FairWare Ransomware - How to remove

FairWare ransomware is a new ransomware virus which aims at Linux users running websites or, in other words,– Linux web servers. This ransomware threat does not encrypt the data, it steals it and uploads to a server in charge of its developers. It is one of the peculiarities of FairWare virus as the majority of ransomware threats either encrypt or delete the victim’s data files. In addition to this, these hackers threaten to leak the data. This is another peculiar thing about FairWare ransomware. Whether you are the user affected or not, in any case, it is advisable to learn about such cyber threats and take prevention against them. For the latter purpose, swallow the rest of the article. It won’t be bitter, we promise you.

About FairWare Ransomware

As it has been discovered, FairWare ransomware attacks web servers running on Linux operating system. The attacked server is deleted the web folder it contains. The victims find out about the attack when they notice that their web pages are down. If they check their Linux servers, they observe that the server lacks the web folder and that a new file appears in it. This file is named ”READ_ME.txt” and it contains a link to a ransom note on pastebin – a web application for storing plain text. The message reads as follows:

YOUR SERVER HAS BEEN INFECTED BY FAIRWARE | YOUR SERVER HAS BEEN INFECTED BY FAIRWARE

Hi,

Your server has been infected by a ransomware variant called FAIRWARE.
You must send 2 BTC to: 1DggzWksE2Y6DUX5GcNvHHCCDUGPde8WNL within 2 weeks from now to retrieve your files and prevent them from being leaked!

We are the only ones in the world that can provide your files for you!
When your server was hacked, the files were encrypted and sent to a server we control!

You can e-mail [email protected] for support, but please no stupid questions or time
wasting! Only e-mail if you are prepared to pay or have sent payment! Questions such as:
“can i see files first?” will be ignored.
We are business people and treat customers well if you follow what we ask.

FBI ADVISE FOR YOU TO PAY: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/latest-security-news/ransomware-victims-should-just-pay-the-ransom-says-the-fbi/

HOW TO PAY:

You can purchase BITCOINS from many exchanges such as:

http://okcoin.com
http://coinbase.com
http://localbitcoins.com
http://kraken.com

When you have sent payment, please send e-mail to [email protected] with:

1) SERVER IP ADDRESS
2) BTC TRANSACTION ID

and we will then give you access to files, you can delete files from us when done

Goodbye!

2 BTC (bitcoins – a digital currency), equaling to 1,151.66 USD at this particular point in time, is the ransom payment these cyber criminals, calling themselves ‘‘business people’’, want to extort from you. You are allowed two weeks to give your money away. The BTC address for paying the ransom money is – 1DggzWksE2Y6DUX5GcNvHHCCDUGPde8WNL. The contact e-mail for questions regarding the procedure of paying the ransom is – [email protected]. However, the hackers behind FairWare malware seem to give themselves away as liars by stating that your files have been encrypted. This must vouch you that contacting these ‘‘business people’’ will not end in any good.

How is FairWare Ransomware Spread?

FairWare ransomware is an unconventional ransomware project. Its developers hack random web servers which are run on Linux operating systems. This is how the data stored on the Linux web servers is stolen. There is little you yourself can do about it. The most effective preventative means is the setup of some trustworthy antivirus software, and its regular updates.

How to Decrypt Files Encrypted by FairWare Ransomware?

Since FairWare ransomware does not belong to the category of cryptomalwares, which encrypt the victim’s data with some encryption algorithms, there is no decryption tool developed and there will not be any in the future, unless it mutated and began to actually encrypt data files. For now, external backups, such as external hard drives, etc., and internal backups, such as Shadow Volume Copies, for instance, is your salvation. You can try professional data recovery tools such as Recuva, PhotoRec, etc. to retrieve your files, if you have run out of the backup copies or if you haven’t got any of them.

Spyhunter or Malwarebytes automatic malware removal tools are to be applied before the procedures of data restoration. The removal of FairWare ransomware is your primary concern. Automatic removal is a better option that the manual one since it does not have human factors, which can lead to accidental mistakes. Nevertheless, there is the guide for the manual removal of FairWare virus just beneath this paragraph.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore FairWare 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 FairWare 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 FairWare 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.