CreamPie ransomware - How to remove

CreamPie ransomware is a newly discovered threat by @JakubKroustek, that was posted on Twitter on August 26, 2018. According to the malware researcher, it is most likely just a test version, which was let out to see how well it does in the virtual world, yet after looking deeper into this crypto-infection, a lot of mistakes were found, that hackers need to seriously work on. One of such crucial mistakes is the missing ransom note, which gives the exact directions and developers’ contact information to the victim, who is supposed to send money in order to decrypt files. Nonetheless, CreamPie virus is still capable of infecting the PC and encrypting files just like any other ransom demanding parasite.

Ransomware viruses are known for their notorious background and sophisticated operating techniques, therefore getting rid of CreamPie infection and restoring inaccessible files is a challenge for anyone, even the top-notch cyber experts. While malware specialists are working on the CreamPie ransomware decryption tool, which is still not available at the moment of writing, we suggest you take a look at the helpful and easy instructions, that 2-viruses.com team designed for anyone who is struggling with the vicious CreamPie virus and its encrypted data.

What is the CreamPie virus

The ambiguous sounding CreamPie v1.01 virus is a ransomware developed by hackers, that supposedly are still working on this malware and planning to release an updated version. The main characteristics and behavior are typical to any cryptovirus. CreamPie ransomware uses malspam to get into the victim’s system, launches the background processes, that modify the registry keys and allow to gain persistence even after the Windows restart, then finds all special personal files and encrypts them using a popular AES cipher, afterwards adding the ‘.[[email protected]].CreamPie’ extension to locked data names. (Check how fast ransomware can encrypt files)

Then a normal crypto-infection would display a ransom note basically saying that all the files have been encrypted and that the victim must send a certain amount of virtual currency (usually Bitcoins) to crook’s wallet or write an email to an anonymous address for further guidance to get an access to the encrypted files. But CreamPie virus failed and this task and like many other files the ransom note called ‘Info.hta’ was deleted from a server. Yet the MalwareHunterTeam was able to recover hackers emails that were assumingly used to communicate with victims. One of them is [email protected] and another one, that matches the CreamPie ransomware’s name theme, is [email protected]. Since there is no ransom note, the amount of demanded payment is also unknown.

Those, who may have been interested in ransomware and cyber threats, would expect CreamPie to be one of the HiddenTear project variants like ShutUpAndDance, AndreaGalli, PooleZoor, Sorry, Horros, Krypton, judging from the poor development and AES encryption, yet as the VirusTotal.com report of the main ‘CreamPie.exe’ file shows, it is not the case and the raunchy CreamPie virus is a separate kind of ransomware, which would probably look more dangerous with a different name and existing ransom note.

How is the CreamPie ransomware distributed

As most other crypto-infections CreamPie virus spreads via bogus email messages, that contain malicious attachments with the executable ransomware file called ‘CreamPie.exe’. These messages are very well socially engineered to trick recipients into opening the included link or a sent fake document (.doc, .docx) file for more details on the subject they were reached out to, but once the file is opened it starts the malicious background processes and locks the files on the infected computer, furthermore spreads to other systems connected to the same network.

The reason why email is the preferred distribution technique by CreamPie ransomware developers is that it doesn’t require much technical knowledge and can infect not only regular computer owners but companies as well. All they have to do is to write a different believable message and that is it. Resumes, complaints, court documents, hospital records, payments and etc. are just a small part of types of emails that CreamPie cryptovirus uses to spread. This is why it is always important to be cautious online and when Handling emails.

What is the best way to remove CreamPie virus

In order to get rid of the CreamPie virus fully we recommend not to waste time and simply trust this issue to professional malware removal tools named Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/downloads/spyhunter2) While you can pick any anti-spyware tool there is always a possibility that you will get scammed by the fake antivirus program, which does nothing more than pretending to be working as long as you pay for the premium membership. In our Reviews page, you can see which tools are legitimate and which ones are not worth a penny.

This is why we recommend Spyhunter or Malwarebytes because they have been on the market for a long time, proving that they can actually take care of viruses, no matter if it just a browser hijacker or a ransomware like CreamPie effectively and without deceitful tricks.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to delete CreamPie ransomware and restore files manually

CreamPie ransomware can be as well deleted manually by following the designed instructions below. And as for the encrypted files, after your PC will be clean, you can try restoring the locked data by restoring Shadow Copies or with the help with the mentioned recovery tools in the guide too. If you won’t have any success, don’t worry, because cyber specialists are working on the Decryptor, therefore soon enough, if you will keep these .[[email protected]].CreamPie marked files, you will be able to access them again.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of CreamPie ransomware

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/downloads/spyhunter2) and remove all malicious files related to CreamPie. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore CreamPie 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 CreamPie 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 CreamPie 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.