Mbed File Virus - How to remove

Mbed file-locking virus changes each file to attach “.mbed” to the end of its name and changes its internal contents, scrambling them and turning them into random nonsense. This makes the files unreadable and takes away your ability to access them. Mbed does this to force the victims to pay money to get the files unlocked.

How Mbed works

Encryption

The people who created the Mbed virus are responsible for a huge number of other infections. Mbed is part of the Djvu ransomware family, the currently dominant file-locker that affects PC users. Mbed is only the newest member of this family. The extortionists behind it continue to create and release new versions that affect thousands of victims. You might have heard that older versions of Djvu are decryptable, however, the newer ones, like Grod, Peet, and Lokf, are not. And though there is some hope that some Mbed files will be decryptable in the future, there is no guarantee for a free and complete solution.

Mbed got on your computer and ran your files through an encryption algorithm after making brief contact with the command and control server to establish your unique encryption key. Each victim gets a unique key to prevent one person from buying the key and helping everyone else decrypt their files. nd the reason why Mbed was so fast when encrypting your data is that it only encrypts small files and important portions of large files. It’s enough for Mbed to reak your files that it doesn’t need to waste time going through the rest of the data.

Mbed problems and solutions:

How Mbed works	A type of Djvu Encrypts files using a unique key Might install a spyware component
How the ransomware spreads	Torrent sites Fake software download sites
Delete the infection	Delete Mbed and the spyware (SpyHunter) Delete the file that’s responsible for the infection Change passwords
Restore Mbed files	Restore from a backup Wait for a decryption solution Recover some data from big files Use shadow volume copies, data recovery, etc.

Some people are afraid that the people behind Mbed have access to your files. They don’t – though the files on your computer are affected, the people who made Mbed cannot see them, browse them, or release them. All that’s happening is that they have the number that is your decryption key.

That doesn’t mean that Mbed doesn’t threaten your privacy, though. Azorult – a trojan that Mbed might have infiltrated in your computer – has the ability to download other malware and to read your passwords saved in your browser, email service, and other software. If it sends this data to Mbed’s operators or other criminals, your online accounts could be stolen or compromised to spread other malware. Payment methods and private information could be sold.

Installation

Mbed ransomware is targeted at individual PC users, although it does also infect the computers of small companies, too. This file locker spreads in torrent sites and fake software homepages. Mbed comes in activated office suites, cracks, and other programs that are distributed in pirate sites. People all over the globe are affected by this ransomware.

Once Mbed is downloaded, it edits the hosts file, the file that maps site domain names to IPs, making it really difficult to access some cybersecurity resources and find out what happened to your computer. A section below explains how to fix that. Mbed also deletes backups and file copies that could make it possible to restore previous versions of the files. Finally, it tries to delete some important files belonging to your antivirus program.

While Mbed is encrypting your files, it shows a Windows Update window to try to explain why the computer is working so hard. If you catch it in action, shut the computer down. That’s a guaranteed and simple way to stop Mbed from locking any more of your files.

How to get your files back

Assuming you don’t have file backups, there are still a few options for you.

First, you can pay the criminals the ransom and hope that they restore your .mbed files. They might do it or they might not, and you should decide if you’re willing to take the risk. Just remember that the people behind Mbed are criminals and willing to take advantage of their victims whenever it’s possible: if you reveal too much information about yourself, they might use it to rob you later (that’s why they spread the spyware infection with their file lockers). If they’re too lazy or careless, they might take your money and never send the decryption tools because there is nothing forcing them to.

Emsisoft’s ransomware researchers have developed a decryption program for Djvu files. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on Mbed without the decryption key. This key which is unique to each victim (and in some cases, the victim has more than one unique key) is required to reverse the encryption and only Mbed’s operators have it.

Without decryption, recovering Mbed’s files is difficult. In the last section of this article, there are a few suggestions but whether they’ll work or not is uncertain.

If you’re willing to get your hands a little dirty, you can mess with the Mbed files to check if you can get anything useful:

• First, make copies of the files that are important to you and that you hope to decrypt later. Always have copies because even the smallest edit can render a file unrecoverable through decryption. If decryption for everyone becomes available at some point (like, Mbed’s creators grow a conscience or retire and release the keys for everyone), it’ll be good to have the original Mbed-locked files.
• Check your subfolders. Some people noticed that Mbed and its siblings failed to encrypt files deep in folders. For example, look for files in a sub-sub-subfolder.
• Also, look for archive files that you had and try to extract them. Remove the “.mbed” extension and open them. Some of the archived files might be okay.
• Similarly, look for mp3 and other audio files, remove the “.mbed” extension, and try to play them. Videos are partially fixable, too, but you need the help of a specialist.

How to remove the Mbed virus

1. Delete the files that infected your computer.
2. Remove Mbed and any other malware using an antivirus program.
3. Change your passwords once you’re sure the computer is clean.

Make sure that whatever files infected your computer with Mbed are gone. Otherwise, you might remove Mbed and then see it return the next day. Don’t repeatedly download the files that infected you, either.

Use an anti-malware tool to remove Mbed and other infections. Most respectable antivirus programs are good enough to get rid of Mbed after you’ve installed the latest updates. Considering that Mbed deletes the updates of some antivirus programs when it first infects your system, using another security tool, like SpyHunter, might be better.

After you’ve cleaned your PC, make sure to update your passwords in case Mbed read your old ones. Also, download updates for your browser, operating system, media players, and other important software. One of the most important things for online security is up-to-date software.

Important -- edit the hosts file to unblock security websites

TL DR : The hosts file is edited to block security sites Before the virus can be removed, it's necessary to fix the hosts file (the file which controls which addresses connect to which IPs). That is the reason the majority of security websites is inaccessible when infected with this particular parasite. This infection edits this file to stop certain websites, including anti-malware download sites, from being accessed from the infected computer, making browsers return the "This site can't be reached" error. Luckily, it's trivial to fix the file and remove the edits that were made to it.

Find and edit the hosts file

The hosts file can be found on C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts. If you don't see it, change the settings to see hidden files.

1. In the Start Menu, search for Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, find Appearance and Personalization.
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Open the View tab.
5. Open Advanced settings.
6. Select "Show hidden files...".
7. Select OK.

Open this file with administrator privileges.

1. Open the Start Menu and enter "notepad".
2. When Notepad shows up in the result, right-click on it.
3. In the menu, choose "Run as administrator"
4. File->Open and browse for the hosts file.

The hosts file should look like this: Delete additional lines that they connect various domain names to the wrong IP address. Save the file.

Download and run the antivirus program

After that, download antivirus programs and use them to remove the ransomware, the trojan, and other malware. Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/reviews/spyhunter/dwnld/).

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Mbed File Virus

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 Mbed File Virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Mbed File Virus 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 Mbed File 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 Mbed File Virus 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.