Okean- 1955 Ransomware - How to remove

Okean- 1955 (or [email protected]) ransomware is a member of Russian ransomware family, known as Xtbl family of ransomware. This new ransomware variant is specifically designed for attacking companies, which use SQL server databases. Okean- 1955 ransomware virus has been reported to have damaged the data of more than 10,000 customers and 15 departments – three year data, when it has attacked one enterprise which title is not disclosed. However, individual users cannot let themselves sat sipping coffee (or at least until they have powerful security tool, such as Malwarebytes, installed on their computer’s systems), since Okean- 1955 virus, just as its sibling Troldesh (Shade) ransomware, can make an attempt to encrypt personal data.

About Okean- 1955 Ransomware

Okean- 1955 crypto malware uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) asymmetric encryption algorithm along with RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) cipher. This is a very strong encryption combination. The AES encoding mechanism is used to decrypt data, whereas RSA – encrypts it. RSA key is public, while AES key is private. The latter key is hidden on the remote servers controlled by the hackers, to which the victim will be supposedly given the access when the ransom has been payed. Okean- 1955 file-encrypting virus targets the following file types:

.png, .psd, .pspimage, .tga, .thm, .tif, .tiff, .yuv, .ai, .eps, .ps, .svg, .indd, .pct, .pdf, .xlr, .xls, .xlsx, .accdb, .db, .dbf, .mdb, .pdb, .sql, .apk, .app, .bat, .cgi, .com, .exe, .gadget, .jar, .pif, .wsf, .dem, .gam, .nes, .rom, .sav, .dwg, .dxf, .gpx, .kml, .kmz, .asp, .aspx, .cer, .cfm, .csr, .css, .htm, .html, .js, .jsp, .php, .rss, .xhtml, .doc, .docx, .log, .msg, .odt, .rtf, .tex, .txt, .wpd, .wps, .csv, .dat, .ged, .key, .keychain, .pps, .ppt, .pptx, .ini, .prf, .hqx, .mim, .uue, .7z, .cbr, .deb, .gz, .pkg, .rar, .rpm, .sitx, .tar,.gz, .zip, .zipx, .bin, .cue, .dmg, .iso, .mdf, .toast, .vcd, .sdf, .tar, .tax2014, .tax2015, .vcf, .xml, .aif, .iff, .m3u, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .mpa, .wav, .wma, .3g2, .3gp, .asf, .avi, .flv, .m4v, .mov, .mp4, .mpg, .rm, .srt, .swf, .vob, .wmv, .3dk .3dmk .3dsk .maxk .obj, .bmp, .dds, .gif, .jpg, .crx, .plugin, .fnt, .fon, .otf, .ttf, .cab, .cpl, .cur, .dll, .dmp, .drv, .icns, .ico, .lnk, .sys, .cfg

The encrypted files are given additional identification names of random numbers and letters and added an extension ‘‘okean- [email protected]” at the end of the entire cumbersome filename. For example, Image.bmp is turned into [email protected]. When the files have been encrypted and renamed, meaning the encryption process is over, HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt file is dropped in every folder containing these corrupted files. It contains the ransom note with the instructions, given by the cyber crooks, on what to do to get your data back. The message reads as follows in both the Russian and English variants:

Все ваши файлы зашифрованы!!!!
для расшифровки обращаться на почту [email protected]
у вас есть 24 часа. после 24 часов расшифровку сделать сложнее.

All your files are encrypted!!!!
decryption handle mail [email protected]
you have 24 hours. after 24 hours to make decryption difficult.

The e-mail address which is embedded in the title of the encrypted files, as well as given in the ransom note, is the contact e-mail for contacting the hackers behind Okean- 1955 cryptomalware. Unfortunately, we cannot name the exact sum of money the cyber crooks behind this ransomware threat are seeking to extort from their victims, as it has not been disclosed yet. While the deadline for transferring the payment is clearly defined – it is 24 hours.

How is Okean- 1955 Ransomware Spread?

Okean- 1955 crypto-malware is an archetypical example of ransomware trojans. It is being spread via spam e-mails. This file-encoding virus sends LinkedIn contact requests to the e-mail boxes of the victims, which hit the spam folder. They seem as typical requests sent by this career-related social networking platform:

But these requests contain an infected link, which will redirect the targeted user to an infected domain. This is how social media is employed to distribute Okean- 1955 ransomware virus. We cannot reject the probability of other routes of this infection. But one thing is clear, when your computer’s system has been installed the payload of this ransomware, it receives the destiny of an abscessed tooth.

How to Decrypt Files Encrypted by Okean- 1955 Ransomware?

Unfortunately, ramsomwares belonging to to this particular family are enough hard-coded so that no cyber security researcher has been able to crack their codes yet. Thus, the time has come to use one’s backup or to check Windows backup and restore by inspecting, if there is any Shadow Volume Copies left. If these options are useless in your case, employ data recovery tools. You can choose from a variety of products, including Recuva, PhotoRec, R-Studio, software by Kaspersky Lab, etc. We have to warn you that these utilities will not guarantee 100 per cent data recovery, but they can potentially help you to retrieve your data.

Before using your backup, system restore or applying data recovery tools, make sure to make a copy of the infected drive (for the decryptor so-to-be) and, above all, remove Okean- 1955 ransomware with one of the following tools – Spyhunter or Hitman. These automatic tools are the primary removal options of malware threats in general. They perform a full system scan to detect and remove any malware related elements. The manual removal instructions for Okean- 1955 virus are provided just below. They are completely free.

How to recover Okean- 1955 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 [email protected] Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Okean- 1955 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 [email protected] Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Okean- 1955 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 [email protected] 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 Okean- 1955 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.