DiskDoctor ransomware - How to remove

DiskDoctor is another ransomware infection that is really similar to Scarab ransomware. In fact, it originates from the same malware family. This virus is very dangerous because it can completely lock most of your personal files and in order to retrieve them, you will be forced to pay a ransom.

The main goal of DiskDoctor is to infect computers and then force users to pay money to get access to their files once again. While some rogue applications pretend to be legitimate and useful tools and then try to swindle the money from users using Scam techniques, ransomware viruses don’t even bother to hide something – they will approach you directly and state that your system has been infected and provide instructions for the ransom payment.

If you were unlucky enough and this virus infected your computer, please continue reading the article – we will teach you how to remove the virus and give the best shot at restoring encrypted files.

How DiskDoctor ransomware works

Ransomware is one of the most common types of malware. On the same note, it is one of the most dangerous because it can result in a loss of both your files and money. We have covered infections like Everbe and PedCont in the past, which are really similar to DiskDoctor.

Once this ransomware is installed on your computer, it will immediately start to scan your system for files that could be decrypted. Unfortunately, it is capable of encrypting most of the files. That means you will lose the access to your photos, text documents, videos and other files.

Even though it is not clear what kind of exact cryptography algorithm is employed by this infection – it is a pretty strong one. Eventually, there is no free decryptor available for files encrypted by DiskDoctor.

All encrypted files will have “.DiskDoctor” extension added to the end of them – this is where the virus got it name from. This extension indicates that you can’t open the file anymore – it is encrypted.

After that, a new file called “HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES.TXT” will be placed on every single folder with encrypted files. That is instructions on how to pay the ransom and receive special decryptor which would allow unlocking your personal files.

How this virus is distributed

Arguably the most popular way to distribute payload of ransomware is Email spam. Hackers are capable of crafting legitimate-looking emails and attach malicious malware installers to them. Millions and millions of such emails are sent to various email addresses all around the world.

Even though most of those emails end up in the spam folder because e-mail service providers nowadays are good at filtering letters, some of the users still fall for the trick and open files that are attached to those spammy letters. That’s what it takes to get infected and once the process starts, there is no way back to reverse it.

Also, there is a possiblity that DiskDoctor can come bundled with other free software, but this case scenario would be really odd and rare.

How to deal with DiskDoctor virus

What crooks behind this virus wants you to do is to pay a ransom. And it is not that easy too – they provide instructions how to do that. They want you to contact them first via email [email protected] and send your personal ID. This personal ID was assembled to your computer when it was infected. They use this indication to manage all infected systems and ransom payments. Original text from “HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES.TXT” file:

Warning all your files are encrypted !!!

To receive the decoder, you must send an email to the email address with your personal ID:
[email protected]

In response you will receive further instructions.
ATTENTION !!! * Do not attempt to uninstall the program or run antivirus software.
* Attempts to self-decrypt files will result in the loss of your data.
* Decoders of other users are incompatible with your data, as each user has a unique encryption key.

Your personal identifier:
====================================
–
====================================

We highly suggest not to do that. Even if you need your personal files back urgently, there are no guarantees that you will receive alleged decryptor even after paying the ransom. Also, it is not known how much you will be asked to pay, even though ransoms usually vary between $300 and $2000.

Instead of that, the first thing you should do is remove DiskDoctor itself. The easiest way to do that – scan your system with Spyhunter. Either one of those programs should be able to detect and remove the virus for good.

Unfortunately, this won’t restore your files. Since free decryptor for DiskDoctor is not available yet, you can only restore your files from a backup or use some kind of file restore tool. For more detailed instructions on that, please scroll below and follow our step-by-step ransomware removal and files restoration guide.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of DiskDoctor 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 DiskDoctor ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore DiskDoctor 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 DiskDoctor 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 DiskDoctor 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.