OPdailyaallowance ransomware - How to remove

The beginning of September 2018 has already brought another HiddenTear project based ransomware called OPdailyaallowance. It was reported by MalwareHunterTeam that the OPdailyaallowance virus has been actively encrypting victims’ files and demanding for a 0.3 BTC ransom from users all around the world. On top of that, others noticed that this crypto infection might be related with another malware called Fsociety ransomware (inspired by Jester from Mr.Robot series) because of several similar features.

Despite OPdailyaallowance ransomware being a just a typical ransom-greedy open-source copy, it still does work as a proper cryptovirus, which can lock personal data and harm your system. Ransomware infections like OPdailyaallowance are one of the hardest to fix because only the hackers have your unique decrypting key which makes files accessible again, however, paying a ransom does not mean that they will give it to the victim. Fortunately, 2-viruses.com team has been dealing with various types of malware for years and figured some other ways how to remove OPdailyaallowance virus and possibly recover the precious encrypted files.

What is OPdailyaallowance ransomware

OPdailyaallowance ransomware is an altered version of the HiddenTear virus, which was posted on Github years ago for the learning purpose but became misused by hackers to create new malware by using the template. As the original threat, OPdailyaallowance cryptovirus uses AES encryption to lock victim’s data and adds extension .CRYPTR to all affected files. Of course, before it starts encryption processes OPdailyaallowance virus must make sure that no other antivirus or system security program will interrupt the settling in, therefore ransomware modifies Windows registry keys (for the persistence from restarting the system) and stops computer’s protection from running properly so it could run incognito. (How ransomware works)

What is interesting OPdailyaallowance ransomware drops three different ransom messages called INTRUCTION.html, PAYMENT !!!.txt and ATTANTION!!!.txt, moreover changes victim’s desktop background too with another message claiming that the computer was infected by the OPdailyaallowance ransomware as well. Most likely the background idea came from the same place as the ransomware’s name – Mr.Robot series and Jester’s virus. OPdailyaallowance virus developers are asking for 0.3 BTC (around $ 1924 USD) which is a lot compared to other viruses which usually go for a couple hundred dollars.

Take a look at the ransom notes that are dropped on the desktop of the infected system:

INTRUCTION.html

WHAT HAPPEND ?
Can’t find the files that you need0
Is the content of your files that you need, unreadable?
This is normal because the data within your files has been encrypted.

PAYMENT !!!.txt

GET THE KEY DECRYPT FILE, YOU HAVE TO PAY 0,3 BTC TO ADDRESS : 1CajF6395CNBrXxjGqVsALcTvNhyRbQebu

ATTANTION!!!.txt

##### ATTANTION!!!.txt
##### YOUR PRIVATE KEY EXPIRED 3 DAYS IF IT EXCEEDS 3 DAYS WE CAN NOT HELP YOU TO DECRYPT YOUR FILE
##### PLEASE DON’T TURN OFF YOUR PC AND DON’T RENAME EXTENSION, IT WILL FILE YOUR CORRUPTION
##### GET THE KEY TO DECRYPT FILE, YOU HAVE PAY 0,3 BTC TO ADDRESS 1CajF6395CNBrXxjGqVsALcTvNhyRbQebu
##### IF YOU SEND EMAIL AND NO REPLY FROM US MORE THAN 2 DAYS PLEASE RESEND YOUR EMAIL
#####

As you can see the crooks are even giving time limit of 3 days to make the OPdailyaallowance ransomware infection to look even scarier and push victims to pay ransomware faster, however, the last words of developers saying that if a user, after sending the money, does not hear from the developers in 2 days with the decryptor, he has to send the email again. That is the clear indication that most likely OPdailyaallowance virus creators are not going to reply anyway and not only make your files unavailable but also take almost 2000 USD on top of that. For more technical details you can check the VirusTotal.com

How does OPdailyaallowance virus spread

Looking at all the features of this virus, there is somehow no doubt that OPdailyaallowance ransomware was created, or better say – copied, by a script kid, rather than a sophisticated hacker like Jester (which seems that developer is aspiring to be), therefore no one should expect a challenging and unique distribution either. Socially engineered emails with an infected attachment or link has been known to be the main easiest way to distribute ransomware like OPdailyaallowance virus, because it does not require any technical knowledge, which developers need if they want to use exploit kits instead, for example, and it can also get into emails not only of regular users but employees from major companies as well.

Banks, hospitals, government or other corporations have been already attacked by ransomware like Locky, WannaCry, Petya and etc. which all snuck in through the bogus email messages. OPdailyaallowance virus is not an exception. Crooks create a believable message that gets sent to victims, asking to download the .doc or .pdf file from the message or click on the included link to see more information. Even those folks that are great at spotting Phishing campaigns, fall for this sleek trick because crooks can pretend to be anyone – a doctor, banker, customer, officer and etc. and write a pretty convincing report, complaint, invoice, application for a job which will require to open the malicious file. And of course, once it is opened the virus executable file launches the OPdailyaallowance ransomware installation. (Take a look at our tips how to prevent ransomware viruses)

How to delete OPdailyaallowance ransomware

There are two proper OPdailyaallowance ransomware removal ways. One is manual and another one is automatic. The automatic technique is a fastest and safest option, that includes downloading a special virus removal program to the infected computer and running a scan, detecting OPdailyaallowance virus and deleting it with the same security tool. The manual method is usually used when the automatic is not possible and takes quite a lot of risk (eg. Permanently deleting the important files) and time. Which is why 2-viruses team recommending to simply go with the malware removal program if only you have the possibility.

There are plenty of great security tools, however our suggestion would be either SpyHunter We’ve been working with these anti-spyware programs for a while now and can ensure that they are definitely at the top of the line in cybersecurity market and can be fully trusted unlike plenty other fake.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove OPdailyaallowance virus manually and recover files

Another method that allows users, who do not have the malware removal tools, to get rid of OPdailyaallowance ransomware is the manual removal following step-by-step guide below. Although this way requires tons of patience, attentiveness and time, yet it can be the only solution if the automatic software is not available. Just make sure that you do everything according to the instructions.

Now talking about the encrypted file recovery, it is important to say that right now there is no specific decryptor, which could help you, however, since OPdailyaallowance virus is a HiddenTear variant then maybe you could try the common decryptor which you can find here. If that does not work, in the same guide we mentioned the possible recovery from the Shadow Copies (which may be deleted by the virus, but some OPdailyaallowance versions don’t), as well as the data restore programs.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Fsociety 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 OPdailyaallowance ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore OPdailyaallowance 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 Fsociety 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 OPdailyaallowance 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.