Embrace ransomware - How to remove

Embrace ransomware is a lethal computer virus that could result in very severe consequences. It was purposely developed by cyber criminals with the main goal – to infect computers, hijack files by encrypting them and then ask for a ransom in order to decrypt them.

In this article, you will find all main information about features of Embrace virus, as well as detailed instructions on how to decrypt your locked files and remove the virus itself. We will also inform you how to increase the protection level on your system, thus infections like this won’t be bothering you in the future.

For those of you who are not interested in possible threats posed by Embrace or technical information of this infection (distribution methods, encryption algorithms and so on) we suggest skipping to the removal instructions part.

How Embrace virus operates

Embrace ransomware first appeared on a burst of new ransomware infections, such as PainLocker or Everbe. Those viruses look very similar to each other, yet some key details are different.

We would like to start by saying that the operation of this virus starts when a payload is dropped on the victim system. As described by Technopedia, payload.

Once this is done, Embrace will look for various methods to create malicious processes and drop harmful files on your system, that will it to operate. After this micro-surrounding is created, the ransomware starts encrypting files and starts communicating to the remote server managed by cybercriminals.

The infected computer is assembled with a unique ID which is supposed to monitor the network of infected systems and manage payments. The ID will be displayed on the ransom note and you will have to specify it when paying the ransom.

Embrace ransomware encrypts files with .embrace extension

It is yet not known what kind of encryption cryptography is used by Embrace, but it’s clear that it’s not easy to decrypt. The virus will target all your personal files, such as photos, audio and video files, text documents, databases and so on. Sadly, it can even encrypt backups stored on your computer, so if you really care about the security of your files, we suggest to take advice from Acronis andhttps://www.acronis.com/en-us/articles/encrypted-backup/. Only this will allow you to restore your personal information in a case of ransomware attack. 

After the encryption process is over, Embrace will add “.embrace” extension to the end of every single encrypted file – the virus was named after this unique extension. So if you see a file with this extension, it means you can’t open or use it in any other way anymore.

Right after that a new txt file called “!=How_recovery_files=!” will be created on your desktop. It contains this ransom note:

Hi !

If you want restore your files write on email – [email protected]
In the subject write – id-*****{CODE}

Do not try to recover data, it’s wasting your time.
Every 7 days the price doubles.

Usually, ransomware infections disclose the information about the ransom and payment process – infections like Adonis ransomware or Amnesia virus specifies exact amount you will have to pay and how it should be done in order to receive decryptor.

In this case, you are suggested to contact cybercriminals with your unique ID code via [email protected] email. You are also threatened that every 7 days the price will double, even though the initial price is not disclosed. If you look at other examples of similar ransomware viruses, you could expect the ransom to be something around several hundred or even a couple of thousands of dollars.

Regardless of the size of this ransom – do not do that, don’t contact cybercriminals. There are dozens of tragic stories online, where cybercriminals not only lock files but also scam by intentionally failing to deliver decryptor. Instead of that – try other alternatives that could save your files and computer.

Probably the most logical move to restore your files when they are encrypted by Embrace is to recover them from a backup. However, as we have mentioned before, this requires you to have a legitimate backup file that wasn’t encrypted. If you don’t have one, you can look up one of many file recovery tools that are available online (18.

Also, you have to remove Embrace from your system. For this job, you will need to get yourself a trustworthy anti-malware application, such as Spyhunter. Either one of those programs will be able to detect and remove all malicious files of Embrace. Follow instructions provided below to efficiently Embrace virus from your computer.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Embrace 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 Embrace 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 Embrace 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.