The security expert Michael Gillespie, who has created several free ransomware decrypters, has invented a new tool which automatically scans and deletes ransom notes from your computer.
Every time when a ransomware infects your PC, it leaves ransom notes in the forms of text, HTML, or image files behind. Some types of ransomware leave ransom notes in a few folders only, like your Desktop for example, because it’s easier to spot, while others are configured to spam your computer.
The second type of ransomware will leave a copy of their ransom notes in absolutely every folder where they encrypt files. If they encrypt data in 100,000 folders, and the ransomware drops text and HTML ransom notes, then you will be 200,000 useless files richer.
Probably, one of the most annoying things you can imagine is removing 200,000 files manually from your PC. For that reason, you’ll definitely need a ransomware cleaner.
RansomNoteCleaner, created by Michael Gillespie, is a Windows application which will search for ransom notes on your hard drives and remove any files that match against its database. This database is created when the app launches for the first time, but also when the user pushes the “Refresh Network” button.
The application retrieves the data from the ID Ransomware service, a website which contains a database of ransom notes from most of today’s known and active ransomware families. Presently, the service detects 126 different ransomware families and their ransom notes.
When users know the type of ransomware they were infected with, they can easily click the “Select Ransomware(s)” button and narrow down the ransom note files RansomNoteCleaner will look for. In addition, users can select the hard drives or the folders where the tool will scan for the ransom notes via the “Search for Ransom Notes” button.
After everything is identified, users can press the “Clean!” button. A log is available to make sure the app hasn’t identified and deleted the wrong files by accident. Now the app is ready for download.
Be aware that RansomNoteCleaner only removes the ransom note the spam files. RansomNoteCleaner will not decrypt files locked by ransomware. Thus, you need tools called decrypters.
The application won’t delete ransomware binaries, which are left behind after the ransom note is paid or the ransomware decrypted. For these, malware clean-up tools or antivirus software can identify and clean the files from your computer.
