Bora File Locker - How to remove

Bora ransomware is a new edition of the Djvu strain. It doesn’t seem to be popular yet, and, hopefully, it will stay that way because this is a dangerous virus that can potentially cause a lot of harm. Bora locks the victim’s files using encryption and makes them unusable, but it also installs a password stealer and blocks some security websites.

Backups are the best way to avoid being substantially harmed by ransomware infections like Bora. Keeping your antivirus up-to-date and installing all the newest updates for your OS and browser is also helpful. After an infection, researching the issue is important.

If everyone had secure and complete backups of their files, rasomware would not be profitable for criminals. Unfortunately, many people do still lose personal projects, collections, job-related data, and other important files to Djvu ransomware.

Following Xoza, Reco, and Noos, Bora is a new version of this virus family. It spreads in piracy sites, uses secure encryption that can’t be broken, and its authors ask for up to $980 to send the decryption software. Based on the fact that new ransomware is still being released, it seems like the criminals still make money off of this extortion scheme. Many victims end up just losing their files.

Bora needs to be removed before trying to recover the files:

Possible consequences	The encrypted “.bora” files being lost (never recovered) Money paid to the criminals (does not guarantee getting the files back) Time lost when dealing with the problem
Distribution of Bora	Piracy sites Unofficial download sites
Clean the computer of malware	Use antivirus programs to remove malware (SpyHunter) Change the passwords of important online accounts
Restore the files	Restore the lost files from a backup Use System Restore, Shadow Volume Copies, or Data recovery software Backup the encrypted “.bora” files and wait for a decrypter

 

Bora is recognized by a few symptoms:

• Many files are renamed to include “.bora” as an extension, even though “Bora” is not a real file type
• Most files can’t be opened, even when the fake extension is manually removed from the file names.
• There are files called “_readme.txt” put in many folders and these files all have the same message from the cybercriminals (“…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…”)
• Some websites don’t open on the infected computer.
• Some of your online accounts get hacked (this is a possibility because many Djvu ransomware types bring with them the Azorult trojan which can steal passwords and other data)

How ransomware spreads

Mostly, ransomware infections spread in one of a few ways:

• Malicious email spam.
• Remote desktop connection.
• Malicious ads.
• Free and pirated files.

Bora is downloaded from pirating and unofficial distribution websites. It’s uploaded disguised as some useful programs or files. Cracks, activators, installers of expensive commercial programs. This affects individuals users, but small businesses also often find their computer infected with Djvu ransomware. Be careful when torrenting.

Malicious ads and infected websites can be used to infect the computers of those exposed to the malicious sites, especially if they lack important security updates. An outdated browser of antivirus is a great security risk. Eris was spread on a compromised online video converter site. The distribution of Bora is similar, in the way that it was also uploaded online.

Malicious email spam where the downloader of the ransomware is attached to the email disguised as an urgent document or uploaded online and the download link is included in the email. This might not seem very sophisticated, but it’s incredibly effective. For example, Lost_Files ransomware used this method. It might be the most common way that ransomware spreads, however, it’s not used by Bora or the other Djvu infections.

Remote desktop is used to infect computers with malware, as well as steal information. A weak password and an unprotected connection allow cybercriminals to quickly take over a computer using remote desktop, as well as the local network to which the computer is connected. But Bora doesn’t use this method, either.

How to remove Bora and restore the files

Bora uses encryption to change the internal content of the files. The result is a file that looks like it’s full of random nonsense. The files don’t make sense to the programs that are supposed to be able to open them. However, encryption is reversible if you have the decryption key – it could be used to undo the changes made by Bora. The problem is that the decryption key is unique to each victim and can’t be guessed.

Bora runs multiple times on the infected computer and tries to communicate with the servers of the criminals who maintain this ransomware. If it can’t connect to it, Bora might use something that Djvu experts call the Offline key, which is an encryption key hardcoded in the ransomware, and thus, the same for all the victims. If this key was discovered, some of the files of some of the victims could be decrypted. For now, there is no decrypter for Bora, but there is a good chance that there will be. Based on the other Djvu variants, there should be a file on C:\ SystemID\PesonalID.txt that contains the IDs that the ransomware used. If one of them ends with “t1”, that could mean that some of your files can be recovered for free.

Update: here is the link to the partial decrypter for .bora files, read the post carefully.

Ideally, you would have backups of your files from which to restore your files. Whether or not you do, though, it’s still important to remove the ransomware. This can be done with the help of a competent anti-malware tool, such as SpyHunter which can run in Safe Mode, which might be needed when catching Bora and the other malware that was installed.

Also, remember to change your passwords after your computer is clean.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Bora File Locker

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 Bora . You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Bora File Locker 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 Bora 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 Bora File Locker 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.