0000 ransomware virus - How to remove

Not so long ago we informed our readers about dangerous ransomware infection called CryptoMix. This 0000 ransomware infection is nothing new – it’s just updated version of CryptoMix. Why it is dubbed with this unusual name, 0000? Thats all because of an extension added by this ransomware, it’s .0000.

You might already know that ransomware is a type of computer virus which targets computer users trying to encrypt their files and demand for a ransom to unlock them – that’s why it is called ransomware. In order to do that, ransomware employs various unique extensions that are added to the end of every single encrypted file.

In this particular case, 0000 ransomware is distributed bundled with other free software that can be downloaded from the Internet or as an attachment to email letter. Even though we do not have a sample of distribution case of this ransomware, you should be very careful about opening attachments to emails from spam category. It is enough to open an attachment and malicious files will be automatically inserted in your computer.

Once that is done, 0000 ransomware will begin to scan your computer, looking for files that could be encrypted. Basically, it is capable of encrypting all types of files, from images to audio and text files, so you are going to lose most of your private documents. This virus employs asymmetric cryptography to do the job, so it is extremely difficult to decrypt files affected by it.

After the encryption is over, you will notice a new file called “_HELP_INSTRUCTION.TXT” in every folder containing encrypted files. You will find information how to pay the ransom in this file. Original text:

Hello!
Attention! All Your data was encrypted!
For specific informartion, please send us an email with Your ID number:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Please send email to all email addresses! We will help You as soon as possible!
DECRYPT-ID-438fbd3c-8dda-47ab-a29b-5b26cc1f5c95 number

When the encryption process is over, your computer will be assigned with unique ID which is used by cyber criminals to identify your system and send decryption key when the ransom is paid. However, it is not clear how much you will be asked to pay, as ransom payments vary from $200 to $2000 with different infections. Either way, we do not recommend to contact cyber criminals and pay the ransom. There are no guarantees that you will received decryption key even if you do pay the ransom.

How to uninstall 0000 ransomware and protect your files?

Unfortunately, at the moment there is no way to decrypt files affected by 0000 ransomware, but we will inform you as soon as free decryptor is out. The only way to retrieve your files at the moment is to restore them from a back-up file. However, the back-up file itself has to be stored on an external drive or cloud, otherwise it will get encrypted as well. If you do have legitimate copy of your hard drive that was made before the date of encryption – take a look at our system restore instructions.

Now, if you want to protect your computer from infections like this and remove 0000 ransomware from your computer, you should download and install reliable anti-malware application, such as Spyhunter. Either one of those applications should detect and remove the infection with no problems. It will also protect your computer from similar infections in the future, so it’s worth to keep it installed. Obviously, you can use any other anti-malware tool of your choice as well.

How to recover 0000 ransomware 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 0000 ransomware virus has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of 0000 ransomware 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 0000 ransomware virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore 0000 ransomware 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 0000 ransomware 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 0000 ransomware 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.

Manual removal