Nefilim (Nephilim) Ransomware - How to remove

Nefilim/Nephilim is ransomware – malicious software used by cybercriminals for extortion. Nefilim encrypts data, which essentially corrupts it. In addition, the actors behind the ransomware may download some files and threaten to expose them online if the ransom they ask for is not paid.

About Nefilim ransomware:

Threat type	Ransomware, spyware.
How Nefilim infects computers	It exploits weak RDP protection, it looks for more account credentials, malicious actors may manually infiltrate networks before infecting them with Nefilim.
How it encrypts data	The ransomware encrypts files and changes their names, it creates ransom notes and replaces the desktop background.
How to remove Nefilim ransomware	Find and eliminate malware with antivirus tools (Spyhunter, other programs), secure your accounts with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.

How Nefilim ransomware works

Nefilim is double ransomware: it steals data and encrypts it. Nefilim malware infects computers and networks, copies some data, then encrypts the files on the infected machines. It threatens the victims that if they don’t pay the ransom, they will lose their data to unbreakable encryption and they’ll have some data exposed to the web.

Nefilim is related to Nemty, an older ransomware family. Nefilim may also sometimes be called Nephilim – these two ransomware families are very closely related but distinct. (Meet NEMTY Successor, Nefilim/Nephilim Ransomware)

How Nefilim infects computers

Nefilim ransomware spreads to computers and networks via RDP. Weak usernames and passwords are commonly exploited by malicious actors to break into systems.

Once Nefilim is on a machine, it kills antivirus processes and looks for saved usernames and passwords with freely available tools (such as Mimikatz). It then uses those credentials to get access to more computers on the same network.

It’s common for ransomware to spread together with other malware, so it’s possible that Nefilim gets installed with additional malware.

How Nefilim steals and encrypts files

The extortionists behind Nefilim ransomware download some files and then threaten to leak those that are “valuable or sensitive”. The criminals say that, if the victim doesn’t pay the ransom, the data will be leaked over a period of time.

Then, Nefilim encrypts the files. To mark which files are encrypted, the ransomware changes their names by adding a second file type extension – “Bentley”, “Nefilim”, “Nephilim”, etc. (Here are some of the extensions associated with Nefilim: Bentley, Derzko, Fusion, Gangbang, Infection, Mefilin, Merin, Miliphen, Nefilim, Nef1lim, Nephilim, Offwhite, Telegram, Trapget.)

Like most modern ransomware, Nefilim uses hybrid encryption to break files. This allows ransomware to work fast like symmetric cryptography while keeping the encryption secure like asymmetric cryptography. There’s currently no way to decrypt the data locked by Nefilim without the help of the criminals behind this ransomware. There might never be a way, unless the criminals behind Nefilim release the decryption keys or are caught by law enforcement.

Besides decrypting files, Nefilim replaces the infected computer’s desktop background and creates ransom notes which it places in various folders. In the ransom notes are the contact details of the extortionists and a promise to confirm that the decryption tools provided by the extortionists do work.

How to recover from Nefilim ransomware

Find and delete all malware. While the malware is not removed, it might be a good idea to keep the infected computers off, or at least to stop them from connecting to the internet.

You can use antivirus apps (such as Spyhunter) to find and remove malware. Antivirus scanners flag Nefilim ransomware as Trojan, Malware, Ransom, Encoder, Filecoder, and similar labels (Virustotal.com).

Check your settings and repair antivirus apps, if needed. On a clean device, reset all the credentials that may have been stolen. Make sure that multi-factor authentication is used when it’s available.

What about getting back the data that Nefilim encrypted? If you don’t have backups to restore the data from, then data recovery programs are worth looking into. These programs can undelete files and may help restore some valuable data.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Nefilim (Nephilim) 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 Nefilim Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Nefilim (Nephilim) 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 Nefilim 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 Nefilim (Nephilim) 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.