A1Lock ransomware virus: what it is and how to remove it
A1Lock ransomware is a new Globe Imposter ransomware version that uses .707 extension on encrypted files and creates a ransom note called RECOVER_FILES.html. The virus functions as an extortion tool that demands ransom in exchange for a data recovery software.
Facts checked October 7, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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A free scan checks for the encryptor still on the PC; it does not decrypt .707 files.
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A1Lock ransomware virus: summary
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
|---|---|
| Ransom note | RECOVER_FILES.html; the text of the note is not in our records |
| Contact | Not recorded in our earlier report |
| Encrypted file extension | .707 |
| Decryptor | No free decryptor is known for this variant; check No More Ransom (nomoreransom.org) for updates |
| Distribution | Not recorded in the old report |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 9 more facts
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
|---|---|
| Name | A1Lock ransomware virus |
| Type | File-encrypting ransomware |
| Symptoms | Files renamed with a new extension and a ransom note left in folders |
| Evidence | 4 write-ups by security sites; no sample analysed yet |
| Encrypted files | .707 |
| Free decryptor | No free decryptor is known (checked 7 October 2026) |
| First seen | 27 July 2017 |
| Facts checked | 7 October 2026 |
Names and addresses to look for
- File extension:
.707 - Note file:
RECOVER_FILES.html
How A1Lock ransomware virus behaves
From our report of Jul 2017 · not reviewed since
A1Lock virus will encrypt your files and demand a ransom
A1Lock ransomware is a new Globe Imposter ransomware version that uses .707 extension on encrypted files and creates a ransom note called RECOVER_FILES.html.
The virus functions as an extortion tool that demands ransom in exchange for a data recovery software.
Once run, the malicious executable of the virus scan the entire computer system for target files. The malware has a list of file extensions that are main targets. Once the virus finds a file with a target extension, it corrupts the file using certain encryption algorithm. Once the A1Lock encrypts the file, it adds .707 extension after the original file extension to mark the file as corrupted one.
The last part of the attack involves the creation of the ransom note, also known as the file that holds data recovery instructions. The file contains victim's personal ID and a link to a site that explains how to buy the decryptor. In order to access the website, the victim has to install a special browser called TOR.
The provided URL leads to a site that provides the helpme.zip file. The size of this file is 126.87kB. The file contains a decrypter, however, in order to access it, the victim has to pay 0.06 Bitcoin.
At the moment of writing this post, the price of the decryptor was 152.22 US dollars. The ransom has to be transferred to a provided Bitcoin wallet address that collects payments from all A1Lock ransomware victims.
If you were attacked by this ransomware, we suggest you to clean your system from malicious files first. It is strongly recommended that you remove A1Lock virus ASAP.
The removal can be completed using anti-malware program, and it won't take you more than a half an hour to do it. Please, do not try to kill the virus manually because you can easily overlook some malicious files and leave the system with security vulnerabilities.
It is also important that you prepare your PC for A1Lock removal properly. To do it, we strongly recommend using instructions we made. These are given below the article.
From our report of Jul 2017 · not reviewed since
Distribution of Globe Imposter malware
Globe Imposter viruses, including A1Lock, are mostly distributed via malspam (also known as malicious spam).
Be extremely careful when opening emails sent by strangers or companies that you didn't have any business with lately. If you suspect something strange, do not click on links or email attachments that came with the message.
Cyber criminals tend to attach .ZIP files to emails, and sometimes they protect these files with a password. In such case, the password will be listed in the message body. Do not attempt to open these archives and especially files inside of them, despite their legitimate-looking names.
Even if it sounds surprising to you, a document (Word or Excel) CAN contain a virus, because it can contain a malicious script that connects to a certain domain and downloads ransomware from it.
The ransomware has already affected many computers worldwide, especially in France. If you are a citizen from this country, you might be interested in Lesvirus.fr website that provides information about computer security in French language.
The A1Lock ransomware virus ransom note
The note is called RECOVER_FILES.html.
We did not record the full text of the ransom note in our report.
How to remove A1Lock ransomware virus
Tools you'll need
All of these are free except where noted. Download them on a clean device if the infected PC is offline.
- A USB stick: to keep the ransom note, two or three encrypted files and screenshots off the infected PC.
- Microsoft Defender Offline: built into Windows 11 and Windows 10; scans before Windows starts, so running malware cannot hide.
- Microsoft Safety Scanner: a second, portable scanner with current signatures; each download works for 10 days.
- ID Ransomware: identifies the family from the note and one encrypted file and says whether a decryptor exists.
- No More Ransom: the free decryptors from police and security companies; check it again every few months.
- Fortect (optional): scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. The free scan is in the box above.
How to remove A1Lock ransomware virus and get your files back
Work in this order.
Disconnecting comes first, removal comes before any restore, and nothing here asks you to contact the attackers.
Step 1: Disconnect the PC and unplug backup drives
A1Lock ransomware virus encrypts everything it can reach, including drives and shares you connect later. Cut the network first: cable out, or Wi-Fi off from the taskbar.
Then unplug every USB stick and backup disk and pause cloud sync, so the encrypted versions do not replace your online copies. Do not reconnect any of them until the ransomware is removed from the Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC.
Windows 11: turn off Wi-Fi to take the PC offline. Full procedure with screenshots: Ransomware: first steps, finding a decryptor and recovering files
Step 2: Save the ransom note and confirm the family
Copy
RECOVER_FILES.htmland one or two files ending in.707to a USB stick, and leave the originals where they are.From another device, upload the note and a sample file to ID Ransomware or No More Ransom's Crypto Sheriff, which name the family from the note, the extension and the file structure.
Write down the contact address and your personal ID from the note, because a decryptor or the police may ask for them.
Warning: Never contact the attackers from the infected Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC.
Windows 11: the ransom note and encrypted files to copy for identification. Full procedure with screenshots: Ransomware: first steps, finding a decryptor and recovering files
Step 3: Check for a free decryptor
For A1Lock ransomware virus, no free decryptor is known (checked 7 October 2026). Search the family name in the No More Ransom decryption tools list and in the free decryptors of Emsisoft, Avast and Kaspersky, because new tools appear years after an attack.
Important: Keep the encrypted files even if nothing works today, and do not pay before every free option is ruled out: payment does not guarantee a working key.
Decryptors run on Windows 11 and Windows 10, but only after the ransomware itself is removed.
Full procedure with screenshots: Ransomware: first steps, finding a decryptor and recovering files
Step 4: Remove the ransomware before you restore or decrypt
Restoring or decrypting files while A1Lock ransomware virus still runs lets it encrypt them again. Run a Full scan in Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, then the Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan).
If the ransomware blocks Windows Security, start Safe Mode with Networking and scan from there. Some families install a password stealer as well, so let both scans finish on Windows 11 or Windows 10.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
Step 5: Look for shadow copies of the files
Open Command Prompt as administrator and run
vssadmin list shadows. If it lists copies dated before the attack, right-click a folder with encrypted files in File Explorer, choose Properties > Previous Versions, and open or restore a version from before that date.ShadowExplorer, a free tool, shows the same copies when the tab is empty or hidden. Most current families delete shadow copies, so an empty list is normal, but the check takes two minutes on Windows 11 or Windows 10.
Windows 11: vssadmin list shadows shows whether shadow copies exist. Full procedure with screenshots: Ransomware: first steps, finding a decryptor and recovering files
Step 6: Restore the files from a backup or recover deleted originals
Restore from an external backup, File History or OneDrive's version history, choosing a date before the attack. Connect the backup drive only after the scans are clean, or the ransomware encrypts it too.
If there is no backup, file recovery software can sometimes find the deleted originals, because some ransomware writes an encrypted copy and deletes the original file.
Stop writing to the drive and try recovery on Windows 11 or Windows 10 before new files overwrite the space.
Full procedure with screenshots: Recover deleted files (Recycle Bin, backups, OneDrive) On uGetFix
Instructions for each browser and system
The detailed steps for every browser and system this guide covers. Open the one you use.
Manual removal using Safe Mode
Important! →
Manual removal guide might be too complicated for regular computer users. It requires advanced IT knowledge to be performed correctly (if vital system files are removed or damaged, it might result in full Windows compromise), and it also might take hours to complete. Therefore, we highly advise using the automatic method provided above instead.
Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking
Manual malware removal should be best performed in the Safe Mode environment.
Windows 7 / Vista / XP
- Click Start > Shutdown > Restart > OK.
- When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 button (if that does not work, try F2, F12, Del, etc. - it all depends on your motherboard model) multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
- Select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.
Windows 10 / Windows 8
- Right-click on Start button and select Settings.
- Scroll down to pick Update & Security.
- On the left side of the window, pick Recovery.
- Now scroll down to find Advanced Startup section.
- Click Restart now.
- Select Troubleshoot.
- Go to Advanced options.
- Select Startup Settings.
- Press Restart.
- Now press 5 or click 5) Enable Safe Mode with Networking.
Step 2. Shut down suspicious processes
Windows Task Manager is a useful tool that shows all the processes running in the background. If malware is running a process, you need to shut it down:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
- Click on More details.
- Scroll down to Background processes section, and look for anything suspicious.
- Right-click and select Open file location.
- Go back to the process, right-click and pick End Task.
- Delete the contents of the malicious folder.
Step 3. Check program Startup
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
- Go to Startup tab.
- Right-click on the suspicious program and pick Disable.
Step 4. Delete virus files
Malware-related files can be found in various places within your computer. Here are instructions that could help you find them:
- Type in Disk Cleanup in Windows search and press Enter.
- Select the drive you want to clean (C: is your main drive by default and is likely to be the one that has malicious files in).
- Scroll through the Files to delete list and select the following:
Temporary Internet Files
Downloads
Recycle Bin
Temporary files - Pick Clean up system files.
- You can also look for other malicious files hidden in the following folders (type these entries in Windows Search and press Enter):
%AppData%
%LocalAppData%
%ProgramData%
%WinDir%
After you are finished, reboot the PC in normal mode.
From our report of Jul 2017 · not reviewed since
Remove A1Lock ransomware virus
Do not delay A1Lock removal because deleting this virus is the only available option if you want to continue using your computer safely.
Typically, the ransomware hides its components from the victim; besides, it has an ability to download additional malware to the system, so you need to uninstall all malware at once ASAP.
However, to remove A1Lock virus, you will need to make sure that it won't attempt to interrupt you from doing so. For this reason, we strongly recommend rebooting your computer in Safe Mode with Networking and starting the removal process from there. You can find a detailed explanation of the removal procedure down below.
[GI=method-1]Remove the virus while in Safe Mode with Networking. Use these instructions to complete the task faster.
To use it, you need to:
Use Globe Imposter Decryptor
Globe Imposter Decryptor may help you to recover your files.
Report it and recover your files
Report it
Report the attack even if you do not expect the files back: insurers and banks ask for the report number, and police use the contacts in the note to link cases.
- United States
- FBI IC3 · FTC ReportFraud
- United Kingdom
- Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) · NCSC
- Australia
- ReportCyber (ASD)
- EU countries
- Europol: national reporting sites
Give the victim ID, the note and the date the files were encrypted. A business that holds personal data may also have to notify its data protection authority, in the EU within 72 hours.
Make the next attack harmless
A1Lock ransomware virus could only hurt the files that had no second copy, and the signs (files that end in .707 and no longer open) showed exactly which ones those were. The 3-2-1 rule fixes that:
- three copies
- two media
- one disconnected
A practical version for a home PC: OneDrive or another cloud backup with version history, plus an external disk that you plug in once a week for File History and then unplug. Test a restore now and then by opening a few files from the backup on another device.
Details, schedules and what not to back up are in our 3-2-1 backup guide for Windows.
Stream videos without limitations, no matter where you are
There are multiple parties that could find out almost anything about you by checking your online activity.
While this is highly unlikely, advertisers and tech companies are constantly tracking you online. The first step to privacy should be a secure browser that focuses on tracker reduction to a minimum.
Even if you employ a secure browser, you will not be able to access websites that are restricted due to local government laws or other reasons. In other words, you may not be able to stream Disney+ or US-based Netflix in some countries. To bypass these restrictions, you can employ a powerful VPN, which provides dedicated servers for torrenting and streaming, not slowing you down in the process.
Data backups are important - recover your lost files
Ransomware is one of the biggest threats to personal data.
Once it is executed on a machine, it launches a sophisticated encryption algorithm that locks all your files, although it does not destroy them. The most common misconception is that anti-malware software can return files to their previous states. This is not true, however, and data remains locked after the malicious payload is deleted.
While regular data backups are the only secure method to recover your files after a ransomware attack, tools such as can also be effective and restore at least some of your lost data.
Questions about A1Lock ransomware virus
How do I open .707 files?
You cannot open them by renaming or with another program, because the content of files ending in .707 has been encrypted. The only ways back are a working decryptor for the family, or clean copies from elsewhere:
- OneDrive versions
- File History
- an offline backup drive
- Previous Versions if the ransomware did not delete them
Identify the family first by uploading the ransom note and one encrypted file to ID Ransomware or No More Ransom. Avoid websites and programs that promise to open any encrypted file; they do not work and some are scams.
Should I pay the ransom?
We advise against it, and so do the FBI, Europol and national cyber agencies. Payment does not guarantee a working tool: some attackers never reply, some tools damage files, and some variants have no decryptor at all. Paying also funds further attacks and can make you a target again.
Before considering payment, try every recovery option in this guide and report the attack. Companies must involve their legal adviser and insurer, because payments to sanctioned groups can be illegal. If files are truly irreplaceable, store the encrypted copies and wait; decryptors sometimes appear later.
Is there a free A1Lock ransomware virus decryptor?
We last checked on 7 October 2026, and for A1Lock ransomware virus no free decryptor is known. We check No More Ransom, which collects free tools from police and security companies, and the decryptor pages of the major antivirus vendors. A working decryptor exists only when the encryption has a flaw or the keys were leaked or seized.
Ignore sites and videos that offer a "A1Lock ransomware virus decryptor" for download or for a fee: these are usually scams or malware. Real decryptors are free and come from known security companies or law enforcement. Keep the encrypted files in case a tool appears later.
Can a data-recovery company decrypt my files for a fee?
Only if a decryptor already exists or the company pays the attackers for you. Some "ransomware recovery" services advertise that they can decrypt families with no known flaw; in practice they negotiate with the attackers and add their own fee. Others use the same free tools listed on No More Ransom.
Before you hire anyone, ask in writing how they will recover the files, whether they will contact the attackers and what happens if they fail. A legitimate service answers clearly. If a free decryptor exists for your family, you can run it yourself.
How did A1Lock ransomware virus get on my computer?
The way A1Lock ransomware virus spreads has not been documented yet, so look at your own recent activity. On home PCs, ransomware most often comes with cracked programs, game cheats, key generators and fake updates, or with an e-mail attachment that was opened. On business networks, attackers usually log in through Remote Desktop with a stolen or guessed password.
Think back to what was downloaded or installed in the days before files that end in .707 and no longer open, and check the Downloads folder and Installed apps sorted by date. Keep anything suspicious for your report, but do not run it again.
Did A1Lock ransomware virus steal my files or passwords?
We do not know yet. Nothing published so far shows data theft by A1Lock ransomware virus, but the only confirmed sign is files that end in .707 and no longer open, which says nothing about what happened before. Many current ransomware attacks copy files or run a password stealer first, so it is wise to act as if they did.
From a clean device, change the passwords that were saved in the browsers on this PC, starting with e-mail and banking, sign out of all sessions and turn on two-step verification. Watch bank statements and account activity for the next few weeks.
Is A1Lock ransomware virus the same as other ransomware with a similar name?
Not necessarily. Ransomware names come from the file extension, the note or a word in the code, so unrelated families often end up with similar names, and one family can appear under several names. The difference matters: a decryptor or advice for one family does not fit another and can damage files.
Compare the ending added to your files and the exact name of the note with the summary table at the top of this guide, then upload the note and one encrypted file to ID Ransomware from a clean device. If the result names another family, follow the guide for that family instead.
Should I open RECOVER_FILES.html?
Reading it is fine if you open it in Notepad. A plain text RECOVER_FILES.html cannot harm the PC. Be careful with notes in HTA or HTML format: double-clicking those runs them in a window that can contain scripts, so right-click and choose Open with > Notepad instead.
The note tells you the contact addresses, the claimed amount and the deadline. Do not visit links or write to the addresses from this PC. Use the note to identify the family and check for a free decryptor first.
Will .707 spread to my other drives?
It can. Ransomware encrypts every drive and network share it can reach while it runs, so external disks, USB sticks and shared folders connected during the attack may also have files ending in .707. Disconnect everything now, then check each device from a clean computer.
Do not plug a backup drive into the infected PC until the ransomware has been removed with an offline scan. Cloud folders such as OneDrive sync the encrypted versions, but they keep earlier versions you can usually restore.
Will Fortect remove A1Lock ransomware virus?
Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.
For A1Lock ransomware virus, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.
Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.
Sources
- WeLiveSecurity: Social engineering and ransomware (read October 7, 2026)
- Naked Security: SophosLabs analysis: why the surge in Word docs hiding ransomware? (read October 7, 2026)
- LesVirus: LesVirus (read October 7, 2026)
- CISA: StopRansomware (read October 7, 2026)
- No More Ransom (read October 7, 2026)