Geek's Advice

Arrow ransomware threatens your file security

Arrow is yet another malicious virus categorized as ransomware. It belongs to the DHARMA ransomware family and its main aim is to encrypt ordinary users’ files. After the encryption is carried out, the affected files are renamed following this pattern: original file name, victim’s ID, hacker’s email address, and .arrow extension. To illustrate, a file 2.jpeg would look like a 2.jpeg.id-C214D163[biashabtc@redchan.it].arrow after the encryption. These files thus become completely inaccessible to the user. The victims are urged to contact the hackers using the email address biashabtc@redchan.it. The virus also generates a ransom note called FILES ENCRYPTED.txt which is dropped in every affected folder.

IMPORTANT. This is a new variant of Arrow virus. The first example was spotted in 2018, which used deblans@protonmail.com, java2018@tuta.io or java2018@india.com contact emails.

Ransom note contents

Since Arrow ransomware originated from DHARMA family, it shares similar characteristics like Blm, Log, or Lina viruses. As previously mentioned, after the encoding process user is left with a ransom note which states the obvious – your files have been encrypted. It also claims that the only possible way to retrieve the files is to pay a certain amount in Bitcoin to the cybercriminals.

Besides, the hackers encourage victims to send them a single encrypted file which does not contain any valuable information (like Excel sheets) to send it back decrypted, thus providing a proof that files are still retrievable. Moreover, contact email address and methods to buy Bitcoin are provided. Unfortunately, like in most of the other ransomware infection cases, encrypted files are nearly impossible to restore since this kind of malware usually uses military-grade ciphers. To illustrate, trying to decrypt one of the files manually might take years and an enormous amount of resources.

However, even though it might seem like a viable option, you should never contact or pay the ransom to the hackers since there are a countless amount of cases where even after the demands were met, the victims did not get any tool to retrieve the files. For this reason, you should frequently create back-ups and store them in a separate physical device, disconnected from all sources of the internet.

It is important to mention that you should consider using your back-up only after the complete removal of the virus since it might infect back-up as well. This guide will thoroughly give you instructions on how to remove Arrow ransomware.

Threat Summary

Ransomware infection ways

Usually, this type of software spreads in several different ways. The first one, of course, is downloads from untrustworthy sites. If you tend to download software or other data from unofficial sites or file-sharing networks like Torrent or other, you are at a higher risk of being exposed to ransomware attacks. For this reason, you should think twice before committing to this course of action – downloading a ‘free’ crack, keygen, various software activation tools, etc. might cause significant damage to your system’s safety.

The second major way that is used by the developers of such malware is malspam campaigns. To put it shortly, this method is consists of sending an enormous amount of emails to random internet users. These emails might contain various deceitful information – for example resumes, job or business offers, random invitations, etc. Usually, these emails have malicious files attached to them. In fact, they come in various forms, from .exe to .docx or even .pdf files. With this in mind, you should never open any links or files in suspicious-looking emails since it might trigger an intrusion into your system.

The third way by which ransomware could get inside your system is through so-called chain infections. To put it simply, once you get infected by other types of viruses (usually trojan), it might trigger additional downloads of malware, thus making you exposed to ransomware. You could also get infected by clicking on a suspicious-looking ad that might execute a script designed to breach your system’s security. All in all, you could say that there is no shortage of ways by which you could get Arrow ransomware in your system.

Learn how to avoid situations like this

First of all, we highly recommend you download only from official product sites instead of untrustworthy file-sharing networks. Secondly, pay attention to your emails and do not open any suspicious links or files inside of them. You should also be careful when pressing on random ads in the internet.

And last but not least, CREATE BACK-UPS and store them in a safe location. Keeping in mind these guidelines should protect you from unnecessary data loss.

Remove Arrow ransomware easily

Once you see the signs of being infected with the Arrow ransomware, you should immediately take steps to remove it from your system before it did more extensive damage. To do so, you should use trustworthy anti-malware software that would be capable of doing the job properly. Our geeks recommend RESTORO since it offers a simple and guaranteed way of dealing with these kinds of situations.

Once again, you should keep in mind, that restoring files from a back-up is an option only after the ransomware removal. The Arrow ransomware removal guidelines are provided down below.

OUR GEEKS RECOMMEND

Our team recommends a two-step rescue plan to remove ransomware and other remaining malware from your computer, plus repair caused virus damage to the system:

STEP 1. REMOVE AUTOMATICALLY WITH ROBUST ANTIVIRUS

REMOVE & PROTECT WITH INTEGO

Get INTEGO ANTIVIRUS for Windows to remove ransomware, Trojans, adware and other spyware and malware variants and protect your PC and network drives 24/7.. This VB100-certified security software uses state-of-art technology to provide protection against ransomware, Zero-Day attacks and advanced threats, Intego Web Shield blocks dangerous websites, phishing attacks, malicious downloads and installation of potentially unwanted programs.

Use INTEGO Antivirus to remove detected threats from your computer.

Read full review here.

STEP 2. REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER

DOWNLOAD RESTORO

RESTORO provides a free scan that helps to identify hardware, security and stability issues and presents a comprehensive report which can help you to locate and fix detected issues manually. It is a great PC repair software to use after you remove malware with professional antivirus. The full version of software will fix detected issues and repair virus damage caused to your Windows OS files automatically.

RESTORO uses AVIRA scanning engine to detect existing spyware and malware. If any are found, the software will eliminate them.

Read full review here.

GeeksAdvice.com editors select recommended products based on their effectiveness. We may earn a commission from affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Learn more.

Alternative software recommendations

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Removing spyware and malware is one step towards cybersecurity. To protect yourself against ever-evolving threats, we strongly recommend purchasing a Premium version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which provides security based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Includes ransomware protection. See pricing options and protect yourself now.

System Mechanic Ultimate Defense

If you're looking for an all-in-one system maintenance suite that has 7 core components providing powerful real-time protection, on-demand malware removal, system optimization, data recovery, password manager, online privacy protection and secure driver wiping technology. Therefore, due to its wide-range of capabilities, System Mechanic Ultimate Defense deserves Geek's Advice approval. Get it now for 50% off. You may also be interested in its full review.

Disclaimer. This site includes affiliate links. We may earn a small commission by recommending certain products, at no additional cost for you. We only choose quality software and services to recommend.

Matt Corey

Matt Corey is passionate about the latest tech news, gadgets and everything IT. Matt loves to criticize Windows and help people solve problems related to this operating system. When he’s not tinkering around with new gadgets he orders, he enjoys skydiving, as it is his favorite way to clear his mind and relax.