Moka Ransomware - How to remove

Moka ransomware has recently started spreading and was noticed by cybersecurity researchers. This malware belongs to the Djvu family and is one of the new, improved versions which use asymmetric encryption, like Seto, Shariz, and Coharos.

Ransomware overall is a big problem that doesn’t seem to be getting any better — crypto extortionists are bringing in a lot of money. After all, ransomware works by locking the files on the infected computer and demanding money to unlock them (Moka asks for a bit under $1000) and some victims agree to pay just to get their files back.

Symptoms of Moka ransomware

That the Moka cryptovirus has infected a computer is recognized by the victims by a few features:

• Appends the “.moka” suffix to the names of many files.
• Most of the Moka files are broken even when the extension is removed.
• A file called “_readme” is left on the victim’s computer with directions to contact the [email protected] and [email protected] email addresses.
• An old-fashioned Windows Update window is displayed despite no updates happening.
• Some websites can’t be opened, especially ones that deal with cybersecurity.
• The anti-malware protection installed on their computer isn’t detecting problems.

And, in whole, after this ransomware is recognized, it should be removed quickly:

Distribution of Moka ransomware	Distributed hacked software Activators, cracks, pirated programs
Damage done	Lost data Stolen passwords Hacked online accounts
Protection from ransomware	Data backups Downloading programs from official, reputable sources Scanning downloaded files before running them
Removal of Moka	Professional anti-malware programs (Spyhunter) Wiping the infected drive

 

Moka spreads to people all over the world and it’s not known who the criminals responsible are. What is known is that they’ve been distributing their ransomware for over a year and have improved it since the beginning, making it more dangerous and more difficult to recover from. Antimalware programs can see it now but they won’t always stop it. And as Moka finds itself on a computer, one of the first things it does is delete antivirus updates to stop the security program from seeing anything.

How Moka is harmful

The obvious way that this ransomware hurts people is by corrupting their files using a cryptographic algorithm. The encryption is secure enough to not be broken by simple brute-forcing of keys and this mechanism is already proven by other ransomware.

To save time and make the encryption go faster, the infection might only encrypt the bigger files partially but most of that data is just irrecoverable. If you have images, films, songs, archives, documents, spreadsheets, almost any file type — if Moka touched it, it’s probably broken.

The ransomware is not so dangerous to those who have backups of their data since they can just copy the files back to their computer. However, Moka is dangerous to them, too.

In an effort to profit more from the victims, Moka ransomware spreads a password-stealing trojan AZORult that it installs together with itself. This trojan sits quietly in the system and searches it for crypto wallets (convenient then that the extortionists ask for the ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency), usernames and passwords that might be saved by the browser and other saved data that the browser might automatically fill for you (like your email and living addresses), even files that might be interesting to criminals. It might also be able to download other malware.

Basically, if Moka’s trojan gets to send some data back to the server, you’re at risk of having your accounts hacked and even your identity stolen. For some people that would be even worse than losing their files.

How to remove Moka and recover the files

Restoring the data locked by this malware if you don’t have backups is unlikely. You can follow the guide below where it’s shown that you can use data recovery to restore lost data or try to use shadow explorer in case Moka failed to delete shadow copies. But, unfortunately, no free decrypter for the files exists. Even though earlier versions of Djvu had a partial decrypter (called STOPDecrypter) that could unlock files encrypted when the virus didn’t have a connection to the criminals, they’ve made an effort to improve their malware and now, no solution for Moka exists.

The best advice is to just restore from backups.

Before that you need to get rid of all the malicious stuff on your computer, otherwise, new files will be encrypted, more passwords will be stolen. Use Spyhunter or another trusted anti-malware tool to find all the malicious files and programs. Check your system files to make sure that Moka didn’t corrupt any of those. Remove from the hosts file the entries that were added to block cybersecurity websites.

Update: if your personal ID ends in “t1”, check out this decrypter that was developed by ransomware researchers.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Moka 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 Moka 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 Moka 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.