Vesad Ransomware - How to remove

Vesad is a ransomware virus which has the ability to corrupt all of your personal files. Vesad targets computers running the Windows operating system and can manipulate its settings. Vesad should not be taken lightly — some versions have been distributed with a banking trojan. Even after you remove this virus, the files will need to be fixed, as well as the weaknesses in your cybersecurity that allowed you to be infected with this virus.

Vesad is a new version of the STOP/DJVU family. This family has been tormenting and extorting people since the end of 2018, but Vesad is a very recent incarnation of the virus. The criminals behind it are constantly innovating and releasing new versions with new features, such as changing the distribution method or how the encryption functions. There are multiple versions of STOP/DJVU, including Gerosan, Drume, and Rumba.

How Vesad works

Vesad, once it’s on a computer, starts encrypting all the files that aren’t necessary for the Windows OS to function. This includes documents like .doc, .pdf, .xls, .ppt, media files like .mp3, .jpg, .avi, .mp4, .flac, and whatever other common files it can encrypt. The encrypted files are renamed by attaching a new extension — .vesad — to their names.

picture.jpg.vesad

To mask this activity, Vesad displays a fake Windows Update message, tricking people into thinking that the usage of their CPU and memory are a consequence of an important update, instead of a virus.

Once Vesad is done locking the files, it creates a ransom note — a text file, _readme.txt, in which the criminals tell you to contact them through [email protected], [email protected], or @datarestore (on the Telegram network), and send them money ($980 or $490). They say that they’ll restore the files, but extortionists haven’t got a good record of keeping their promises, so be careful. Don’t trust the creators of Vesad and don’t expect them to be fair or keep their promises, after all, their whole business is tricking and extorting innocent people.

Likely, a Trojan is installed together with Vesad, so be careful — avoid doing any banking operations on the infected computer until you’re sure that all malware is removed. Also, you might be unable to visit certain websites. If that happens, try following this guide.

How to remove Vesad

You can keep the encrypted files, they’re not dangerous, but it’s important to remove all the malware and figure out what security holes you have so that they can get plugged.

Did you open any unexpected emails? Spam emails that include download links for infected files, or include a virus as an attachment, have been used to distribute malware recently. The emails are usually the same for everyone, very impersonal, and refer to some mundane event that requires your immediate attention, like a parcel that wasn’t successfully delivered, or a bill that you failed to pay. These scenarios are made up by the distributors of Vesad to seem believable.

Another way that the virus — Vesad — is likely to spread is in software cracks, or included in free software. PIrated files, too, can infect you with Vesad. Pirating is already risky with other malware, but ransomware is one of the worst infections. Be very careful or stop pirating altogether — weigh your risks and decide. It’s unlikely that you can avoid malware, but take all the precautions.

To remove Vesad I can recommend Spyhunter — a strong antivirus tool is going to be needed to remove something like a new ransomware virus — but the truth is that Vesad might resist any attempts to remove it. You’ll have to get creative. If scanning doesn’t work, you can try connecting your disk to another computer and scanning it as if it was external media. This approach is also advised for data recovery.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to fix the Vesad-encrypted files

If you don’t have backups of your files, there are a few things to try.

A volunteer known as @demonslay335 develops a program that can unlock DJVU-encrypted files when certain conditions are met. It’s unlikely that your files will be saved by STOPDecrypter (direct download), but it can’t hurt to try.

Data recovery and system restore might help you rescue some of your lost files, but there’s no guarantee that all the files will be returned.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Vesad 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 Vesad 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 Vesad 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.