Besub Ransomware - How to remove

If you’ve been hit by Besub ransomware, you will notice that your files don’t open, a text file called _readme.txt is posted all over your folders, and you’re unable to visit some websites. The Besub virus should not be underestimated — in the worst case, it can lose you all of your files. It harms those who haven’t backed their data the most.

Besub is a serious virus, detected as malicious by most of the most reputable antivirus programs.  It’s easily recognized because it’s part of a big ransomware family called STOP. STOP/Djvu viruses include not just Besub, but also Djvu, Truke, Kroput, and many others.

Identify a Besub infection

If you have found your files suddenly can’t be opened, check the extension. It should be “besub”. If you don’t see any unusual extensions but the files aren’t working, find out if your operating system shows extensions by default. If not, you can turn on that option very easily. A lot of ransomware viruses use a specific extension to mark the encrypted files and are named after that extension, so showing file extensions will help you find out if it’s Besub or another file-locking virus that has infected your device.

Besub renames files by just appending “.besub” to the file’s name.

picture.jpg.besub

Besub also creates _readme.txt files and places them where you’re likely to see them.

ATTENTION!

Don’t worry, you can return all your files!
All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.
The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.
This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.
What guarantees you have?
You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.
But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.

The _readme.txt files have the ransom note which says that the only way to restore the files is to pay $490 for a decryption key.

Price of private key and decrypt software is $980.
Discount 50% available if you contact us first 72 hours, that’s price for you is $490.
Please note that you’ll never restore your data without payment.

There is no guarantee that giving money to the extortionists behind Besub will help you fix the files. Instead, if you write to [email protected], [email protected], @datarestore, or whatever other contacts they provide, they might get you to pay, but not keep tehir end of the bargain — the money might just be lost completely. Luckily, there are a few more options available to you.

Can the files be restored?

First of all, the locked besub files are not dangerous. They’re broken, but they’re not infected and are safe to keep. The virus is separate, and that definitely needs to be removed — that won’t restore the encrypted files, though.

A security expert known as @demonslay335 has been developing and updating a decryption tool for those STOP/DJVU-locked files, called STOPDecrypter. This tool decrypts locked files, but only the ones which were encrypted offline, when the virus failed to contact  Besub developers’ server and get the encryption key. Unfortunately, this does not apply to most victims of Besub. Still, it’s worth trying.

Another way to restore the files is shadow copies, which are usually encrypted — but the virus could have malfunctioned. Also, data recovery might help get some files back. That’s detailed more in the guide below this article.

This isn’t relevant to those who have a copy of their files saved from before the Besub infection. If you backed up your files on the cloud, or maybe in offline, disconnected media, such as an external hard drive, then after you have removed Besub from your machine, you can simply replace your locked files with the unencrypted copies.

How ransomware is distributed

There are a few ways that ransomware spreads, such as through Remote Desktop, spam emails, bundles. RDP infections are often targeted at small businesses, but everyone should check if they have RDP enabled and if they need it. Spam emails carrying infected files and links are also dangerous, they can infect a computer by just tricking you to enable macros, extract an archive, or even just open the downloaded file. Sometimes a virus is included with a wanted program and installed in the background; this should not happen if the program was downloaded from a trustworthy source, but there are

Security flaws in software are also often exploited. After they’re discovered, these bugs have patches released which would plug the security hole. However, there are always people who do not install these updates. This results in a browser, operating system, or another software vulnerability which can be abused by criminals like the people behind WannaCry did.

However, Besub and other STOP/Djvu ransomware is most often spread through cracks and activators, pirated programs, key generators. These are used by people to gain access to expensive commercial software illegally. As you can see, pirating is not just illegal, but also dangerous: it’s used to spread ransomware, miners, and trojans. To avoid infections like Besub in the future, try to find free, for example, open source software to use, or consider paying for the program that you want.

How to remove Besub

The file-locking virus needs to be removed to make sure that it doesn’t encrypt any more files. Any additional malware that might have infected your PC together with Besub needs to be removed, too. You can use a strong antivirus prograam, like Spyhunter. If you have trouble accessing some websites, if you’re being redirected unexpectedly, Besub might have edited your hosts file: check this guide to restore the file to normal, that should stop the redirecting behavior. If antivirus programs don’t work, Besub possibly changed their settings; try safe mode, or scanning your disk from another computer. Follow the guide below to try to restore your files.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Besub 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 Besub 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 Besub 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.