Herad Ransomware Removal Guide

Herad Ransomware is not an entirely new threat since it seems to be another version of Kiratos Ransomware, which belongs to Stop Ransomware family. What is different about this infection is that it uses the .herad extension to mark its encrypted files and provides new contact information. Everything else, including the malware’s working manner, looks the same. The latest version also encrypts data considered to be personal or valuable and shows a ransom note claiming victims can purchase decryption tools by paying a ransom. As always, we do not recommend putting up with any demands if you do not want to risk getting tricked. The hackers behind the infection may claim they can guarantee you will get the promised decryption tools, but the truth is that cybercriminals can do whatever they like, for example, start asking for more money, ignore their victims, etc. If you think such people cannot be trusted and decide not to risk your savings, you could erase Herad Ransomware with instructions located below.

In the rest of this article, we present more details about Herad Ransomware, starting with its possible distribution channels. Usually, threats like this travel with Spam emails or emails from unknown senders. To make you open such data, its senders could pretend to be from a reputable company, or they may try to cause panic and scare you into opening an infected attachment or a malicious link. Thus, if you ever receive an email attachment/link with Spam or from someone you do not know, you should not open it until you are one hundred percent sure it is safe. To make sure it is, we recommend scanning data in question with a reliable security tool. Always remember that even most innocent-looking files can carry vicious threats, so one cannot be too careful. As for links in emails, you should hover over them or in other words, look at them carefully without clicking them. See if a link’s name matches its URL address, to be sure it will take you to where it is supposed to.

If a system becomes infected with Herad Ransomware, the malicious application ought to look for personal user’s data, such as photos, documents, archives, videos, etc. Our researchers say that the malware encrypts every targeted file with a secure encryption algorithm and marks it with a particular extension. For example, a file called roses.jpg ought to turn into roses.jpg.herad once it gets encrypted. Soon enough, the threat ought to show a ransom note called _readme.txt. It might be dropped in every location containing encrypted files. What the text file ought to carry is a message from the malicious application’s developers. According to them, all victims can decrypt their data by purchasing a decryption tool that’s full price seems to be $980 and $490 with a discount. Apparently, the price with a discount stands only if you pay it in 72 hours after getting your system infected. Of course, we do not think it would be a good idea to pay it since there are no reassurances you will get what you pay for. If you do not intend to do so, we advise deleting Herad Ransomware.

If you decide you want to eliminate the malware, there are a few ways to do so. First, you could remove Herad Ransomware manually by deleting data associated with it that could be placed on your system. The instructions located below show how to complete this task. The other way to get rid of Herad Ransomware is to employ a reliable security tool of your choice and perform a full system scan. Next, you should see a deletion button available with scanning results that you should click to erase all identified threats.

Get rid of Herad Ransomware

1. Tap Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
2. Pick Task Manager.
3. Select the Processes tab.
4. Look for a process associated with the malware.
5. Select the process and click End Task.
6. Leave Task Manager.
7. Tap Win+E.
8. Go to these locations:
   %TEMP%
   %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
   %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
9. Find suspicious files that could belong to the threat, right-click them, and select Delete.
10. Locate files named _readme.txt, right-click them, and select Delete.
11. Close File Explorer.
12. Empty Recycle Bin.
13. Restart the computer.