PowerLocky Ransomware Data Recovery

Written byHeloise Montini
Heloise Montini

Heloise Montini is a content writer whose background in journalism make her an asset when researching and writing tech content. Also, her personal aspirations in creative writing and PC gaming make her articles on data storage and data recovery accessible for a wide audience.

Edited byLaura Pompeu
Laura Pompeu

With 10 years of experience in journalism, SEO & digital marketing, Laura Pompeu uses her skills and experience to manage (and sometimes write) content focused on technology and business strategies.

Co-written byBogdan Glushko
Bogdan Glushko

CEO at SalvageData Recovery, Bogdan Glushko has over 18 years of experience in high-security data recovery. Over the years, he's been able to help restore data after logical errors, physical failures, or even ransomware attacks, for individuals, businesses, and government agencies alike.

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PowerLocky was created by the PowerLocky ransomware group, which is also responsible for creating PowerWare and Locky. PowerLocky is a variant of Locky, which was first seen in February 2016. PowerLocky is primarily distributed through spam emails that contain attachments or links to malicious websites. These emails often masquerade as being from legitimate companies or organizations such as UPS or DHL. Once PowerLocky has encrypted a victim's files, it will display a ransom note that demands payment in Bitcoin to decrypt the files. PowerLocky is particularly dangerous because it can encrypt a wide range of file types, including important business documents and personal photos. PowerLocky can spread quickly through a network, making it difficult to contain.If you have been infected with PowerLocky, it is important to seek professional help immediately to minimize the damage and prevent further spread. PowerLocky is a serious threat that should not be taken lightly.Victims of PowerLocky should not pay the ransom and should instead focus on restoring their files from backups.But let's take a look at PowerLocky a little closer.PowerLocky uses a sophisticated encryption algorithm that makes it very difficult to decrypt files without the proper decryption key. PowerLocky appends the ".powerlocky" extension to encrypted files, making them easily recognizable. PowerLocky ransom notes are typically displayed in .HTML or .TXT format and provide instructions on how to pay the ransom. PowerLocky will also create a unique ID for each victim, which is used to generate the encryption key.

Protection

There are a few things you can do to protect yourself from PowerLocky:

  • Keep your operating system and software up to date with the latest security patches.
  • Use a reputable antivirus program and keep it up to date.
  • Be cautious when opening email attachments, even if they appear to be from a trusted sender.
  • Do not click on links in email messages unless you are sure they are safe.
  • Backup your important files regularly and store them offline or on a cloud service.

What to do if you are infected?

The first thing you should do is disconnect your computer from the internet to prevent further spread. PowerLocky is designed to spread quickly, so it is important to take this step as soon as possible. You should then scan your computer with an antivirus program and remove any malicious files that are found. Once you have done this, you can attempt to decrypt your files using a PowerLocky decryption tool if one is available. If you do not have a backup of your files, you may be able to recover them using data recovery software. However, this is not guaranteed to work and should only be attempted if you are comfortable with using complex software.

Public decryption tool

There is no public PowerLocky decryption tool available at this time.Even if you will find some websites claiming to have PowerLocky decryptors, do not trust them as most of these are fake.

File recovery software

SalvageData data recovery software is designed to recover lost or deleted files from your hard drive. It is compatible with a wide range of file types and can even recover files that PowerLocky has encrypted.But PowerLocky is sophisticated Ransomware, and it may take some time to successfully recover your files.

Contact a data recovery service

If data recovery software is not successful, you can contact a professional data recovery service. These services use sophisticated tools and techniques to recover lost or deleted files.SalvageData is a professional data recovery service that has a success rate of over 96% for PowerLocky recovery and can often recover files in as little as 48 hours.How much does it cost?The cost of data recovery varies depending on the severity of the PowerLocky infection and the amount of data that needs to be recovered.But we offer a free evaluation so you can get an accurate quote for PowerLocky recovery.

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