel obligated to help you in file recovery, when they do not have to. Furthermore, that money would go into supporting their future ransomware or other malware projects. Do you actually want to support an industry that costs billions of dollars to businesses in damage. People also realize that they can make easy money, and the more victims comply with the demands, the more appealing file encrypting malicious software becomes to those kinds of people. You may find yourself in this kind of situation again sometime in the future, so investing the requested money into backup would be wiser because you would not need to worry about losing your files. If backup was made before your computer got infected, fix PSAFE ransomware virus and proceed to data recovery. And in case you’re confused about how you managed to get the data encrypting malware, we’ll explain its spread ways in the paragraph below.

How does ransomware spread

Email attachments, exploit kits and malicious downloads are the distribution methods you need to be cautious about the most. A lot of ransomware depend on users carelessly opening email attachments and more sophisticated methods aren’t necessary. Nevertheless, some ransomware may be spread using more sophisticated ways, which need more effort. Crooks write a rather persuasive email, while using the name of a known company or organization, attach the malware to the email and send it off. Those emails usually talk about money because due to the sensitivity of the topic, people are more prone to opening them. And if someone like Amazon was to email a user that dubious activity was observed in their account or a purchase, the account owner would be much more prone to opening the attachment. So as to protect yourself from this, there are certain things you ought to do when dealing with emails. It is very important that you check whether you’re familiar with the sender before you proceed to open the file attached. And if you are familiar with them, double-check the email address to make sure it is really them. Be on the lookout for grammatical or usage errors, which are usually quite glaring in those types of emails. Another big hint could be your name being absent, if, lets say you use Amazon and they were to send you an email, they would not use general greetings like Dear Customer/Member/User, and instead would insert the name you have given them with. The data encrypting malicious software can also infect by using certain weak spots found in computer programs. All software have vulnerabilities but when they are discovered, they’re normally patched by software makes so that malware can’t take advantage of it to enter. However, as world wide ransomware attacks have proven, not all users install those patches. We encourage that you update your programs, whenever a patch becomes available. Updates can also be allowed to install automatically.

What does it do

Your files will be encrypted by ransomware as soon as it gets into your system. Even if the situation was not clear initially, it’ll become rather obvious something’s wrong when you cannot open your files. You’ll see that all encrypted files have strange extensions attached to them, and that likely helped you identify the ransomware. It should be mentioned that, file decoding may not be possible if the ransomware used a strong encryption algorithm. After the encryption process is completed, a ransom note will appear, which will attempt to clear up what has happened and how you ought to proceed. Their suggested method involves you paying for their decryption program. The note should clearly explain how much the decryptor costs but if it does not, it will give you a way to contact the hackers to set up a price. As we’ve already mentioned, paying for a decryptor is not the wisest idea, for reasons we have already mentioned. Only think about that choice as a last resort. Maybe you just do not remember making backup. You may also be able to find a utility to unlock PSAFE ransomware files for free. A free decryption tool might be available, if the ransomware got into a lot of systems and malicious program researchers were able to decrypt it. Consider that before paying the demanded money even crosses your mind. Using part of that money to buy some kind of backup might do more good. If you had made backup before infection took place, you ought to be able to restore them from there after you delete PSAFE ransomware virus. Try to familiarize with how a data encoding malicious program is distributed so that you do your best to avoid it. Stick to safe download sources, be careful when opening email attachments, and ensure software is up-to-date.

How to uninstall PSAFE ransomware

If the is still present on your computer, we suggest getting a malware removal software to terminate it. If you have little experience with computers, unintentional harm might be caused to your system when trying to fix PSAFE ransomware virus manually. Thus, choose the automatic method. The program wouldn’t only help you deal with the infection, but it could also prevent similar ones from entering in the future. So choose a tool, install it, have it scan the computer and once the data encoding malicious software is found, eliminate it. Keep in mind that, a malware removal software unlock PSAFE ransomware files. Once the computer is clean, you should be able to return to normal computer use.

Learn how to remove Remove PSAFE ransomware from your computer

• Step 1. Delete ransomware via anti-malware
• Step 2. Delete Remove PSAFE 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 PSAFE 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.