About the .Budak Virus
A Ransomware is definitely not a piece of malware that is easily dealt with. Unfortunately, in many cases, there is no universal way to handle such an infection. What the best course of action is oftentimes depends on the specific circumstances surrounding the malware attack. If, for example, you keep no valuable data in your machine or if you have copies of your important files available on backup locations, then all you’d need to do is remove the infection which, in and of itself, isn’t all that difficult, and we will even show you how you can do it. However, if you store some sensitive and important files in your computer and don’t have them backed up, then you may be in trouble. Ransomware cryptoviruses, such as the newly released Budak Virus, are malware programs that try to encrypt the files of the user and thus make them inaccessible to their victims. The purpose of this lockdown of the files is to give the hackers behind the virus leverage that they can sue to blackmail their victims. After the encryption has occurred in your computer and you can’t open any of your files anymore, the hackers give you an ultimatum – send them some money following their strict instructions or be left with no way of opening the files in your computer. Many users do not even try to think of another option and directly pay the money that is demanded of them. This, however, is oftentimes a mistake – paying the money the hackers want of you in no way guarantees that you will get your files recovered. Typically, you are supposed to receive a special key that can decrypt the sealed data once you pay, but it is perfectly possible that you never receive that key despite having followed all the instructions that the hackers have given you and despite having sent them your money.
Can I recover any .Budak file?
Budak is one example of a nasty Ransomware cryptovirus infection that operates in a similar way – it seals your without showing any infection symptoms and then it tells you to pay a ransom to the hackers by displaying a ransom note on your screen with all the payment instructions that you are supposed to follow. However, as we said earlier, the payment really isn’t an advisable course of action since it may turn out to be an utter and pointless waste of money. Therefore, what we would advise you to do instead is to remove Budak Ransomware by following the guide below and then give a try to some of the potential data recovery options that you will find in the second section of the guide. Sadly, we can’t promise you that those options would work in your case, Budak is a very new cryptovirus and because of this, things that have worked against other Ransomware versions such as .Lokas or .Godes may not be as effective against this one. Still, it is important to try all of the alternatives that may be available to you before you consider more drastic measures.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Budak |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Danger Level | High (Ransomware is by far the worst threat you can encounter) |
| Symptoms | Typically, the users don’t notice anything sketchy until their files get encrypted. |
| Distribution Method | Sketchy and misleading ads, spam letters, other social engineering ticks, pirated software, and more. |
Remove .Budak Virus Ransomware
1: Preparations
Note: Before you go any further, we advise you to bookmark this page or have it open on a separate device such as your smartphone or another PC. Some of the steps might require you to exit your browser on this PC.
2: Task Manager
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to enter the Task Manager. Go to the Tab labeled Processes (Details for Win 8/10). Carefully look through the list of processes that are currently active on you PC.
If any of them seems shady, consumes too much RAM/CPU or has some strange description or no description at all, right-click on it, select Open File Location and delete everything there.
Also, even if you do not delete the files, be sure to stop the process by right-clicking on it and selecting End Process.
3: IP related to Budak
Go to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Open the hosts file with notepad.
Find where it says Localhost and take a look below that.
If you see any IP addresses there (below Localhost) send them to us here, in the comments since they might be coming from the Budak.
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4: Disable Startup programs
Re-open the Start Menu and type msconfig.
Click on the first search result. In the next window, go to the Startup tab. If you are on Win 10, it will send you to the Startup part of the task manager instead, as in the picture:
If you see any sketchy/shady looking entries in the list with an unknown manufacturer or a manufacturer name that looks suspicious as there could be a link between them and Budak , disable those programs and select OK.
5: Registry Editor
Press Windows key + R and in the resulting window type regedit.
Now, press Ctrl + F and type the name of the virus.
Delete everything that gets found. If you are not sure about whether to delete something, do not hesitate to ask us in the comments. Keep in mind that if you delete the wrong thing, you might cause all sorts of issues to your PC.
6: Deleting potentially malicious data – Budak
Type each of the following locations in the Windows search box and hit enter to open the locations:
%AppData%
%LocalAppData%
%ProgramData%
%WinDir%
%Temp%
Delete everything you see in Temp linked to Budak Ransomware. About the other folders, sort their contents by date and delete only the most recent entries. As always, if you are not sure about something, write to us in the comment section.
7: Budak Decryption
The previous steps were all aimed at removing the Budak Ransomware from your PC. However, in order to regain access to your files, you will also need to decrypt them or restore them. For that, we have a separate article with detailed instructions on what you have to do in order to unlock your data. Here is a link to that guide.
