Boot Ransomware

File-encryption Trojans continue to be the number one cyber-threat among criminals – they are easy to produce in mass numbers due to the availability of several free-to-use ransomware builders. One of the most active ransomware families is the STOP Ransomware – it consists of over 150 variants, the latest of which is the Boot Ransomware.

Having the Boot Ransomware on your computer is guaranteed to be a major problem since this threat will cause potentially irreversible damage to your files by encrypting their contents. The only way to reverse the encryption is to use a private decryption key that only the authors of the Boot Ransomware have. Of course, they do not offer it for free, and want to be compensated via Bitcoin in exchange for this key piece of information. We advise against paying the Boot Ransomware's authors because there is no way to be sure that they will help you out, and it would not be a surprise if they trick you out of your money.

The STOP Ransomware Continues to be a Worldwide Problem

Just like other recent STOP Ransomware variants, the Boot Ransomware also uses the '_readme.txt' file to deliver a message from the attackers. The emails the attackers use for contact also remain unchanged – gorentos@bitmessage.ch and gerentoshelp@firemail.cc. The files that you lost during the attack will have the '.boot' extension added to their names so that it should be easy to recognize them.

It is never a good idea to co-operate with ransomware developers since they are not known for their honesty and trustworthiness certainly. If you think that the Boot Ransomware has damaged your file system, then you should use a reliable anti-malware tool to eradicate the threat, and then look into popular data recovery software and tools.