Russenger Ransomware

Russenger Ransomware seems to be a malicious program created by hackers who seek to extort money from those who encounter it. At the moment of writing, it is yet unknown how exactly, the threat could enter the system, but we will suggest a few possibilities later in the text. Another thing we will discuss is the infection’s working manner and the message left by its creators. Thus, if you came here to learn more about Russenger Ransomware, we strongly recommend reading our article carefully. Afterward, users could check the deletion instructions located at the end of the article too. They will show what to do to erase the malicious program in question manually. However, if the task seems a bit too challenging, it might be better to acquire a reliable antimalware tool and leave the malware's removal to it.

Some ransomware applications appear on the system when hackers locate a vulnerability on the device and after exploiting it gain access to drop and launch the malware without any permission. Nonetheless, such cases are not so often compared to situations when users unknowingly infect the system themselves after opening some suspicious file they received via email or downloaded from an unreliable source. Therefore, while keeping your operating system and all other software on the device is extremely important, it is same vital for you to be cautious every time you receive an attachment from an unknown sender or when it comes with Spam email. Besides, it is highly recommended not to download installers from torrent or other untrustworthy file-sharing web pages. If you still feel like launching suspicious data, you should at least check it with a reliable antimalware tool, this way you could learn about threats without endangering the system.

What happens if Russenger Ransomware manages to enter the system? Our researchers report they did not notice it creating any copies of itself or other malicious data on the computer. It means the infection may start the encryption process as soon as it gets in. To our knowledge, the malicious program should encrypt various documents, photos, pictures, videos, archives, music files, and so on. Unfortunately, it looks like the only data left unencrypted could be the device’s operating system or other programs installed by the user. During the encryption process the mentioned data becomes unrecognizable by the system, and so the user cannot open it anymore. What’s more, during it, each file should also be marked by a specific second extension called .messenger-50b6a57521cc8cdb (e.g., picture.jpg.messenger-50b6a57521cc8cdb) or similar since the part with random characters should be different to each user. Removing it does not change anything, so there is no point in erasing the mentioned extension.

Furthermore, when Russenger Ransomware finishes encrypting user’s files, it should create text files written in Russian. Our researchers say the messages in them should be the same and such files might end up on directories where the user’s data was encrypted. Translated from Russian the note says user’s files were locked and to learn how to decrypt them the user has to contact the hackers who created the malware via one of the given email addresses. We did not try to reach these people ourselves, but based on our experience with similar threats, we believe the reply from hackers should offer a decryption tool in return for paying a ransom. It might look like a simple deal, but keep it in mind the Russenger Ransomware’s developers may not send the decryption tool and yet could take your money. In other words, there are no reassurances, and by paying the ransom, you could lose your money in vain.

Those of you who do not wish to risk your savings we would recommend paying no attention to the malware's ransom note. Instead, our researchers suggest erasing the malicious program with no hesitation. Once it is gone, it should be safe to transfer backup copies, so if you have such copies, you could easily replace encrypted files and in such a way restore them. To remove Russenger Ransomware manually, we recommend using the deletion instructions located below this text, but if the process looks a bit too difficult, it might be wiser to acquire a reliable antimalware tool.

Eliminate Russenger Ransomware

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
2. Go to the Task Manager.
3. Find the malware’s process.
4. Mark this process and click End Task.
5. Exit Task Manager.
6. Tap Win+E.
7. Navigate to:
   %TEMP%
   %USERPROFILE%\desktop
   %USERPROFILE%\downloads
8. See if you can find the malicious file you opened before the threat appeared.
9. Right-click the suspicious file and press Delete.
10. Then locate ransom notes, right-click them separately and click Delete.
11. Close File Explorer.
12. Empty Recycle bin.