Ransomwared virus - How to remove

Ransomwared is the new cryptovirus, which was discovered by the malware researchers this late-December 2018. The name stems from the extension this ransom-demanding threat uses to mark encrypted files (‘.ransomwared’). As you can tell, such type of infection benefits crooks in a very specific way – from the payments which victims voluntarily send to receive unique decrypting keys for their virus-locked data.

Nowadays, computer owners are more aware of virtual viruses and how to avoid them, additionally, crypto lockers are being rapidly replaced by crypto miners, therefore Ransomwared ransomware developers have to really put on a show and scare victims badly so they would decide to rather pay crooks than look for other solutions. Ransomwared virus applies typical Scareware techniques, like a pop-up ransom note, marking encrypted files with a unique appendix and etc.

However, no matter what hackers say, amazing cybersecurity professionals already figured a way how to unlock Ransomwared cryptovirus infected files for free. If you are currently dealing with this notorious malware, please, take a look at our article further, to find out what recovery method suits you best, also what to do, so that the ransom demanding threats would not infect your PC ever again.

How does Ransomwared virus work

Ransomwared virus name already gives out the category this threat belongs to – ransomware. You may have heard about these crypto infections, like GandCrab, WannaCry, Locky, which also work in the same principle – affecting computer’s security, ensuring persistence, locking personal files, appearing to the victim and asking for a payment for the decrypting code. Although this storyline is exactly the same for all ransomware, there are some visual and technical differences which make Ransomwared cryptovirus a unique example.

First of all, when Ransomwared ransomware enters Windows OS (Mac OS computers are immune to it), it does everything to stay unnoticed by the security so that the installation processes would not be interrupted. This results in threat adding malicious files into various System directories, modifying registry keys and even stopping antivirus. Only after this, cryptovirus starts scanning the whole computer looking for targeted files, like pictures, videos, music, and encrypting them with a Symmetric DES algorithm. When the data is identified, which is necessary in order not to lock System files to keep the computer working so the victim could still pay the ransom, a specific extension ‘.ransomwared’ is added at the end of affected files’ names (‘file1.mp3’ becomes ‘file1.mp3.ransomwared’).

After that, Ransomwared ransomware finalizes the invasion and presents itself to the victim in the GUI pop up ransom note saying:

Recovery
You are ransomwared! To recover your files, email us and buy recovery code
[email protected]

Crooks demand the user to contact them for the recovery key, which is not going to be free-of-charge. It’s unknown how much Ransomwared virus creators want, yet it can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars in their preferred Cryptocurrency for the highest anonymity. We absolutely do not advise paying, no matter how small the amount is, because this funds hackers to improve their malware and distribute even further.

Actually, despite being detected just recently by malware researcher Leo, months ago there was a very similar ransomware infection that another cybersecurity professional, known as @struppigel, found using the same string. Yet it is unknown if  the current Ransomwared virus is an improved version of a previous one or a separate project. More technical info on Virustotal.com.

How does Ransomwared cryptovirus spread and how to avoid it

Ransomwared ransomware, just like other crypto infections, begins with Malspam.  Darkweb is full of breached email addresses, which can be bought by anyone, which is very helpful for virus distribution. Hackers buy a bunch of emails, to which they send a socially engineered message and an attached file with ransomware installer, that looks like a regular .docx or .pdf format file. Such phishing email is typically coming from the unknown sender, is very short, obscure and urges to open the added attachment for more information.

Sometimes these emails can seem like they are legitimate and coming from government, police, bank, hospital, employee, employer or even a friend. Once the victim opens the file and enables Macros (which is requested in order to view the content), Ransomwared virus set up is initiated and quickly via background processes ransomware compromises system completely.

In order to prevent that, we highly advise learning how to Identify malicious emails, as well as taking other security measures, like anti-malware programs into consideration. We have the Ultimate protection guide against ransomware, which might also help.

How to remove Ransomwared virus and restore the files

Thanks to the malware expert, better known as #, Ransomwared virus is decryptable. While the official unlocking tool is still not on the NoMoreRansom.org site, contacting @demonslay335 and kindly asking for help unlocking files, might be an only solution for you.

If you happen to be a very responsible computer user and regularly make Backups, there is another immediate method to fix this situation. You can recover your files and virus-clean system from the restore point back in time, right before the infection, of course, if only you have backups. Mind you, this solution is not suitable for those, who want to restore data, marked with .ransomwared extension, which was not backed up. If files don’t matter to you at all nor you want to use any security antivirus product, proceed with full System Restore.

To make sure that recovered system will be clean or right after the decryption with a special code, we recommend running a free scan either with Spyhunter anti-spyware software. These malware removal tools will give you information about the current state of your system, existing viruses and offer easy elimination, simply follow the provided guidelines. As for the detailed explanation and visual instructions on how to remove Ransomwared virus and restore infected files, please, continue to the end of this post.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Ransomwared 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 Ransomwared virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Ransomwared 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 Ransomwared 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 Ransomwared 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.