Goliath Ransomware - How to remove

Goliath ransomware is a new ransomware trojan that is supposedly to be purchased on TOR website, an illegal site selling ransomwares and USB keys for their decryption. The good news is that there has not been a case of Goliath attack reported yet. However, we cannot let our guards down and deny the possibility of such a case. So let us look through the latest news about Goliath ransomware.

About Goliath Ransomware

TOR site claims to sell Goliath for 2100 USD. This ransomware is said to be based on the source code of Locky ransomware. In comparison, the price of Locky is almost one third higher than that of Goliath – 3000 USD. The USB key decrypting Locky, which, in turn, decrypts Goliath ransowmare, is sold for 1200 USD which is quite strange as Locky ransom is approximately 250 USD at the moment.

Another strange thing about Goliath encryptor is that it is said to require a high end GPU card. This feature is specific to Bitcoin and CryptoCoin mining viruses but not to the typical ransomwares. Further, Goliath ransomware is promoted as an easy-to-use file encryptor designed for amateur hackers. In contrast, Locky is said to be executed only by experienced programmers, having some skills in developing C++, Java, etc. Proceeding on skillfulness, TOR website developers seems to not only have some serious gaps in grammar and syntax but also in web developing as the source code of their site alludes to Jigsaw virus.

How does Goliath Ransomware Spread?

As it was mentioned before, there has not been a case of Goliath ransomware detection so far. But we can presume that it would proliferate in the standard manner of all ransomware-type viruses. This involves two basic ways of distribution. The first way is the spam e-mails and their attachments, pretending official letters. The second way is the exploit kits carrying vicious and harmful codes to be executed on security vulnerabilities of the computer’s system.

How to Decrypt Files Encrypted by Goliath Ransomware?

Luckily, there has not been a need to decrypt files encrypted by Goliath ransomware as it has not decrypted any yet. As regards Locky, there are no decryption tools created at this point in time. In general, it is not recommended paying the ransom for the self-evident reasons (you are not given any guarantees of file decryption). Instead, you should consider taking preventative measures such as not to open spam e-mails, keep backing up your files, use some external hard drive. But above all, employ credible anti-malware tools such as Spyhunter.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Goliath 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 Goliath Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Goliath 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 Goliath 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 Goliath 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.

Manual removal