Bablo Ransomware - How to remove

Bablo is ransomware in the Phobos family. It renames your files by adding “[[email protected]].bablo” at the end and it prevents them from being opened and read. Bablo can be removed but that won’t fix the files. Restoring the broken files is complicated and, though there are some options, there’s no guaranteed solution.

In short about Bablo ransomware:

Details on Bablo	VirusTotal link, extension – .id[[random]-2569].[[email protected]].bablo, family- Phobos.
How the infection happened	Remote desktop is exposed to the internet, lacks the newest updates, administrator and user accounts use weak passwords.
How to remove Bablo	Delete malicious files, use anti-malware tools like SpyHunter to get rid of ransomware.
How to fix the files	Restore from a backup, restore deleted files, have a specialist help you.

How computers are infected

Remote desktop protocol, if it’s turned on, is the most likely way that Bablo infected your computer. The criminals would first need to have your username and password to access your system, which they can brute-force or steal it using phishing. It’s possible that vulnerabilities are also exploited to get remote access.

Spam emails and pirated files could also spread Bablo. But it seems like RDP is the main culprit now.

In general, the more attractive a target you are, the more targeted the attacks will be and the more real humans will be involved. They may send you fake password changing emails and other phishing attacks to get your password. But if you use a weak password to protect your machine, Bablo may be planted automatically.

One the computer is infected, Bablo doesn’t start the encryption right away. First, is disabled your antivirus software and deletes earlier versions of your files so that you can’t restore them.

Bablo is often talked about like it’s only a problem for businesses, but it affects individual PC users, too. But the ransom amounts asked are very high, such as $5000 and $8000, so most individual victims are probably not considered.

Bablo corrupts user files

When Bablo corrupts your files, it uses a cryptographic algorithm. Encrypted files can’t be read anymore. If you open them, you can see that a lot of crucial data is replaced with random symbols. The encryption is secure and the decryption keys, which are crucial in decrypting the files, cannot be guessed or brute-forced. But big files are only partially encrypted so some of the data inside them remain readable.

The encrypted files get this new extension appended to their names:

id[[random]-2569].[[email protected]].bablo

Don’t change the encrypted files without making backup copies first. Even small changes to an encrypted file can make decryption impossible.

Besides the encryption, Bablo created ransom notes – a small text file called info.txt and another ransom note that starts with “All your files have been encrypted!”. These notes have the email addresses of the criminals and they ask you to learn to buy Bitcoin so that you can pay the ransom.

How to fix the files that Bablo broke

If you have a backup of your files, all that you need to is delete Bablo before you restore them. A competent anti-malware program should be used for this, such as SpyHunter. However, not everyone has working backups and they need to look into other options.

The [email protected] and [email protected] addresses that Bablo puts in file names are there to remind you to contact the extortionists. It’s not recommended, but if you do, try to hide information about yourself. There’s no need to put even more power in the hands of these criminals.

Besides that, there are a few other options that you can try. One is data recovery programs. If you have a hard disk, you may be able to recover some of your deleted files. The less that disk was used after the attack, the better your chances are.

You may also be able to recover some data from the big partially-encrypted with the help of a specialist who knows that specific file format. Be careful of scammers, though. If anyone says that they know how to fix files that were broken by Phobos, don’t trust them. There is no official way to decrypt Bablo and Phobos encryption without contacting the extortionists. Actually, buying the decryption by paying the ransom is something that some recovery firms do.

Bablo is just another Phobos ransomware variant, following Calix, Angus, Adame, and others. It’s been analyzed by researchers and if there was a way to decrypt the files that Bablo locked, it would probably have been discovered by now. There isn’t one, though. The best options to stay safe from ransomware are to secure your RDP, be careful of spam email, to not pirate software, and to set up secure backups that won’t be affected by an attack on your computers.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Bablo 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 Bablo 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 Bablo 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.