.ACTUM Virus – How to Get Rid of It (+File Restore)

Read this article to learn what are .ACTUM files, how to remove .ACTUM ransomware from your computer and how to restore files that have been encrypted by this virus.

GlobeImposter variants were reported to be on the rise. The virus family comes out with new variants each week and each has different file extension which it adds to your files after it encrypts them. This particular version of GlobeImposter uses the .ACTUM file extension and you do not want it to infect your computer system. The primary reason for this is that the .ACTUM file virus’s end goal is to get you to pay a hefty ransom fee to unlock your files so that you are able to use them once again.

Which Files May Get Affected by .ACTUM virus Ransomware?

.ACTUM virus Ransomware serves as a typical file-encoding Trojan. As soon as it gets access to your machine, this cryptomalware will perform a quick scan to find the paths to all of your personal files. The targeted data includes all MS Office documents, your precious photos and videos, your databases, the program files, etc. Only a few files such as the ones related to the core Windows processes may be spared. Once the operation ends, you will notice a threatening lockdown message on your desktop and the default file extension will become ‘.dll’. The cyber criminals give the victims only several days pay the ransom of Bitcoins, or else they threaten to delete forever the decryption key. The purpose of this frightening message is to shock the person and make him act irrationally. The victims often feel as the only solution to the issue is to pay the money. In reality, all specialists unanimously recommend not to follow the instructions of the hackers for several different reasons.

How to Protect Yourself from .ACTUM virus Ransomware?

This ransomware may cause huge and often irreversible damage to the affected machines. Fortunately, you can prevent the infection as long as you are vigilant during your online sessions. This Trojan isn’t known to use some unique methods to infiltrate the defenses of your computer. The most probable cause for .ACTUM virus Ransomware to enter is via spam emails. You may receive a message with a shocking content, encouraging you to either click on a malicious link or download a compromised file. The hackers have a whole arsenal of tools to manipulate you into doing so. For example, they may claim to represent an international bank or some popular shipping company. If they address you without mentioning your name, the email is probably a scam and you should ignore it. Unfortunately, if you simply click or download the infected file, your action will most likely be enough to activate the harmful codes of .ACTUM virus Ransomware. In this case, only a credible security solution may be able to prevent the forthcoming damage.

How Does .ACTUM virus Work?

Well, .ACTUM virus works just like most ransomware viruses do – it enters your system via a compromised file or a malicious URL contained in a spam email. Be cautious when opening even the slightest suspicious email in your inbox, especially if it contains an attachment or an URL. Once the compromised file or URL is opened, the virus downloads to your system and the infection begins.

.ACTUM virus scans your files first. It searches your PC for the following extensions:

.PNG .PSD .PSPIMAGE .TGA .THM .TIF .TIFF .YUV .AI .EPS .PS .SVG .INDD .PCT .PDF .XLR .XLS .XLSX .ACCDB .DB .DBF .MDB .PDB .SQL .APK .APP .BAT .CGI .COM .EXE .GADGET .JAR .PIF .WSF .DEM .GAM .NES .ROM .SAV CAD Files .DWG .DXF GIS Files .GPX .KML .KMZ .ASP .ASPX .CER .CFM .CSR .CSS .HTM .HTML .JS .JSP .PHP .RSS .XHTML. DOC .DOCX .LOG .MSG .ODT .PAGES .RTF .TEX .TXT .WPD .WPS .CSV .DAT .GED .KEY .KEYCHAIN .PPS .PPT .PPTX ..INI .PRF Encoded Files .HQX .MIM .UUE .7Z .CBR .DEB .GZ .PKG .RAR .RPM .SITX .TAR.GZ .ZIP .ZIPX .BIN .CUE .DMG .ISO .MDF .TOAST .VCD SDF .TAR .TAX2014 .TAX2015 .VCF .XML Audio Files .AIF .IFF .M3U .M4A .MID .MP3 .MPA .WAV .WMA Video Files .3G2 .3GP .ASF .AVI .FLV .M4V .MOV .MP4 .MPG .RM .SRT .SWF .VOB .WMV 3D .3DM .3DS .MAX .OBJ R.BMP .DDS .GIF .JPG ..CRX .PLUGIN .FNT .FON .OTF .TTF .CAB .CPL .CUR .DESKTHEMEPACK .DLL .DMP .DRV .ICNS .ICO .LNK .SYS .CFG

Once detected, they are being encrypted by a powerful AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) cypher and the victim’s desktop wallpaper is changed to the .ACTUM virus logo of the hacking group from Mr. Robot. And, that’s how you know you got attacked by .ACTUM virus ransomware.

What to Do If You Notice the Ransom Note of .ACTUM virus?

When you encounter the lockdown message, it means that your PC has already been encrypted. Even if you feel like you have no other choice but to pay, you should not do it. First and most important, even if you send the hackers your money, they may not unlock your PC. And since the Bitcoin system doesn’t allow refunds, you will not be able to get your money back. Second, your cash will increase the motivation of the hackers to develop more cyber threats like .ACTUM virus ransomware.

There are a few ways that may help you recover the lost data for free. Although this Trojan sometimes deletes the shadow volume copies, you should still attempt to restore your PC to a date prior the infection. You should also try some free decryptors, but there is no guarantee that they will be efficient. The most important step is to eliminate .ACTUM virus as soon as possible or else it may spread to other machines and cause more damage. It will be a challenge even for the experts to delete all traces of this ransomware manually, so you should consider using a dedicated anti-malware application.

Booting in Safe Mode

For Windows:
1) Hold Windows Key and R
2) A run Window will appear, in it type “msconfig” and hit Enter
3) After the Window appears go to the Boot tab and select Safe Boot

Cut out .ACTUM virus in Task Manager

1) Press CTRL+ESC+SHIFT at the same time.
2) Locate the “Processes” tab.
3) Locate the malicious process of .ACTUM virus, and end it’s task by right-clicking on it and clicking on “End Process”

Eliminate .ACTUM virus‘s Malicious Registries

For most Windows variants:
1) Hold Windows Button and R.
2) In the “Run” box type “Regedit” and hit “Enter”.
3) Hold CTRL+F keys and type .ACTUM virus or the file name of the malicious executable of the virus which is usually located in %AppData%, %Temp%, %Local%, %Roaming% or %SystemDrive%.
4) After having located malicious registry objects, some of which are usually in the Run and RunOnce subkeys delete them ermanently and restart your computer. Here is how to find and delete keys for different versions.
For Windows 7: Open the Start Menu and in the search type and type regedit –> Open it. –> Hold CTRL + F buttons –> Type .ACTUM virus Virus in the search field.
Win 8/10 users: Start Button –> Choose Run –> type regedit –> Hit Enter -> Press CTRL + F buttons. Type .ACTUM virus in the search field.

Automatic Removal of .ACTUM virus

DOWNLOAD REMOVAL TOOL FOR .ACTUM virusThe free version of SpyHunter will only scan your computer to detect any possible threats. To remove them permanently from your computer, purchase its full version. Spy Hunter malware removal tool additional information/SpyHunter Uninstall Instructions

Recover files encrypted by the .ACTUM virus Ransomware.

Method 1: Using Shadow Explorer. In case you have enabled File history on your Windows Machine one thing you can do is to use Shadow Explorer to get your files back. Unfortunately some ransomware viruses may delete those shadow volume copies with an administrative command to prevent you from doing just that.

Method 2: If you try to decrypt your files using third-party decryption tools. There are many antivirus providers who have decrypted multiple ransomware viruses the last couple of years and posted decryptors for them. Chances are if your ransomware virus uses the same encryption code used by a decryptable virus, you may get the files back. However, this is also not a guarantee, so you might want to try this method with copies of the original encrypted files, because if a third-party program tampers with their encrypted structure, they may be damaged permanently. Here are the vendors to look for:

• Kaspersky.
• Emsisoft.
• TrendMicro.

Method 3: Using Data Recovery tools. This method is suggested by multiple experts in the field. It can be used to scan your hard drive’s sectors and hence scramble the encrypted files anew as if they were deleted. Most ransomware viruses usually delete a file and create an encrypted copy to prevent such programs for restoring the files, but not all are this sophisticated. So you may have a chance of restoring some of your files with this method. Here are several data recovery programs which you can try and restore at least some of your files: