Zoro Ransomware - How to remove

Zoro ransomware comes from a family of notorious Scarab viruses and can cost you a lot. Since it is a ransomware, it will straight up lock your personal files and force you to pay the ransom in order to receive decryption key which would allow you to get them back .

We definitely do not recommend to follow instructions insisted by cyber criminals behind Zoro ransomware. It’s obvious that you need your files back as they are really important to you and that’s why you might be frustrated and think about actually paying the ransom. However, there are other methods to solve this problem and get your files back, so you should go for clever alternatives instead.

In this article, we will provide you with full instructions on how to effectively eliminate Zoro ransomware from your computer and retrieve your locked files, so keep reading if you are interested.

How Zoro Encrypts Files

There are a lot tof ransomware viruses associated with the main Scarab virus, such as Scarab-Glutton or Scarab-XTBL and they all operate in a similar manner. To force you into paying the ransom they lock your files up by emloying some kind of cryptography (encryption algorithm). In most cases very complicated, military grade algorithm is selected, so there aren’t a lot of opportunities to reverse the process and decrypt those files by your own. Unless, you have a special decryption key that can do that.

Unfortuanatelly, that key is stored on a remote server completely controlled by cyber criminals, so the only possible way to get it is to contact them and pay the ransom. They use this privillege to manipulate users and force them into paying.

So once inside of your system, Zoro ransowmare will immediately start a scanning process and detect all files that could be encrypted. Right after that it will encrypt them and add unique .zoro extension to every encrypted file. After this, you will be no longer capable of opening or using those files. Also, that’s where the name of Zoro virus comes from.

When the encryption process is over, Zoro will place a file called “!!! RESTORE DATA !!!.TXT” directly on your desktop. It is a ransom note and it goes like this:

Hi..


Your files are now encrypted!


Your personal identifier:


+4IAAAAAAA***7eyNyQA


Need to recover all files? and do you need a guarantee?


Write here:


[email protected]


[email protected]


To get an answer – always write to two mails at the same time!!


If you have not received an answer, write to me again!

So clearly those crooks behind Zoro ransomware seek to get in touch with you. This is a social engineering technique used to actively force users into paying. However, we do not recommend to even contact them. They do not disclose the exact amount that you will need to pay in order to receive decryption key, but even if ransom is relatively small, it’s not worth paying it. As we have already mentioned, there are other, better methods to solve this problem and get your files back.

Remove Zoro Virus and Recover Your Files

First thing you need to do in this particular situation – completely eliminate Zoro virus itself and all files associated with it. Even though it won’t unlock your encrypted files, you must do it before moving further to decryption or file restore process. To do this, you should scan your system with Spyhunter. Either one of those tools should immediately detect and remove Zoro ransomware.

Now, when the virus is completely removed, you can perform a system restore. This will turn your system back in time and your files should be good to use once again. Unfortunately, this is only possible if you have a valid backup copy of your hard drive. Please feel free to seek further assistance in the detailed guide provided below or ask us a question in the comments section.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Zoro 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 Zoro Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Zoro 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 Zoro Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Zoro 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 Zoro Ransomware 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 Zoro 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.