Axiom Wiper Ransomware - How to remove

Axiom ransomware is a dangerous program that attacks Windows computers. It locks files, making them unreadable and unopenable.

The criminals who are behind this attack ask each victim to send them 400 dollars, promising to fix their files. But Axiom breaks some files in such a way that they’re impossible to recover. Paying the ransom is unlikely to restore all the data that Axiom broke.

About Axiom ransomware:

Type of threat	Ransomware.
Signs of an Axiom infection	Files are broken, won’t open, their names end with “.axiom”, they’re shown with the blank page icon.
Can you recover your data?	Axiom is derived from Chaos, which is known for destroying data and making it impossible to recover, restore files from backups.
How to delete Axiom ransomware	Find and delete malicious programs and files with antivirus scanners (Spyhunter, others).

Symptoms of an Axiom infection

Axiom is a dangerous PC infection. It’s file-encrypting ransomware, a type of Chaos/Ryuk.Net. Since Chaos can be built by anyone, it’s difficult to predict how Axiom infects computers. It could come in email attachments, suspicious programs uploaded online, shared in social media and chat apps, etc.

Once an infected file is run, Axiom starts encrypting or wiping files. It targets images, documents, text notes, and various other files.

At the same time, Axiom changes the names of the encrypted files: it adds “.axiom” to the end of each name. To see this, you need to make Windows to show file type extensions as they’re hidden by default. The icons of the locked files change into blank pages used for files of unknown type.

To ask for money, Axiom creates notes called “README”. In it, the authors of this ransomware demand 399 dollars in Bitcoin or Monero (two popular cryptocurrencies) to be sent to them. They promise that Axiom will automatically decrypt files once the payment is received.

—> Whoops, you just got pwned, and all your files were encrypted! Don’t waste your time attempting to decrypt them, you wont get anywhere without our private key <—

—> Where can I get this private key? <—
We have a service where you can purchase the private key and decryptor, which should restore your computer back to the way it was and remove any traces of the ransomware

—> How much will this cost and how can I pay? <—
The service will cost you 399$, and can be paid via Bitcoin or Monero. Once payment is made, a decrypter will automatically be downloaded onto your desktop, including the private and public keys, and a text file containing instructions on how to get back your files with it

[…]

The cybercriminals behind Axiom are right – there’s no way to restore the files without the private decryption key. But even if you pay, Axiom is unlikely to fix the locked data due to the wiper nature of this ransomware.

Can the files be recovered?

Chaos ransomware started out as a wiper: while it said that it was encrypting files, it was actually just replacing their contents with random noise. This would make the files impossible to fix, as good as gone.

But since then, new versions of Chaos were released that can encrypt small files, those under 2MB. This means that, in theory, files that were less than 2MB and that were encrypted by Axiom could be decrypted.

For comparison, a typical compressed photo taken with a 12MP smartphone camera is 3MB. A typical compressed song is around 3-4MB.

It’s not known whether the extortionists behind Axiom can recover files or even if they would send the decryption tools if they were paid the ransom that they’re asking for (399 dollars).

If you have backups, you can restore your files that way. If you don’t have backups, then there are a few other things that you can try, but there’s nothing better than backing up your files.

How to remove Axiom ransomware

Delete malware and malicious files

Delete all malicious files from your device. Remember that Axiom ransomware can jump to external drives, so if any of them were connected during the ransomware attack, they probably need to be scanned, too. You can use antivirus apps like Spyhunter (antivirus scanners flag Axiom as Ransom, Malicious, Hiddentear, Filecoder, Trojan, etc.), or you can just reset your PC.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Axiom Wiper Ransomware encrypted files and remove the virus

Step 1. Restore system into last known good state using system restore

1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt:

for Windows 7 / Vista/ XP

• Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
• Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
• Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

for Windows 8 / 10

• Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart.
• Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings and click Restart.
• When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings.

 

2.Restore System files and settings.

• When Command Prompt mode loads, enter cd restore and press Enter.
• Then enter rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
• Click “Next” in the windows that appeared.
• Select one of the Restore Points that are available before Axiom has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Axiom Wiper Ransomware

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter and remove all malicious files related to Axiom. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Axiom Wiper Ransomware affected files using Shadow Volume Copies

If you do not use System Restore option on your operating system, there is a chance to use shadow copy snapshots. They store copies of your files that point of time when the system restore snapshot was created. Usually Axiom tries to delete all possible Shadow Volume Copies, so this methods may not work on all computers. However, it may fail to do so. Shadow Volume Copies are only available with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. There are two ways to retrieve your files via Shadow Volume Copy. You can do it using native Windows Previous Versions or via Shadow Explorer. a) Native Windows Previous Versions Right-click on an encrypted file and select Properties → Previous versions tab. Now you will see all available copies of that particular file and the time when it was stored in a Shadow Volume Copy. Choose the version of the file you want to retrieve and click Copy if you want to save it to some directory of your own, or Restore if you want to replace existing, encrypted file. If you want to see the content of file first, just click Open.

b) Shadow Explorer It is a program that can be found online for free. You can download either a full or a portable version of Shadow Explorer. Open the program. On the left top corner select the drive where the file you are looking for is a stored. You will see all folders on that drive. To retrieve a whole folder, right-click on it and select “Export”. Then choose where you want it to be stored.

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover Axiom Wiper Ransomware encrypted files

There are several data recovery programs that might recover encrypted files as well. This does not work in all cases but you can try this:

• We suggest using another PC and connect the infected hard drive as slave. It is still possible to do this on infected PC though.
• Download a data recovery program.
• Install and scan for recently deleted files.

Note: In many cases it is impossible to restore data files affected by modern ransomware. Thus I recommend using decent cloud backup software as precaution. We recommend checking out Carbonite, BackBlaze, CrashPlan or Mozy Home.