Reco Ransomware - How to remove

File-encrypting ransomware is a type of malware that is made to block the victim’s access to their own files, or else require them to pay money to get that access. Reco is an example of such malware. It has been discovered very recently and it uses cryptography to break the victim’s files.

Reco is a new addition to the Djvu family, which also includes Kuub, Noos, and many other examples. Like the earlier variants, Reco demands a sum of either $490 or $980 to be paid to those who made this ransomware – the extortionists behind the [email protected] and [email protected] email addresses – for the promise to restore the broken files (this is not advised).

This ransomware is named after the way that it alters the names of all the broken files. Reco is the suffix, the new extension given to each locked file, for example, “picture.jpg.reco”. The extension doesn’t do anything other than label the locked files but it does make the malware easier to research. To get around this, the malware blocks various cybersecurity sites on the infected computer.

The infection can break files including documents, text files, images and other media files. The ransomware tries to cause the most amount of damage possible so it targets common file types that are likely to be valuable to users.

Reco spreads mostly by spoofing various files and programs available for free on the internet. The unsuspecting victim downloads the free files (often, by pirating), runs/opens them, and gets infected with Reco.

Reco ransomware – short description:

Specifics of the malware	Files renamed by adding the suffix “.reco” Ransom notes called “_readme.txt” left in some folders
Reco impact	Files can’t be used Some passwords can be stolen Financial harm if you send money to the criminals Time lost to fixing the problem
Remove Reco ransomware	Unblock websites by fixing the hosts file Use anti-malware tools (SpyHunter) to remove malware Update and repair all your software Change your passwords
Restore the files	Make a backup of the locked files Try using system restore, shadow volume copies, and data recovery Wait for a decrypter to be released

 

The _readme.txt file by Reco can be found in the folders that were affected by the ransomware and 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 only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.
This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.
What guarantees you have?
You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.
But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.

The impact of a Reco infection

The ransomware encrypts a lot of files very quickly, and almost every encrypted file is broken, unopenable, corrupted. Reco uses encryption that is secure enough to be unbreakable using modern computers. This means that there is likely no way to restore your files (except for some specific circumstances).

However, review all the folders because some might not have been affected. Also, while images, documents, and most file types are broken by the Reco ransomware, some more specific types, like a few audio file types, might have remained somewhat functional. You would just need to rename the files to remove the “.reco” extension to check. Keep in mind that editing the encrypted files can make them undecryptable, so make backup copies first.

This is unnecessary if you already have backups of your files, in which case, all you need to do is delete all malware and the encrypted files and copy your files from the backup onto the computer. But not everyone has data backups, which is why file-encrypting ransomware is still a real problem that affects people all over the world every day.

Cryptography is immensely useful in the real world – it allows information to be hidden in a message, even if that message is seen by everyone. You only need to have the decryption key to decode it. The problem is that Reco encrypts your files and you don’t have the decryption key (it’s known by the people who released this ransomware).

But Reco does more than just lock your files:

• Before your security program can detect it, Reco tries to break it by deleting some essential files.
• To stop you from researching the malware, the infection edits your hosts file where various cybersecurity websites are blocked.
• Often, the trojan Azorult is installed together with Djvu viruses. This trojan can steal passwords and logins saved in the browser and send this data to the criminals and can be used to hack your accounts including ones with your credit card data saved. The trojan could also download more malware if it’s not removed.

How to remove Reco and restore the files

It’s strongly advised by experts to not contact the extortionists: you might not get your files back, you might accidentally reveal some of your personal data to them, and they can use that information to cause some harm later on. For example, is someone pays the ransom once, some cybercriminals might mark them as a target willing and able to pay, and attack them again.

What about the other ways to restore the files locked by Reco? There is no free decrypter yet, however, there is always a possibility that one will be discovered. The Djvu ransomware family does currently have the attention of a few cybersecurity experts. Also, you can try using shadow volume copies or even data recovery to try and get back previous versions of your files.

Edit: A decrypter for Reco has been released. Keep in mind that it only works on some files, so if some files are skipped, they are probabyl undecryptable without your decryption keys.

But before that can happen, it’s important to delete the malware from your system so that it can’t spy on you or continue to encrypt new files. You can use a competent anti-malware program, for example, SpyHunter.

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 Reco 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 Reco Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Reco 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 Reco Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Reco 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 Reco 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 Reco 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.