Repp File Locker - How to remove

Repp is a file locker used by cybercriminals to extort victims of hundreds of dollars. It spreads from pirating sites and infects Windows PCs. Repp is named so because it locks files and then changes their names to end with “.repp”. The locked files can’t be easily fixed, but Repp definitely needs to be removed for you to be able to use your computer normally again.

Repp file locker’s description:

Classification	Ransomware, spyware.
Repp infection symptoms	Files have “.repp” second extension, most of the liked files do not open or work correctly.
How to fix the files	Restore the files from a backup, use shadow volume copies, etc., use the free decrypter.
How to remove Repp	Use an antivirus program, like SpyHunter.

How to fix the locked files

After you remove the Repp file locker, you can think about how to recover your files. This is the last step of being free from ransomware, but it’s also the one that people are most curious about. In short, unless you have complete file backups, there’s no guaranteed way to get all of them without paying the ransom.

Repp uses encryption to hide your own files from you. Cryptography has lots of very useful real-world applications where you need to hide information in pain sigh. For example, most reputable cloud storage sites encrypt your data while uploading it to the cloud and while it’s stored there. Those who don’t have the decryption key, even if they manage to access your data, cannot read it – it just looks like gibberish to them.

Same thing with Repp, except that the extortionists are the only ones who have the decryption keys and you’re left with just the encrypted data. Repp is pretty secure, so you can’t break it.

The only set of keys that is not unique to each victim is the offline encryption/decryption keys. But the offline encryption key only used to lock a victim’s files when Repp can’t contact the command-and-control server to download a unique one (for example, if your internet dropped). IDs associated with the offline encryption key usually end with “t1”, so check your _readme.txt files.

The company Emsisoft released a decrypter that is able to decrypt Repp-locked files if you have the correct decryption key. Emsisoft makes available through its decrypter all the offline keys that are donated to it (this list now includes Topi, Reha, Nbes, and many other variants). It won’t do anything for your “.repp” files if they were encrypted with an unknown online key, though.

The good thing is, there are a few other possibilities, like using data recovery software and restoring from shadow volume copies. These are described in a bit more detail in the last section of this post. Repp deletes shadow volume copies, as all professional file lockers do, to stop you from reversing encryption using Windows’ earlier file versions, but there’s always a chance it ran into a bug or something.

Finally, some of the bigger files locked by Repp con be partially repaired. Audio and video files may only be encrypted at the beginning, the same applies to other really big files, like Zip archives, photos, etc. Just remember: keep unedited copies of any of the “.repp” files that you care about.

How Repp infects computers

Repp is part of the Djvu ransomware family. Djvu is known for using piracy sites to spread. Versions of Djvu, such as Repp, Alka, Npsg, etc., are downloaded by infected files on the victim’s computer. The infected files include cracking programs and illegally activated commercial software.

You might have been able to avoid this infection by scanning your downloads with an antivirus program, but that may not always help: at the time of writing, Repp is very new and some antivirus programs don’t yet recognize it, at least not right away. Some antivirus programs could stop Repp based on its behavior – locking your files and deleting shadow volume copies – but this would still leave some of your files encrypted.

Encrypted files have their internal contents broken, turned into random characters. So, these files refuse to open and if you do open something, for example, a text file, you can see that it’s filled with random symbols. All these encrypted files have also been renamed to include the “.repp” extension, but that’s just a label; even if you remove it (and you should not), the files are still broken. The exception is all the system files that belong to Windows and are required for it to run – these files are not locked by Repp.

How to remove Repp

Before you can fix your files, you should get rid of any malware on your computer. This includes Repp, the file that you downloaded it in, the spyware, and any other infections. You can do this with an antivirus program, such as 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 Repp File Locker 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 Repp File Locker has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Repp File Locker

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 Repp File Locker. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Repp File Locker 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 Repp File Locker 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 Repp File Locker 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.