Krypte Ransomware Removal Guide

Krypte Ransomware is a malicious program that was discovered towards the end of September of 2016. Like many other ransomware, it is designed to encrypt your files and demand money to decrypt them. However, we recommend that you remove it instead of paying the ransom because you might not get the decryption key or it might not work altogether. So if this ransomware encrypts your files, then they might be lost forever. To learn more about it, we invite you to read this whole article as it contains the most relevant up-to-date information available.

Our research has revealed that this highly malicious program is currently distributed via malicious email spam. Indeed, we have received information that suggests that this ransomware is sent in malicious emails as a file attachment. We assume that the malicious attachment features a JavaScript file that runs a malicious script when opened and silently downloads this ransomware’s main executable.

We have managed to obtain and test Krypte Ransomware’s sample, and we found that, whichever distribution method is used, its’ main executable is set to be placed in %APPDATA%\WindowsOSHelper and the name of the executable is WinOSHelp.exe. Once on your PC, it is set to launch automatically. Testing has shown that it will target files located in %USERPROFILE% and its subfolders in particular. While the files are being encrypted, it appends them with the .fear extension and modifies the encoding of the name. Hence an image called Mountains.jpeg would be renamed to DekB=vcpCjW.fear. This is only a minute detail, but that is what this program does and, therefore, it is significant.

While researching Krypte Ransomware, we discovered that it uses the AES encryption algorithm to encrypt the files and the RSA encryption algorithm to encrypt the AES key and send it to the Control and Command server of this ransomware. Hence, the decryption key is not stored locally, but uploaded to the server under the control of this program’s developers.

Once the encryption is complete, Krypte Ransomware will render a window that is set always to be on top of the desktop and does not have a Close button. This window is the ransom note, and we want to point out that it is in German only because it seems that this ransomware’s developer is either German, targets German-speaking users or both. Whatever the case may be, this ransomware is set to demand a 15-20 Euro Paysafe card. You have to enter the Paysafe code along with your email address in the ransom note window. However, there is no way to tell whether it will actually work and you get your key in your mailbox. Also, the developer states that you only have a 72-hour window to pay the ransom because otherwise, the server will delete your unique decryption key.

If your computer has been infected with this highly malicious application, then you can risk paying the ransom, or you can refuse to comply and remove it. There is no way of knowing whether you will get the key or whether it will work, but then again, it does not cost that much to purchase Paysafe card. However, if you want to get rid of Krypte Ransomware altogether, then we recommend using the instructions we have provided below. However, before you do that, you must close the window, and you can do that by opening the Task Manager and terminating WinOSHelp.exe. Alternatively, to deleting the file manually, you can use SpyHunter which will eradicate this infection automatically.

How to close Krypte Ransomware’s ransom note window

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
2. Select Task Manager.
3. Click Processes and find WinOSHelp.exe
4. Right-click it and click End Process.

How to delete Krypte Ransomware

1. Press Windows+E keys.
2. In the File Explorer’s address line, enter %APPDATA%\WindowsOSHelper and hit Enter.
3. Locate WinOSHelp.exe, right-click it and click Delete.