Covm Ransomware

What is Covm Ransomware?

How important are your personal files for you? If they are important, Covm Ransomware is the threat that you need to keep away at all costs. Once this malware slithers in, it instantly encrypts all documents, videos, photos, archives, and other personal files, which renders them unreadable. In theory, a decryptor should exist, but because the threat belongs to cybercriminals, you should not expect to obtain it. They will use the decryptor as bait to get your money, but that does not mean that they will conduct a fair exchange if you do everything that they want you to do. Hopefully, you have not been pushed into paying the ransom yet. Anti-Spyware-101.com researchers warn that you are unlikely to get anything in return for it, and so we suggest keeping your money to yourself. Does that mean that you have to come to terms with the fact that your personal files are lost? There is hope that you could restore your files after removing the infection. First, however, you need to delete Covm Ransomware.

Do you know what Covm Ransomware is?

Covm Ransomware is the clone of STOP Ransomware, a malicious file-encrypting infection that has been duplicated hundreds of times already. A few other clones include Koti Ransomware, Mzlq Ransomware, and Sqpc Ransomware. All of these threats are most likely to exploit spam emails and bundled downloaders to slither in, and so you have to be cautious about the files you open and download. Of course, cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to spread their infections, which is why you have to take all available security measures. Undoubtedly, it is most important that you implement legitimate anti-malware software. If it is installed, threats like Covm Ransomware should not be able to slither in at all. Unfortunately, if no security safeguards exist, this malware jumps in and encrypts all personal files. It also attaches the “.covm” extension to all original names to make it easier for you to see how much damage the threat has made. Besides corrupting your files, the threat also drops its own components, every single one of which must be deleted if you want the threat gone.

It can be argued that the most important file (besides the launcher) for Covm Ransomware is the ransom note file named “_readme.txt.” This file is not malicious, and you can open it. What you should not do is take everything within this message to heart. According to it, you have to pay a ransom of $490 if you want to obtain a decryptor and a key that, allegedly, would restore your files. Before you can do that, you are also supposed to send a message to the attackers (either to restoremanager@firemail.cc or to helpmanager@mail.ch), but if you did that, the attackers would have a way to approach you whenever they wanted to. So, if you do not want to be flooded with new scam emails, we suggest you refrain from contacting the attackers behind Covm Ransomware. What about the ransom? As we have made it clear already, you are unlikely to get the decryptor in return for your money. If you are determined to take risks, you should at the very least try out the free STOP Decryptor (does not guarantee full decryption) that was built by researchers or look into your own backups to see what files you can replace. All in all, whatever you do, you must remove Covm Ransomware in the end.

How to delete Covm Ransomware

The guide below was created to help victims with the manual removal of Covm Ransomware. Sadly, we cannot guarantee that every victim will be able to follow this guide successfully. The good news is that if you have any issues with manual removal, you can always use the help of legitimate anti-malware software. In fact, this is the software you should have installed a long time ago to protect you against Covm Ransomware and similar threats, and so this is the right time to install it. Once you do, it will automatically detect and delete malicious components. Most important, it will protect you and your system thereafter. When it comes to the encrypted files, we hope that you will be able to restore them with the help of the free decryptor or to replace them using backup copies stored online or on external drives. Remember that your files are always vulnerable, even if your system is protected, and so you should always create their copies and store them somewhere safe just in case.

Removal Instructions

1. Launch Run (tap Win+R keys) and enter regedit into the box.
2. In Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
3. Find the value named SysHelper and note the filename in its value data. Then Delete the value.
4. Launch File Explorer (tap Win+E keys).
5. Enter %LOCALAPPDATA% into the quick access bar at the top.
6. Delete the folder with a random name that contains a malicious .exe file with a random name. This is the file that is linked to the SysHelper value.
7. Enter %HOMEDRIVE% into the quick access bar at the top.
8. Delete the file named _readme.txt,
9. Enter %WINDIR%\System32\Tasks\ into the quick access bar at the top.
10. Delete the task named Time Trigger Task.
11. Exit all opened utilities (registry editor/file explorer) and quickly Empty Recycle Bin.
12. Thoroughly inspect your system for malware leftovers using a legitimate malware scanner. Download Removal Tool100% FREE spyware scan and
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