StorageCrypter Ransomware - How to remove

StorageCrypter is a ransomware infection that uses the same encryption extension as notorious Locky virus. However, this computer virus is relatively new, thus there isn’t a lot of information about it yet, as we can only analyse some files of StorageCrypter that were uploaded to Virus Total Hybrid Analyscis websites.

You might be already aware of the fact that ransomware is one of the most dangerous types of computer infections out there. It is looking to lock your files using cryptography and request a ransom in order to unlock them. So basically, if your computer gets infected ransomware virus, you won’t be able to use it furthermore.

Features of StorageCrypter virus

Even though it not clear how this virus is distributed, most of the time hackers employ well-known techniques to infect computers – malicious ransomware files are attached to the spam emails. To open one of those attached files is all it takes to get infected with malware. That’s why we always suggest our readers to avoid even opening email letters.

Once those malicious files are loaded to your system, StorageCrypter will start to scan your computer for files that can be encrypted. According to the victims of this ransomware, all most popular file types can be encrypted, thus all your images, video and audio files as well as text documents will be locked using either AeS or RSA encryption algorithm. Both of them are strong encryption algorithms, thus it complicates decryption process.

We mentioned that StorageCrypter is similar to Locky virus. That’s because they share the same .locky extension, which will be added to all of encrypted files. From this moment, you won’t be able to open any of those files. A file called “_READ_ME_FOR_DECRYPT.txt’ will be uploaded to all folders that contain encrypted files. It is so called ransom note. Original text of the message:

Warning

Your documents,photos,databases,important files have been encrypted by RSA-4096 and AES-256!
If you modify any file, it may cause make you cannot decrypt!!!

You have to pay for decryption in bitcoin

Before paying you can send to us up to 2 files for free decryption
and it can also prove that we have ability to decrypt.

Please note that files must NOT contain valuable information
and their total size must be less than 2Mb

How to decrypt your files  ?

To decrypt your files,please following the steps below

1,Pay 0.4 bitcoin  to this address: 1HUqiacJ6F6yLwTeGwohEdgWVuehibEegq

Pay To : 1HUqiacJ6F6yLwTeGwohEdgWVuehibEegq
Amount : 0.4

2,After you have finished paying,Contact us and Send us your Decrypt-ID via email

3,Once we have confimed your deal,You can use the tool we sent to you to decrypt all your files.

How to obtain bitcoin ?

The easiest way to buy bitcoin is LocalBitcoins site.
You have to register, click Buy bitcoins  and select the seller
by payment method and price

https://localbitcoins.com/buy_bitcoins
https://paxful.com/buy-bitcoin
http://bitcointalk.org

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us

Contact Email    :    [email protected]
Decrypt-ID        : ***********

In this case, you are asked to pay 0.4 bitcoins, which is around $500 at the current exchange rate. Even though it is a rather typical amount for ransomware, we do not recommend to contact cyber criminals and try to pay the ransom. Why? Well, first of all, you will be exposed to the possibility to get scammed, because cyber criminals might simply forget about you when the ransom is paid. Secondly, you would support cyber criminals this way, so they could continue their attacks.

There are two ways to recover files after they have been encrypted – you can restore previous version of them or use decryption toll and decrypt them. In first case, you have to have a valid back-up file that is not decrypted and follow system restore instructions. However, in case you don’t have one, the only option left is to use decryption tool. There is no dedicated decryptor for StorageCrypter, but since it is using generic .locky extension, you could try to use this AutoLocky decryptor. Storagecrypter is not the only ransomware that is using this extension, as we have seen viruses like Jhash or CryptoLocker to do that.

Finally, you need to make sure that no malicious files are left on your system. It might be difficult to detect and remove them manually, thus we recommend to get help from professional anti-malware tools, such as Spyhunter. Scan your system with either one of them and all files associated with StorageCrypter will be gone forever.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore StorageCrypter 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 StorageCrypter 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 StorageCrypter 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.