ClicoCrypter ransomware virus - How to remove

When ClicoCrypter ransomware virus made its first appearance as a polish crypto-infection, it was primarily seen as a real threat to Internet society. However, it appears to have more to do with ShinoLocker malware which was mainly created for educational purposes; in this case, the recent malware takes its course as an examiner for the stability of Check Point solutions (1). To conduct close-to-real attacks, it was necessary to exploit real malicious software. Ksiegowosc2017.pdf.exe was chosen as the ransomware’s payload. It appends .enc to all damaged executables.

More details about this Polish ClicoCrypter computer virus

According to the technical analysis (2), payload has many capabilities and could serve as a role model for many crypto-infections. ClicoCrypter virus changes the desktop image of infected operating systems, removes Shadow Volume copies, initiates changes in Windows Registry Key.

Network analysis revealed that some DNS requests are made and two websites were identified: Epg.org.pl and Clico.pl. The first one is located in Poland, and the second one is found in United States of America. Other websites that are discovered are more secretive as they all are meant ot be visited only via TOR browser.

It is explained that the ransomware (3) exploits a combination of powerful encrypting-ciphers. The encoding process begins with AES algorithm; once the decryption key is generated, it is properly encoded with additional layer of RSA-2048 cipher. When the malicious payload of ClicoCrypter was ran through a number of security tools (4), the first scan showed that the file was completely innocent.

The further examinations slowly revealed more terrifying outcomes, when finally, almost 19 anti-viruses claimed to have detected Trojan.RansomKD.12158624, Trojan.Encoder.13710, Trojan-Ransom.Java.Agent.a. According to the last description, it is also possible to determine that this ClicoCrypter malware is based on Java.

Since Clico.pl engages in promotion and distribution of their products of security, networking and management of top-quality commercial and technical support, this ransomware infection might be exploited as a method to endorse utilization of these tools. Also, the ransom demands of ClicoCrypter crypto-virus are ludicrous: people have to shout out a phrase of “I am the control animal!”.

Approaches to deal with ransomware

First of all, before even considering any of the file-recovery options, we advise you to get rid of every malicious threat in your operating system. For this purpose, we propose you exploit Spyhunter. Since this is an educational ransomware, we doubt that it will aim to harm innocent people. However, there are tons of infections that will infiltrate and encrypt without a second thought. For this reason, you need to be prepared for a more severe infection coming your way.

To protect yourself from ransomware infections, we presume you will backup your data in online storages. This will surely provide you with an easy way out of this mess when you are in desperate need of an alternative source of your files. Keeping valuable information only in hard drives is an outdated decision; especially when there are so many ransomware infections that can totally ruin these files.

But how did the ransomware infection manage to get into your device? It could be that a payload will be transmitted via malicious spam campaigns, aiming to swindle money out of you. We hope you will never respond to unknown email letters or download attachments from them. Following recommended links is also not a good ideas they can be generated to pursue phishing scams or run harmful scripts. Also, we hope you will keep RDP (remote desktop protocols) well-protected. Another essential recommendation is that you would update all of your software and keep OS running on the latest version as well. If you do not due this, exploit kit strategy could be exploited against you.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of ClicoCrypter ransomware virus

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 ClicoCrypter ransomware virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore ClicoCrypter ransomware virus 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 ClicoCrypter ransomware virus 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 ClicoCrypter ransomware virus 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.

References: 

1. Clico Crypter Ransomware. Clico.pl.
2. Analysis of Ksiegowosc2017.pdf.exe. Hybdrid-analysis.com.
3. Ransomware. Searchsecurity.techtarget.com.
4. Analysis. Virustotal.com.