TFlower Ransomware - How to remove

Have you noticed that most of your files (images, spreadsheets, documents, and others) can’t be opened anymore? Locked files are a clear symptom of a ransomware infection but most cryptoviruses leave a clear way to identify them by editing the names of the locked files. TFlower is one of the cryptoviruses that prefer to not do this, leaving as identification only a ransom note (!_Notice_!.txt) and a marker (*tflower) if you use a hex editor to look inside the locked files. TFlower was discovered by a cybersecurity researcher and it doesn’t seem to be derived from another cryptovirus. That means that not much is known about it, such as if free decryption will ever be an option.

The ransom note !_Notice_!.txt is left behind by TFlower after it’s gone through the files and encrypted them. This is the text in the note:

IMPORTANT NOTICE THAT IS URGENT AND TRUE

Dear Sir/Ma,

Sorry to inform you but many files of your COMPANY has just been ENCRYPTED with a STRONG key.
This simply means that you will not be able to use your files until it is decrypted by the same key used in encrypting it.

TO get the DECRYPT TOOL for your COMPANY, you have to make payment to us so as to recover your files.
You have to pay sum of 15 BTC to bitcoin address below:
BITCOIN ADDRESS:=>>  14nfYK5frS6Jb4B3mthRffTQuTFfeM9un3

NOTE

You may upload 1 of your encrypted files to test the decryption for free.
But, the file should not contain any valuable information.
All the operations can be done at following web site.
WEBSITE:=>> http://665vhhhfwgtpvq6765vektenyr5iw3d5duyydpnsdaijbp4xvz2rxeqd.onion/user.php?address=14nfYK5frS6Jb4B3mthRffTQuTFfeM9un3
E-MAIL :=>>   [email protected]

15 Bitcoin is a very large amount (right now it should be over $160K) that not every business can afford and it shows that the developer behind this virus is very ambitious. They even set up a website to automate the payment and decryption process. The website, the address of which is referenced in TFlower’s ransom note, is meant to be accessed using the Tor browser.

The use of Tor and Bitcoin are meant to help the extortionist stay anonymous and are not inherently unsafe. Unfortunately, they are often used by criminals.

How TFlower spreads

TFlower being a new virus, it’s not yet known how TFlower spreads, but here are the likely ways that are used by online extortionists:

• Hacked RDP connection. TFlower could be downloaded and installed on your computers by hackers if they find your passwords (for example, using phishing) or if the credentials are weak and can be brute-forced. Remote Desktop is usually used for installing viruses on specifically targeted systems, which means that the criminals think that you’re able to actually pay the 15 Bitcoins that they’re asking for.
  If your computers were accessed by the criminals, some malware worse than TFlower might have been installed, too, like spyware and miners.
• Malicious emails. TFlower could arrive attached to an email described as an important document. While spam emails are common, they can also be targeted. For example, if you were looking for job candidates, a malicious doc of pdf file could be disguised as a CV of a candidate. Scan all files before opening them or use an environment that can’t be harmed to open the files.

These two ways are the main ones that ransomware uses to infect companies and organizations. There are other ways, such as the virus being uploaded online and disguised as some attractive program (for example, a cracked version of Microsoft Office) or the virus being automatically downloaded on vulnerable computers that are visiting an infected website (this is how the Matrix and Eris ransomware were distributed). The latter way can be avoided by simply updating all the software with all the security patches.

Remove TFlower and restore the files

TFlower deletes shadow copies but restoring the files from backups will work if the backups were secure. If you don’t have any backups, you should still try all the ways to restore data, even if they should work — sometimes, software fails to work correctly, and that applies to ransomware, too. Using data recovery might be productive, too. While no free decrypter is available, it’s possible that one is developed in the future, when security researchers look into this virus more closely (like GandCrab and Loocipher recently had). So, if restoring your data is not urgent, keep it and wait patiently for news. But before that, TFlower should be removed.

Over the last few days, the professional antivirus programs have been updated to recognize TFlower as a virus, so scanning your infected computer with an antivirus tool, like Spyhunter, should help detect and remove the ransomware infection. That won’t fix the files but it will prevent repeat encryptions.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore TFlower 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 TFlower 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 TFlower 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.