If you’ve landed on “How to remove guide” in search of salvation from a very stealthy malware known as Peta, you will learn how to remove it in the next few lines. Here, we have prepared some proven steps to help you locate and manually remove the infection, as well as some useful prevention and protection tips. You definitely need to read all the info shared here because the threat you are facing isn’t one that can be easily dealt with. Peta is a very malicious Ransomware cryptovirus that can encrypt your most needed files, and keep them hostage until you pay a ransom for their decryption. Dealing with such a malware would certainly require some guidelines, and a reliable security program, as well as some basic knowledge of how the Ransomware works, and how it sneaks inside your system. Therefore, we have prepared a brief explanation in the next paragraphs of the most important things you need to know about this threat, in order to get rid of Peta successfully and keep your machine safe from now on.
The .Peta virus
Knowing how frustrating it is to lose your information, we must first advise you to try to remain as calm as possible. The hackers behind Peta, Seto, Gero may place a ransom-demanding notification on your screen, asking you to transfer to them a certain amount of money immediately. The worst thing you could do, however, is to be impulsive, and let the crooks manipulate you. They may not hesitate to put pressure on you in an attempt to make you pay them as quickly as possible, because this is what their Ransomware infection’s how purpose is. But we should warn you that if you go ahead and pay them the money, there is a good chance of being left with nothing but empty pockets, and permanently locked files, despite having fulfilled their ransom demands. Besides, there is absolutely no chance of getting your money back, or helping the authorities detect the crooks, because the latter typically ask for a payment in BitCoins, which is an untraceable crypto-currency. In addition, once compromised, your system is at a high risk, and the hackers can gain control over your PC, or infect you with other malware, and thus keep harassing you.
The .Peta file encryption
For the reasons stated above, we generally recommend that you clean the infection as quickly as possible, with the help of our removal guide below, and only then focus on how to recover your files. If you have a file backup somewhere on an external drive or in a cloud storage, the only thing you need to do is remove the infection, so that you can safely restore your files from the backup. Another thing you can do is check for specialized file decryptors online. There are a lot of decryptor instruments available, and you can download most of them for free. You should know, however, that they are designed to unlock specific types of encryption, that corresponds to specific variants of Ransomware. Still, if you want to check for a decryptor for Peta, you can visit our frequently-updated list of decryptors, where you might discover a solution to your issue. However, keep in mind that some of the newest Ransomware threats, like the one we are talking about on this page, may still not have a workable solution as the cyber criminals are, unfortunately, one step ahead of the security researchers. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the maximum protection of your system by installing in it a trusted security tool. Another thing you could do is update your software and OS frequently, run regular system scans, avoid suspicious files and online shady locations, and prevent data loss by keeping a backup of all your valuable data elsewhere.
Peta SUMMARY:
| Name | Peta |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Danger Level | High (Peta Ransomware encrypts all types of files) |
| Symptoms | Peta Ransomware is hard to detect and aside from increased use of RAM and CPU, there would barely be any other visible red flags. |
| Distribution Method | Most of the time, Trojans get distributed through spam e-mails and social network messages, malicious ads, shady and pirated downloads, questionable torrents and other similar methods. |
Remove Peta 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 Peta
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 Peta.
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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 Peta , 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 – Peta
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 Peta 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: Peta Decryption
The previous steps were all aimed at removing the Peta 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.