What is OzozaLocker Ransomware?
OzozaLocker Ransomware is the newest infection to join the family of such well-known ransomware threats as M0on Ransomware, NMoreira Ransomware, and VindowsLocker Ransomware. The name of this threat is included in the program’s code, but it is not a name you are likely to encounter yourself. Due to this, you might have trouble identifying this threat yourself. If this malware has slithered into your PC and created a file called “HOW TO DECRYPT YOU FILES.txt”, you need to check the contents of this file. If it represents the Santa_helper@protonmail.com email address, it is most likely that you are dealing with the malicious OzozaLocker infection. Of course, you might recognize it as the Santa_helper@protonmail.com Ransomware. Whichever name you recognize this threat by, your personal files must be encrypted now, and, unfortunately, you will not rectify this by deleting the threat. Needless to say, it is crucial that you remove OzozaLocker Ransomware from your operating system, but you need to think about your files first.
How does OzozaLocker Ransomware work?
Have you executed OzozaLocker Ransomware by opening a malicious file attached to a spam email? If you have, it is crucial for you to locate this file. If you cannot do that, the removal of the ransomware might be very complicated for you. Once the infection is executed, it starts encrypting files. The method of encryption that is used is still unknown because this ransomware is very new, and information about it is still being gathered by our malware experts at Anti-Spyware-101.com. Obviously, we wanted to inform you about this infection as soon possible, and if any new details come up, we will update this report. Of course, by the time you are reading this, the ransomware might have already been spread across the web. If it has infected your operating system, you must have noticed that different files on your PC now have the “.locked” extension added to them. The malicious OzozaLocker Ransomware is capable of encrypting all kinds of files. Although it should avoid .exe files, our research team has found that applications (e.g., Google Chrome browser) could be affected because of the encryption of files linked to the main .exe file.
We have found that the devious OzozaLocker Ransomware can even encrypt its own files. In our case, this happened with the “HOW TO DECRYPT YOU FILES.txt” file. Before it was encrypted, we opened it to see the message that was delivered via it. According to this message, you need to send an amount of 1 Bitcoin (~$740) to the provided Bitcoin address – 1J6X2LzDrLyR9EoEDVJzogwW5esq5DyHRB – and then confirm the payment by emailing your ID to cyber criminals at Santa_helper@protonmail.com. Based on our research, a pop-up with additional information might show up as well. All information represented by the ransomware is meant to push you into paying the ransom. Should you do it? You have to make this decision yourself, but we do not recommend paying the ransom or communicating with cyber criminals. The good news is that you do not even have to. A legitimate file decryptor should be able to help you decrypt some of your files. If you cannot find a decryptor that works, check your backups; maybe you have backed up your most sensitive files? Now, if you end up paying the ransom, do not forget to delete OzozaLocker Ransomware because it is still present.
How to delete OzozaLocker Ransomware
As mentioned before, removing OzozaLocker Ransomware (or Santa_helper@protonmail.com Ransomware) is not complicated as long as you know where to look for malicious components. According to our research, the malicious file is probably downloaded in a location that you usually download files to. Maybe you can find it on your Desktop? Maybe it is located in Downloads or Temp folders? If you simply cannot detect the malicious launcher, you have to install an automated malware remover and find and erase it for you. If your web browser has been corrupted by the threat, you might have to use a flash drive to transfer the installer of a reliable anti-malware tool from a malware-free computer to the infected computer. If you want to install a malware scanner first, you can transfer the installer of a preferred browser. Hopefully, you get your system clean and ready to use in no time. If you want to ask us anything else, use the comments section below.
Removal Guide
- Delete the malicious launcher (check the Desktop, Downloads, and Temp folders first).
- Delete the HOW TO DECRYPT YOU FILES.txt file (as well as copies, if they exist).
- Restore your files (install a legitimate file decryptor, after restoring your preferred browser).
- Scan your operating system to check for leftovers.
tested removal of OzozaLocker Ransomware*
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