Avast, a cybersecurity firm, has released a free decryptor for the Akira ransomware.
This decryptor can help victims recover their data without having to pay the ransom demanded by the attackers.
The Akira ransomware appeared in March 2023 and since then, the gang claims successful attacks on various organizations in the education, finance, and real estate industries, amongst others.
How To Use The Avast Decryption
1. The first step is to download the decryptor binary. Avast provides a 64-bit decryptor, as the ransomware is also 64-bit and can’t run on 32-bit Windows. If you have no choice but to use 32-bit applications, you may download a 32-bit decryptor here.
2. Run the executable file, preferably as an administrator. It starts as a wizard, leading you through the configuration of the decryption process.
3. On the initial page, we have a link to the license information. Click the Next button when you are ready to start.
4. On the next page, select the list of locations you want to be searched for and decrypted. By default, it has a list of all local drives:
5. On the following page, you need to supply an example of a file in its original form and then one encrypted by Akira ransomware. Type both names of the files. You can also drag & drop files from Windows Explorer to the wizard page.
It is extremely important to pick a pair of files that are as big as you can find. Due to Akira’s block size calculation, there may be dramatic differences in the size limit even for files that differ by a size of 1 byte.
When you click Next, the decryption tool will carefully examine the file pair and tells you what the biggest decryptable file is. In general, the size limit should be the same as the size of the original file:
6. The next page is where the password-cracking process takes place. Click Start when you are ready to begin. This process usually only takes a few seconds but will require a large amount of system memory. This is why we strongly recommend using the 64-bit version of the decryption tool.
Once the password is found, you can continue to decrypt all the encrypted files on your PC by clicking Next.
7. On the final page, you can opt-in to back up your encrypted files. These backups may help if anything goes wrong during the decryption process. This choice is selected by default, which we recommend. After clicking Decrypt the decryption process begins. Let the decryptor work and wait until it finishes decrypting all of your files.
Avast says that they are working on a Linux decryptor, but victims can use the Windows version for now to decrypt any files that were encrypted in Linux.
