El Ransomware

The El Ransomware is a file-encryption Trojan, which is not compatible with any publicly available free decryptors, therefore making it very difficult for its victims to find a way to get their files back free of charge. The only solution so far is proposed by the authors of the El Ransomware and, unfortunately, they demand a ransom payment of $100 in exchange for their decryptor. The El Ransomware’s attack is easy to recognize because the file-locker will mark the locked files with the ‘.WAND’ extension. It provides the victim with two separate ransom notes – one of them is found in ‘About .WAND unlocking instructions.txt,’ while the other one is displayed in a new window as soon as the ransomware is done locking the files.

Surprisingly, the con artists behind the El Ransomware do not demand to receive the money via a Bitcoin transaction or another cryptocurrency. Instead, they want to be contacted and promise to provide the victim with an account where the money should be sent to – it is not known whether they plan on using a bank transfer, PayPal or another payment method. The contact details listed by the El Ransomware’s authors are nackcwand@protonmail.com and gktlc5a@protonmail.com.

Unfortunately, recovering from the El Ransomware’s attack is not easy at all because a free decryption option is not available. The only reliable way to get all your files back is to recover them from a backup – if you do not have the habit of making file backups, then the restoration of your files might turn out to be a nearly impossible task. Do not forget that you should not agree to send money to the El Ransomware’s authors under any circumstances since it is very likely that they might end up tricking you. The suggestion is to ensure the full removal of the El Ransomware by using a trustworthy anti-virus product. Doing this will not undo the damage done to your files, but it will prevent the El Ransomware from causing more mayhem. You also should make sure to preserve the encrypted files marked with the ‘.WAND’ extension, because their recovery might become possible in the future.