Righ File-locking Virus - How to remove

There’s a new file-locking virus called Righ. It causes files to get a second file type extension “.righ” (for example, “list.txt.righ”). Righ is a type of Djvu, you might have heard of it – new versions have been coming out for many months. These file-lockers use cryptography to corrupt user files. They leave ransom notes (called “_readme.txt”) that ask for a few hundred dollars to be paid to the criminals who are responsible for the infection.

Righ file-locker – short memo:

Righ characteristics	VirusTotal link Files renamed to “.righ”
How Righ gets installed	Downloaded with cracks and pirated software Installs a spyware component Tries to break your antivirus
Restore your files	Restore the files from a backup Keep the important encrypted files Use the Emsisoft decrypter Use other data recovery methods
Remove the Righ file-locker	Fix the hosts file Download anti-malware tools (SpyHunter) Delete all the malicious files, including the ones that downloaded Righ

How to deal with the Righ file-locker

After a Righ infection, there are a few things that a victim needs to do:

• Unblock the websites that Righ might have blocked (instructions below).
• Remove the virus from your computer (SpyHunter). Stop it from locking any more files.
• Get rid of the spyware trojan that Righ might have installed (Azorult).
• Restore your files (from a backup, using data recovery, etc.).
• Improve the security of your PC and install all security updates.

Righ targets only Windows PCs, but it does not discriminate otherwise. Djvu is a global threat that affects individual users and even businesses. New file-locking viruses are released by Righ’s creators every week. Last week, it was Hets and Msop.

Emsisoft has developed a decrypter for Djvu file-lockers. This program can, in limited circumstances, reverse the encryption on some files. Read its instructions, but basically, Righ uses unique keys to lock your files and, as long as you don’t have the keys, it’s impossible to decrypt them.

You can recover some files, like archives (just try to open them), audio, video, and even some images, but you will lose some data and you do need a specialist. So, if you have such media files that are incredibly precious, make sure to save them and find someone who knows a lot about how files work. They might be able to save some of your data. Maybe. And be careful of scammers who promise to fix your files for some money. Do not trust offers that are too good to be true.

Make backups of the encrypted files that you want to recover and keep them safe. Do not make changes to them. Then, use the other file recovery methods, like the ones described in the last section of this article.

How Righ infects computers

Righ gets uploaded on various filesharing, torrent sites, and on fake software download pages created specifically for this ransomware. Most of the time, it’s cracking tools and cracked software that are used as bait for Righ and other Djvu viruses. Delete this file so that you don’t accidentally re-infect your computer.

If you download an infected file and run it, Righ starts by trying to contact its Command and Control server to get the encryption key to use on your files. The key needs to be unique so that you can’t unlock your files by using someone else’s decryption keys. If there’s no connection, Righ uses a not-unique offline key. That’s good for you because if someone else pays the extortionists, there’s a chance they’ll recover this offline key and share it with Emsisoft. Then you’ll get to use it on your files. But if only unique keys were used, nothing you can do now.

While Righ is encrypting your files with the online or offline key, it shows you a fake Windows Update window. Just as during some update installation your computer might slow down, it will also slow down while Righ is using your system resources to lock your files. The fake update pop-up is meant to throw off your suspicion. The best thing to do here is to either end Righ’s process and delete the virus immediately (because it might start up a few minutes later), or to shut down your computer.

Finally, after Righ is done corrupting your files, you will notice that you can’t open most of them. Not just because they have the “.righ” extension, but also because important data was corrupted by Righ. For example, each file has important metadata at the beginning that is corrupted by this file locker – programs can’t open your locked files because they cannot make sense of them. If you can open the files, such as text files, you see that they’ve been thoroughly corrupted – full of random symbols.

As if this is not enough, Righ might have installed Azorult in your system. This is a spyware trojan that can steal your passwords and account names stored in the browser and other applications, crypto wallet data, and even screenshots of your computer. This data could be used to sell your accounts or even steal your money. So, as soon as you’ve removed the spyware, change your passwords and make sure that 2-step verification is enabled on important accounts.

How to remove Righ

Fix your hosts file, get rid of Righ, and then restore your files.

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 Righ File-locking 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 Righ File-locking Virus has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Righ File-locking 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 Righ File-locking Virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Righ File-locking 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 Righ File-locking 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 Righ File-locking 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.