Jager Ransomware - How to remove

Jager (or JagerDecryptor) ransomware is a new fierce file-encrypting threat. This ransomware utilizes the popular asymmetric encryption algorithm, employing two ciphers, that are, RSA-2048 and AES-256. Unfortunately, no decryption key has been extracted so far. However, one of the prominent cyber security researchers, namely, Jakub Knoustek, who has developed a decryption tool for NoobCrypt ransomware, has obtained a sample of Jager crypto virus. So the cyber community is looking forward to the decryptor for this new cyber plague to be released.

About Jager Ransomware

Jager cryptomalware, just like other file-encrypting viruses, acts in the following manner. Once it gets on the victim’s computer, the system is being scanned and files selected are encrypted. Jager encrypter targets files which have the following extensions:

.3dm, .3ds, .3g2, .3gp, .7z, .accdb, .aes, .ai, .aif, .apk, .app, .arc, .asc, .asf, .asm, .asp, .aspx, .asx, .avi, .bmp, .brd, .bz2, .c, .cer, .cfg, .cfm, .cgi, .cgm, .class, .cmd, .cpp, .crt, .cs, .csr, .css, .csv, .cue, .db, .dbf, .dch, .dcu, .dds, .dif, .dip, .djv, .djvu, .doc, .docb, .docm, .docx, .dot, .dotm, .dotx, .dtd, .dwg, .dxf, .eml, .eps, .fdb, .fla, .flv, .frm, .gadget, .gbk, .gbr, .ged, .gif, .gpg, .gpx, .gz, .h, .htm, .html, .hwp, .ibd, .ibooks, .iff, .indd, .jar, .java, .jks, .jpg, .js, .jsp, .key, .kml, .kmz, .lay, .lay6, .ldf, .lua, .m, .m3u, .m4a, .m4v, .max, .mdb, .mdf, .mfd, .mid, .mkv, .mml, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .mpa, .mpg, .ms11, .msi, .myd, .myi, .nef, .note, .obj, .odb, .odg, .odp, .ods, .odt, .otg, .otp, .ots, .ott, .p12, .pages, .paq, .pas, .pct, .pdb, .pdf, .pem, .php, .pif, .pl, .plugin, .png, .pot, .potm, .potx, .ppam, .pps, .ppsm, .ppsx, .ppt, .pptm, .pptx, .prf, .priv, .privat, .ps, .psd, .pspimage, .py, .qcow2, .ra, .rar, .raw, .rm, .rss, .rtf, .sch, .sdf, .sh, .sitx, .sldx, .slk, .sln, .sql, .sqlite, .sqlite, .srt, .stc, .std, .sti, .stw, .svg, .swf, .sxc, .sxd, .sxi, .sxm, .sxw, .tar, .tbk, .tex, .tga, .tgz, .thm, .tif, .tiff, .tlb, .tmp, .txt, .uop, .uot, .vb, .vbs, .vcf, .vcxpro, .vdi, .vmdk, .vmx, .vob, .wav, .wks, .wma, .wmv, .wpd, .wps, .wsf, .xcodeproj, .xhtml, .xlc, .xlm, .xlr, .xls, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xlt, .xltm, .xltx, .xlw, .xml, .yuv, .zip, .zipx, .dat

Interestingly, the first 4 bytes of the files will be made ‘‘!ENC’’. When the encryption process is successfully accomplished, Jager crypto-malware introduces you with the ransom note – ‘‘Important_Read_Me.html’’. The size of the ransom, as it can be read form the message, is 100 USD, after 24 hours it reaches 150 USD and after 48 hours it gets doubled and amounts to 200 USD. 72 hours or 3 days is the deadline and when this time is over, your data is said to be deleted, if know payment (transferred in bitcoins), reaches the cyber criminals. The hackers behind Jager encoder also offer you a service of one free decryption of a file not larger than 200 KB. They are to be contacted by the e-mail – [email protected].

How is Jager Ransomware Distributed?

Jager crypto malware is a classic example of ransomware viruses. It is spread via malicious spam e-mails, infected domains, such as file-sharing networks, etc. While the only means to protect your device in case of malicious websites is to limit the hours spent on these pages and the number of such sites visited, as well as having an accredited antivirus installed, such as Spyhunter, in case of the spam e-mail campaign invoked by Jager trojan virus, there are some preventative measures you can apply right away. These include not clicking on the links which these spam e-mails contain and not opening their attachments. On the whole, the spam folder of your e-mail box is better to be ignored, no matter the senders that send e-mails to this catalogue, be it the Queen of England – ignore it.

How to Decrypt Files Encrypted by Jager Ransomware?

As it has already been remarked, there is no decryptor for Jager ransomware developed yet. But this is not the reason for you to contact the cyber crooks. We believe we do not have to warn you that you would only get into hot water by doing this. Instead use your backup or check Shadow Volume Copies. If you do not have any of those, try professional data recovery tools such as PhotoRec, R-Studio or Recuva, after you have eliminated the malware. For the latter purpose reboot your PC in the safe mode and apply automatic malware removal tools such as Spyhunter or Hitman. These powerful security scanners are capable of detecting and eliminating even highly elaborate viruses. Manual removal instructions for Jager virus are provided below this article. Note, there are two essential things you need to do. First, make a copy of the infected drive for the upcoming decryptor and back your data from this moment on.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Jager 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 Jager 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 Jager 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.