M@r1a Ransomware Removal Guide

You must keep your operating system secured; otherwise, threats like M@r1a Ransomware will slither in and corrupt your own files. This ransomware – as you can tell by the name – is created to make victims pay a ransom, which, in this case, is 50 US Dollars. That is not a lot in comparison to some other threats that might demands hundreds and thousands of dollars, but that does not mean that you should make the payment. We also do not recommend communicating with cyber criminals, which is exactly what they want you to do. They make this pretty clear using a file called “ReadME-M@r1a.txt.” If you continue reading, you will learn more about it. Our main focus, without a doubt, is dedicated to the removal of the malicious infection. If you are afraid you will not be able to delete M@r1a Ransomware yourself, you are in the right place. We can offer you a few different methods that will, surely, help you eliminate the malicious ransomware from your operating system.

Was an email involved in the distribution of M@r1a Ransomware? If you remember opening a strange email attachment recently, that is, most likely, how the infection got in. Of course, other methods of attack could have been employed by clever cyber criminals. There is a good chance that this infection was created by someone experienced because there are other threats (e.g., Spartacus Ransomware or Blackheart Ransomware) that appear to act in a suspiciously similar manner. Maybe they were created by different attackers but simply belong to the same family. All in all, whatever the case might be, if you allow M@r1a Ransomware to enter your system, it will make a mess no doubt. First, it will encrypt your personal files, including the executables of downloaded applications. Luckily, it does not encrypt files in %PROGRAMFILES% or %WINDIR% directories, so it is unlikely that any applications will be affected. The corrupted files will have the “.mariacbc” extension attached to them, and there is no point in removing it. That will not help you restore files.

If you rely on backups to restore corrupted, lost or deleted files, we hope that you use external or virtual backup because M@r1a Ransomware deletes shadow volume copies (uses command “cmd.exe", "/c vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet”) which might impede the system restore process. To make you understand the situation better, the infection creates ReadME-M@r1a.txt, which suggests contacting attackers using “Telegram: @MAF420 or Email: farhani.ma98@gmail.com.” After encryption and removal of shadow copies, the threat also launches a program window entitled “M@r1a.” It displays a message that instructs to pay a ransom of $50 in Bitcoins to 1EME4Y8zHLGQbzjs9YZ5fnbaSLt4ggkRso. At the time of research, no money had been transferred to this Bitcoin Wallet. The message also warns against restarting or shutting down the PC. That is because M@r1a Ransomware does not have a point of execution, and it will not re-launch the window after a restart. All in all, you can do what you want. You can even pay the ransom. Although we definitely do NOT recommend it. We recommend deleting the infection instead.

Are you prepared to remove M@r1a Ransomware? This threat can definitely be intimidating, and finding its malicious components can be difficult. Although the threat itself is not complicated, its launcher should have a unique name in every case, and its location could be very random. If you check the manual removal guide below, you will find a list of potential locations, but, of course, the threat could hide someplace else. Do not worry too much if you are not able to delete the infection manually. At the end of the day, all Windows users should install anti-malware software to guard their operating systems, and if you install it now, you will have M@r1a Ransomware and the remaining threats (if they exist) deleted automatically. Although we cannot help you decrypt files, you might have backup copies saved externally. If that is not the case, make it a goal of yours to back up all important files from now on.

How to delete M@r1a Ransomware

1. Check these directories (tap Win+E and enter the path into the field at the top) for a malicious launcher file that must be Deleted:
   • %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
   • %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
   • %TEMP%
2. Delete the ransom not file called ReadME-M@r1a.txtfrom these directories:
   • %HOMEDRIVE%
   • %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
3. Empty Recycle Bin and then quickly scan the operating system to check for malicious leftovers.