How to remove ZeroFucks ransomware

ZeroFucks ransomware is the product from cybercriminals who put a price tag of 400 euro on your encrypted files

ZeroFucks ransomware is the cryptovirus that encrypts files found on the machine and demands to pay in Bitcoin for the alleged decryption, or your data get destroyed in 96 hours. Meantime after 48 hours the price doubles and gets even doubled again after 72 hours since the initial encryption process. However, paying is not the best solution when dealing with such malware that affects your valuable data. Emisoft team, on July 18th, released a free decryptor, so paying the ransom becomes even more pointless.^[1] 

Bitcoin_Address.txt file is the ransom note file that gets placed on the desktop and in various folders containing encrypted files. This file contains a message from virus developers who focus on money extortion and data encryption. All the encoded data gets the file marker after the original name of the file and the file extensions typical for a document, photo or audio, video file. Then your files from “Picture.jpg” or “Document.doc” become “Picture.jpg.zerofucks” and “Document.doc.zerofucks”. Due to this fact, you can say that the name of this Zero-Fucks ransomware virus came from the developers themselves.

Zero-Fucks ransomware encrypts files using AES algorithm and then makes all the selected data useless by changing the original file code. Your photos, documents, audio, or video files become useless, and once the .zerofucks marker gets placed on every one of them, you cannot open them.

ZeroFucks ransomware virus is s file-locker threat that selects users files for encryption to demand payment for alleged decryption. There is no need to trust these people and once you get the ransom note on the payment screen and find Bitcoin_Address.txt file placed on the desktop and in other folders, make sure to restrain from keeping any contact with these criminals. 

If you try to reach the extortionists, they may send you more malware or infected files instead of the file decryption software and lead to permanently damaged files. And since the ransom amount of 400 euros is only the starting point and may double, react as soon as you get the message from criminals.

The Zero-Fucks ransomware ransom message on the payment system reads the following:

All your files are locked!
[Unlock]
All your important files have been encrypted.
If you want your files back, you need to pay €400 in Bitcoins.
After the payment is received, we will give you access to unlock your files.
Click on the Payment button to get more info.
If you don’t pay within 48 hours, the price will be doubled.
After another 24 hours, the price will be doubled again.
If you don’t pay within 96 hours your files will be destroyed.
—
User-ID: [REDACTED]
Important
Payment
—
If you close me or shutdown your pc without paying, you won’t be able to unlock your files again!
We guarantee that you will get your files back if you pay!
You can find more info about paying by clicking on the payment button.

ZeroFucks ransomware is designed to get Bitcoin amounts transferred from victims, but there are other changes that your system experiences when cryptovirus infiltrates the computer. Unfortunately, malware can automatically install and even disable applications to ensure the persistence of the virus.

The performance gets significantly diminished due to ZeroFucks ransomware activity and other background processes. This threat is also set to delete some files from the system folders or directly from the registry, ensure that data recovery is not possible and add other programs that run in addition to the ransomware. Cryptovirus can install other malware and run processes like cryptocurrency mining to make more from the attack.

You need to remove ZeroFucks ransomware as soon as possible, so the damage is avoided as much as possible. However, you need to get professional anti-malware for the process to ensure the best results. We recommend anti-malware tools because those programs can detect malicious files and viruses.^[2]

Additionally, experts^[3] note that all the damage and associated files can get deleted when you remove Zero-Fucks ransomware using the automatic method. If you choose a tool like FortectIntego it can also repair needed Windows files and restore the speed of your PC.

For file recovery after ZeroFucks ransomware removal, rely on your files stored on external devices, cloud services or data recovery software. We have a few solutions below alongside step-by-step removal guide and decryption software from Emisoft that we mentioned.

The infection spreads with the help of malicious files 

Ransomware hides its activity when it comes to the system, and it is achievable because the infiltration itself happens behind your back and without permission. However, the user is somewhat involved in the infection because there is a need for triggering malicious macros on the file.^[4] The victim does that by downloading and opening an infected file on the computer directly.

Malicious macros get placed on commonly found files like documents, PDFs, executables, and directly in websites or hyperlinks that get attached to emails. Criminals deliver such emails with legitimate company or service names to trick people into the opening and downloading those attachments. Pay more attention to emails you receive and delete suspicious ones immediately when you get them.

Get rid of Zero-Fucks ransomware virus and clean the machine thoroughly

The authors of ZeroFucks ransomware virus focus on various alterations when the system gets infected, and file encryption is not the only process this threat is designed to run. You may encounter some changes in the performance and speed of the machine that indicates malware infiltration. However, these symptoms can be caused by additional changes to the system.

You need to remove ZeroFucks ransomware using automatic anti-malware tools for many reasons, but the main one is all the installed files, programs and deleted data or disabled programs. Some functions on the computer may not work and keep you from cleaning the device thoroughly because ransomware affected security features and third-party programs.

Get anti-malware tools like FortectIntego, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes and run a system scan. This is how you can perform ZeroFucks ransomware removal and clean virus damage at the same time. Then you can rely on the decryption software and restore affected data or replace files with saved copies from backup devices.