Wholocked ransomware

Wholocked ransomware is a terribly annoying infection that not only encrypts your target files but also locks you out of your computer. It is a daunting perspective, especially if you have multiple vital files that you need to access every single day. In other words, if Wholocked ransomware infects your work computer, it might not end well.

Although it is possible to remove Wholocked ransomware like many other similar infections, please don’t forget that, in some cases, it might be impossible to restore your files. While some users resort to paying the ransom fee to get their files back, we would like to point out that paying the ransom doesn’t guarantee you will be able to decrypt the data.

We almost emphasize that prevention is extremely important in the war against ransomware. While we might be used to dealing with malware when it’s already there, it’s vital to protect your systems from such intruders beforehand. For that, you need to know how Wholocked ransomware and other similar infections spread. Once you learn to recognize ransomware distribution patterns, you will be able to prevent such infections from entering your computer.

Wholocked ransomware is distributed just like most of the other ransomware infections. For the most part, it should come via spam email attachments. The spam campaigns that distribute this infection could be random or part of a spear-phishing attack. If it’s a spear-phishing attack, it means your system or your company (if your work computer is at risk) are being targeted on purpose, and that you must be dealing with a lot of sensitive data for the criminals to try to lock it up.

Spam attachments that carry Wholocked ransomware may look like regular document files. For example, if you open multiple MS Office or PDF documents every single day, you might not even think twice about opening a spam attachment (if it looks like the rest of the files). But please don’t forget to check the message that the spam emails come with. If the message is urgent, and you don’t recognize the sender, it is very likely that it’s the scam to push you into installing Wholocked ransomware on your PC (or any other ransomware for that matter).

Also, we always emphasize how useful a file scan is. Sometimes it might be challenging to tell whether the file you have received is fake or not, and for that, you can scan it with a security tool of your choice. If the scan results show that there is nothing wrong with the file, you can proceed to open it.

On the other hand, if you happen to launch the Wholocked ransomware installer, then you’re up for a long and bumpy ride. Needless to say, the program will encrypt your files. Like most of the other ransomware infections, Wholocked ransomware adds an extension to all the files (.wholocked). However, you probably won’t be able to see the encrypted files before this program locks you out. After all, aside from encrypting the files, it also uses a screen locker to make itself look more formidable.

The screen lock message comes with a dark red background, and it makes it look even more urgent. Here’s what it has to say:

All your files have been encrypted!

All your documents (databases, texts, images, videos, musics etc.) were encrypted.
The encryption was done using a secret key that is now on our servers.

To decrypt your files you will need to buy the secret key from us. We are the only on the world who can provide this for you.

This kind of message can look really daunting, and affected users might feel compelled to contact these criminals and pay the ransom. However, if you have a file backup, you should just remove Wholocked ransomware from your computer, delete the encrypted copies, and then transfer the healthy files back into your system.

To unlock your computer, you can follow the instructions below. Please note that you have to bypass the lock screen if you want to remove Wholocked ransomware (even if you do that with an automated antispyware tool). Once you are done with the malware removal, please safeguard your system against similar threats.

How to Delete Wholocked ransomware

1. Turn on the PC.
2. For Windows 8: launch the Charm bar and click Power Options.
   For Windows 10: hit the Window icon and choose Power.
3. Press the Shift key and click Restart.
4. Open the Troubleshooting menu and select Advanced options.
5. Open Startup Settings and select Restart. Press F5 to load Safe mode with Networking.
6. Press Win + R and enter regedit. Press OK.
7. Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
8. On the right pane, right-click and remove the svñhîst value that points to %USERPROFILE%.
9. Press Win + R and type %TEMP%. Click OK.
10. Remove the random EXE files from the directory and reboot your PC.
11. Use SpyHunter to scan your computer.