Blackout Ransomware Removal Guide

Blackout Ransomware might claim it is a program “designed to test the protection of OS Windows against ransomware.” In reality, it is, in fact, a malicious program that may encrypt your private files to extort money from you. Therefore, if you have no intention to risk your savings, we advise you not to contact the malware’s creators. Instead of doing as they demand we would recommend erasing the infection from the computer even though it cannot recover encrypted files. Nonetheless, there are other ways users could try to get the damaged data back, e.g. special recovery tools, backup copies, and so on. As for Blackout Ransomware’s removal, the task might be rather difficult for some users, so it might be easier to follow the recommended deletion steps placed below the text. Users who do not think they can manage to eliminate the threat manually could use a reliable antimalware tool too.

The research shows Blackout Ransomware mostly spreads through Spam emails that deliver the victim an infected attachment. The moment such a file is launched the computer becomes infected unless the user has a reliable antimalware tool installed that can detect and stop the malicious application from spreading. Needless to say, to avoid such threats in the future, you should be more cautious with data you receive via the Internet. It does not matter if the file does not look suspicious itself, you should still consider it untrustworthy if it comes from an unknown sender, if you were not supposed to receive it, if it was downloaded from untrustworthy file-sharing web pages or other unreliable sites, etc. Considering the damage such infection can do to your files or the computer, being extra careful would be a smart idea.

After the device is infected the malware should look for files, it could encrypt, in the following locations and their subfolders: %USERPROFILE%, %ALLUSERSPROFILE%, %PUBLIC%. Our specialists say Blackout Ransomware could encrypt pictures, photos, various documents, and even executable files. It is quite unusual that the encrypted files do not get any additional extension. Apparently, instead of this, the affected file’s name gets encoded in a Base64 algorithm, for example, a picture called panda.jpg could become VS6wYSNrZXIteDY0LmV5ZQ==, and so on. Thus, it might be difficult to recognize damaged data. What’s more, among the folders containing encrypted data or directories with unaffected files the malware may drop numerous copies of a document titled README_7252584_81363.txt or similarly.

As said before, the message in the mentioned document is written in a way to trick the user the malicious application is legitimate. Then the text convinces the user he will be able to get his files back as soon as he contacts the software’s creators. The message does not say you will have to pay anything, but we have no doubt the infection’s authors would demand a payment once the victim contacts them. Obviously, paying this ransom would be a huge risk since there is a possibility the hackers behind Blackout Ransomware may not deliver the decryption tool and so you could lose your money for no reason.

Provided that you do not want to risk your savings, we urge you to erase the threat immediately. Users who prefer deleting it manually could do so while following the recommended removal steps placed below this text. The other way to get rid of Blackout Ransomware is to set an antimalware tool to perform a full system scan and press the deletion button that should be provided right after the scan to deal with the detected threats.

Eliminate Blackout Ransomware

1. Tap Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
2. Go to the Task Manager.
3. Find a process related to the malware.
4. Mark the process and press the End Task button.
5. Exit Task Manager and tap Win+E.
6. Navigate to your Desktop, Temporary Files, and Downloads folders.
7. Find a malicious file that got the system infected.
8. Right-click this file and press Delete.
9. Find documents titled README_7252584_81363.txt or similarly, right-click them one by one and press Delete.
10. Close the File Explorer.
11. Empty the Recycle bin.
12. Reboot the system.