LambdaLocker ransomware - How to remove

A crypto-virus, detected just last week, is inspired by the Greek alphabet. Lambda is the eleventh letter of it, but an interpretation of this title does not end here: Lambda is often used in one of the expressions in computer programming. Now, Lambda is spotted as a part of a ransomware name: LambdaLocker. It identifies to torment users’ files with a combination of AES-256 and SHA-256 ciphers, but security specialists are suggesting that a more possible combination is of a AES and RSA. LambdaLocker virus is after money that belong to people from all over the world. Since English and Chinese are the leading languages, it is possible that almost any infected device owner will be able to understand the meaning behind such messages. As it is expected, hackers demand a ransom to restore files after encryption. Naturally, we are warning people not to pay the requested fee. A set amount of bitcoins is 0.5 BTC which equals 512.50 US dollars. Hackers instruct people to send bitcoins to them over the course of a month which is relatively a long period of time. Most of the infections are more hasty and request that a payment would be sent in a matter of hours. 1MJodDvhmNG9ocRhhwvBzkGmttXP9ow7e2 bitcoin address is waiting for the victim to fill it with bitcoins.

Tendencies of LambdaLocker ransomware

We are hopeful that LambdaLocker virus has not been successful in its plans and that important information about this ransomware threat reaches its victims in time. After reading the ransom note that this infection leaves behind, your will might be shaken. This virus does its best to make people believe that the only salvation for their files can be achieved by accepting the terms of payment. Other file-recovery options are said to permanently ruin the encrypted data.

But how does LambdaLocker virus enter computer devices? Well, thanks to exploit kits and massive spam campaigns, getting infected with such infection is a piece of bitter cake. If you dare to take a bite of the poisonous pie, your whole system will suffer the consequences. Data which is found in the hard drive won’t be encrypted immediately, but ransomware infections do not have to complete many tasks for the encoding to occur. After the payload of LambdaLocker virus has been placed into a compromised device, it will have to pursue a rather stealthy strategy. It will modify Windows Registry Keys to make its malicious executable launch together with other applications. When it begins to run secretively in the background, it might contact its C&C server, announce about a newly caught fish and only then, move on encryption. Before the latter process, LambdaLocker virus will have to select which files to encrypt. It can target various types of files, but we have reason to believe that ransomware viruses won’t intentionally encrypt files can could affect computers’ procedures so much that the system would fail to launch or etc. For this reason, files in certain folders are avoided. However, the data thats does get encrypted will have to welcome an additional extension: .lambda_l0cked. This mark will clearly identify which executables were encoded. A bizarre extension won’t be the only thing that will be noticed: READ_IT.hTmL ransom note will open up in your preferred browser and display the ransom note.

Files that are encoded by LambdaLocker ransomware: what can be done to restore them?

We are not making any promises for now, but it is important to not lose hope that a free file-recovery tool is going to be released for LambdaLocker ransomware. Since a whole month is given to pay the ransom, experts will have some time to analyze this variant and design a reliable decrypter. Until that happens, you are advised to check whether ransomware deleted Shadow Volume copies. Also, to some extent, universal file recovery tools can also work. No matter how much you need your files, paying 0.5 BTC is a wrong decision. Do not contact hackers via [email protected]. If you have stored your files in backup storages or have them in other locations like USB flash drives, you can retrieve your data from them. If not, we recommend trying out the earlier mentioned options. However, remember that having copies of your files is a huge advantage in the battle with ransomware viruses.

LambdaLocker ransomware and its journey to your device

Ransomware viruses have the capacities to explore different hoaxes for distribution. One of them is to deliver payloads of these infections in spam letters. Millions of people might be jeopardized everyday and hackers’ success depends whether recipients of spam are going to download the provided executable. If they do, their devices will become infected. Another trick is to use social networking sites. You might be aware of bizarre attachments that get distributed, like ‘hahayourmom.jpg’. Do not download such attachments. In addition to that, you might be tagged in an odd post, recommending that you enter an extremely suspicious link. Exploit kit is the third helper that might make ransomware journey a little easier.

Since we have spoken about the most essential aspects of LambdaLocker virus, we should move onto its removal. You can use Spyhunter or Hitman for the sake of getting rid of this vile infection. More details about manual removal and decryption can be found below.

For more recent versions, a decryptor is available https://files.avast.com/files/decryptor/avast_decryptor_lambdalocker.exe . The decryptor was made by Avast. However, it won’t work for every version.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of LambdaLocker 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 LambdaLocker virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore LambdaLocker 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 LambdaLocker virus 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 LambdaLocker 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.