Msop File Extension Virus - How to remove

Msop is a malicious program that belongs to the Djvu family of ransomware. It encrypts files on the infected computer, making them unopenable and unusable. Those files are marked with “.msop” being added to their names. Decryption software and a unique decryption key are required to fix the broken files, but only the criminals who released Msop have the keys. While a few other ways of recovering the data corrupted by Msop exist, they are not totally effective.

Msop is a file-encrypting ransomware virus:

Msop virus details	Type of Djvu Similar to Rote, Kodg, Mbed, and others VirusTotal link Installs a password stealer Spreads in torrent sites with pirated software
Infection symptoms	Files have a second “.msop” extension _readme.txt files on multiple folders Shows a fake Windows Update pop-up
Msop file recovery	After removing the virus, restore files from a backup Use data recovery Repair media files and extract archives Find out if the offline key was used on your files and if so, wait for it to be discovered and use the decrypter
How to remove Msop	Use an anti-malware program (like SpyHunter) to find and remove dangerous files Change your passwords and use 2-step verification to watch your accounts Be careful where you download files from and scan new downloads before running them

Msop infection symptoms

Msop spreads in pirating sites. Running an infected crack, key generator, or unlocked software is how most of its victims are infected.

The Msop virus tries to disable your security software first by deleting some of its updates. It also shows a fake Windows Update pop-up. If you see it, Msop is encrypting your files.

Files encrypted by Msop have a second extension added to their names. For example, a file that used to be called “song.mp3” will be renamed to “song.mp3.msop”, giving the file a double extension. “Msop” is not a real file type, it’s just a random string of characters chosen by the criminals behind the Msop virus. At least it helps find information on the virus more easily.

To avoid that, Msop blocks a lot of security sites on the infected computer. For example, if you try going to our site, it will likely not load. Msop does this by adding lines to your hosts file, the fix for that is described later in this post.

As Msop is ransomware, there is a ransom note that goes with it. It starts like this:

ATTENTION!

Don’t worry, you can return all your files!
All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key

The note is called “_readme.txt” and placed in multiple folders to make sure you don’t miss it. In it, the criminals give their email addresses ([email protected] and [email protected] ask) and for a ransom of $490 (or $980 if you wait too long). That money is why Msop exists – some of the victims can’t afford to lose their files and they pay the criminals. Paying the ransom is always advised against by law enforcement and by security researchers, and the criminals don’t even always keep their end of the bargain, so don’t pay unless you absolutely have to.

A related problem is that Msop probably installs a password-stealing trojan, so if you use the infected computer to send money, you might be exposing your banking credentials to cyber-criminals. Many Djvu viruses, of which Msop is one, have been seen installing Azorult, which can steal passwords, crypto-wallet credentials, and even download other malware.

How to restore Msop files

Msop uses cryptography to lock user files. A unique key is assigned to each victim (except for the offline key, which is the same for all of Msop’s victims). Even if someone else pays the ransom and is able to get their files back, that probably won’t help any of the other victims.

The best way to restore files lost to Msop is by using a backup, but not everyone has them. You can also simply delete everything, especially if you didn’t lose any important files. If you do have some files you hope to decrypt later, save them and their _readme.txt notes. Maybe a solution will become available at some point.

Msop affects many popular file types, including documents and various text files, media files, and everything in-between. The encrypted files are not dangerous, only corrupted. Terabytes of data can be lost in under an hour. Msop cuts some corners, though, so it’s worth to explore the severity of your situation:

• The files in nested folders are encrypted later. This means that if Msop was interrupted at some point, some files deep in folders might have remained unencrypted.
• Msop only encrypts portions of big files, which means that if you can repair videos, images, or audio files, you might be able to restore big portions of your data (some of it will be corrupted still).
• For the same reason, you might be able to extract some files from encrypted archives.

Overall, though, the Msop files can be considered lost. There is a decrypter for Djvu ransomware that was developed by Emsisoft, but it still requires the decryption keys. Only the offline key, which Msop uses only in certain situations, is the same for everyone. If Emsisoft’s researchers find it, they will update the decrypter, but whether that will help you is not certain.

One way to get an idea of whether it’s worth hoping for the offline key is to check your personal ID that the Msop virus gave you. If the ID ends with “t1”, that generally means that the offline key was used on your files. Often, each victim has more than one ID, and you should be able to find them in the file C:\SystemID\PersonalID.txt.

There are also shadow volume copies (which Msop usually deletes) and data recovery (if you use a hard disk), which can recover data that’s been lost, but keep in mind that the more you used your computer after the infection, the less effective data recovery will be. If you can, avoid turning on the infected computer and figure out if data recovery might be useful in your situation.

How to remove Msop

To stop Msop from causing more problems, it needs to be removed, as does the file that infected your device in the first place. Luckily, this can be done with the help of any competent anti-malware program, such as SpyHunter. If the password-stealer has infected your computer also, make sure it is deleted, too. Then change your passwords so that the cyber-criminals can’t use your old ones.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Msop File Extension 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 Msop File Extension Virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Msop File Extension 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 Msop File Extension 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 Msop File Extension 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.