Unknown Lock 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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Before we start discussing Unknown Lock, it is important to know what ransomware is.Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim's files and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.Unknown Lock is a new ransomware that was first seen in the wild in early March 2019. It is being distributed using malicious email attachments and once it has infected a computer, it will encrypt the victim's files using AES-256 encryption. Then it will display a ransom note that demands payment of 1 Bitcoin in order to decrypt the files. But the ransom note also states that the price will double if the payment is not made within 72 hours.

How do you understand that you are infected?

The ransomware will append the ".locked" extension to the encrypted files and it will also create a text file named "HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt" that contains the ransom note. This text file will be placed in every folder that contains encrypted files.You will not be able to open your files. When you try to open an Unknown Lock encrypted file, you will see the following message:"Your personal files are encrypted!More information is in the "HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt"."In addition, your computer's background may be changed to a black image that contains the Unknown Lock Ransomware logo and contact information. Also, the computer will run more slowly than usual.

What can you do?

The first thing you should do is disconnect from the Internet so that the malware cannot encrypt any more files. Then you should try to use a backup to restore your encrypted files. If you don't have a backup, then you can try to use a file recovery program to recover your files.SalvageData data recovery software is one of the best Unknown Lock decrypter programs available. This program can recover your files without having to pay a ransom.But the most important thing you should do is to remove it from your computer so that it cannot encrypt your files again. You can do this by using a reputable anti-malware program.

Is there a public decryption tool?

At this time, there is no public decryption tool for Unknown Lock.

How can you prevent ransomware?

To protect your computer from Unknown Lock and other viruses, you should always have a backup of your important files. You should also install a reputable anti-malware program and keep it up-to-date. In addition, you should be careful when opening email attachments from unknown senders. Unknown Lock is usually spread through malicious email attachments, so you should be very careful when opening attachments from unknown sources.

Should you pay the Unknown Lock ransom?

We do not recommend that you pay the Unknown Lock ransom because there is no guarantee that you will get your files back even if you do pay. Also, by paying the ransom, you would be supporting the criminals who created it and they would be encouraged to create more ransomware.

Contact SalvageData for help

If you cannot remove Unknown Lock from your computer or if you cannot recover your files, then you can contact SalvageData.Our team of experts can help you to remove the ransomware from your computer and they can also try to recover your files.We offer a free consultation, so please do not hesitate to contact us. You can do it via our website or you can give us a call at 1-800-972-3282.Also, we have many offices around the world, so please find the nearest location to you.Thank you for reading! We hope that it has been helpful to you.

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