EbolaRnsmwr virus - How to remove

Has your computer recently started acting weird and marked all files with .101 extension, which you cannot access anymore? Was your desktop background changed to a dark screen, as well, and now you see a strange red pop-up counting time and saying that your system was infected? If so, then most likely your PC got compromised by the EbolaRnsmwr virus. However, don’t just rush into following this malware provided instructions which tell you to pay the ransom. In this article, 2-viruses.com team will share tips and tricks on how to deal with the unexpected crypto infection and recover your locked data.

At first, EbolaRnsmwr virus will appear rather scary with its timer, dark background and marked files, but you must understand that this ransom demanding threat uses such features just to push you into paying the crooks sooner as the impulsive decision. Honestly, judging from various characteristics  EbolaRnsmwr ransomware is developed by the amateurs in the malware world, therefore fixing this cyber infection caused damage is not as hard as other sophisticated ones like NotPetya, Locky, CrySis, Cerber and etc. So keep on reading and see for yourself.

How does EbolaRnsmwr virus work

EbolaRnsmwr is a ransomware type of malware, which after getting into the system encrypts all the files, except for the System related ones, so the PC would still run, and asks for some sort of a ransom. First EbolaRnsmwr virus was reported on October 13th, 2018 by the MalwareHunterTeam, where malware experts recognized that this notorious variant is a copy of the infamous Hidden Tear project. Found ransomware seems to still be in the developmental stage, although the current features don’t look that impressive and worth improving. EbolaRnsmwr does basically everything that a regular crypto infection is supposed to do but in the most basic ways. Just like ShutUpAndDanceAndreaGalliPooleZoorSorryHorros and etc.

EbolaRnsmwr ransomware crypto virus ransom note

EbolaRnsmwr ransomware uses AES encryption, which allows threat actors to lock all the files extremely fast, but is not that strong like a double encryption with RSA and etc. Then it appends .101 extension to their names, e.g. transforming ‘vacation.jpg’ into ‘vacation.jpg.101’, and dropping a ransom note and replacing desktop background. System files are not touched so the system would work properly allowing crooks to let the victim know about what happened to their PC and give them a chance to pay. The new virus wallpaper says:

Wallpaper.bmp

YOUR FILE HAVE BEEN ENCRYPTED THIS MEANS YOU
CAN’T USE THEM ANYMORE.

IF YOU WANT YOUR FILES BACK, YOU HAVE TO PAY!

PAYMENT METHODS:
AMAZON GIFTCARD

The ransom note’s READ_ME.txt contents:

Q: What happened to my files?
A: Your Files got encrypted, what means you can’t use them anymore.

Q: Can I recover my files?
A: Yes you can. Follow the Instructions!

Q: Do I have to Pay?
A: Yes you have. We only accept Amazon Giftcards!

Q: How I got infected with this?
A: You are prob. very stupid and you tried to download something which is a pirated program.

As you can see, not only the encryption of EbolaRnsmwr virus is weak but hacker’s demanded ransom method as well. For a reason, all these malware developers ask for money in cryptocurrency (see the Most popular currencies in ransomware), because of the hard-to-trace feature, that ensures hackers their anonymity. No matter if you can send and receive the Amazon gift card without giving away the name, it can still be tracked by purchases made with it and crooks’ location, name and etc. 

Not sure if EbolaRnsmwr virus creators are just joking or if they were inspired by a few other viruses, that dared to request gift cards as a method of ransom – TrueCrypter, Cyber.Police and Alpha Ransomware. Clearly, these infections did not last long, neither got plenty of payments. In the next chapter, we’ll explain how did EbolaRnsmwr virus manage to sneak in, but you probably have a feeling already where you made a mistake (which can easily be a lack of proper system security, since EbolaRnsmwr ransomware has a quite big detection rate on VirusTotal.com).

What are the spreading methods of EbolaRnsmwr ransomware

According to the given note ‘READ_ME.txt’ saying “You are prob. very stupid and you tried to download something which is a pirated program.” we can make an assumption that EbolaRnsmwr virus spreads mainly through P2P networks and torrents or Freeware distributing sites. While the more common method for ransomware is to disseminate via socially engineered emails and MS Office Macros, this may have been too technical knowledge requiring technique, therefore, crooks decided to distribute their malware installer with pirated software. 

This method is not that effective since it can be much easier detected by the reliable AV and won’t overcome cyber protection used in companies, where malware likes to spread to request a bigger ransom. On the other hand, getting infected from shady websites distributing questionable malware is still prevailing. For the prevention, we can only suggest to improve your online security skills and get a reputable antivirus to save you when your own discipline fails.

How to get rid of EbolaRnsmwr virus and restore files

Fortunately, the creators of EbolaRnsmwr virus seem to be script kids, which plainly used the ransomware example Posted on GitHub, therefore the threat does not have any altered settings which would come in the way of successful removal. The Hidden Tear virus and its variants have been in the malware world for so long that security programs are well prepared to deal with this crypto infection. We can suggest Spyhunter anti-spyware tools which have been in the market for a long time and now for sure has all the features needed to remove EbolaRnsmwr cryptovirus. This software is reputable and trusted by many cyber specialists.

Only after EbolaRnsmwr ransomware is completely removed, then you can begin the recovery process. Again, like mentioned above this variant is almost identical to the original therefore we suggest trying the common Hidden Tear decryptor, which can be found on Bleepingcomputer.com. If that, for some reason, does not work, you should try recovering files from Shadow Copies or using data recovery programs, which are mentioned below in the instructions.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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How to eliminate EbolaRnsmwr ransomware yourself

Lucky are those, who religiously are backing up their files and keeping them not only in the system but also external drives. If you are one of them, there is nothing to worry about, because all you will have to do is to restore the system from the point back in time before the infection and your system should be fine and all files will be good again. If there are no backups, we do not recommend proceeding with the manual restore because it might remove all the current data and start your system fresh. For those who do not care about files and want to use their system again without having to install any additional programs, can perform System Restore for the clean beginning.


How to recover EbolaRnsmwr 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 RestartOK.
  • Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
  • Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Windows 7 enter safe mode

for Windows 8 / 10
  • Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart. Windows 8-10 restart to safe mode
  • Choose TroubleshootAdvanced OptionsStartup Settings and click Restart.
  • When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings. Windows 8-10 enter safe mode
 

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.CMD commands
  • Click “Next” in the windows that appeared. Restore point img1
  • Select one of the Restore Points that are available before EbolaRnsmwr virus has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”. Restore point img2
  • To start System restore click “Yes”. Restore point img3
 

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

Step 3. Restore EbolaRnsmwr 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 EbolaRnsmwr 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 PropertiesPrevious 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.
Previous version
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.
Shadow explorer

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover EbolaRnsmwr 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. Data Recovery Pro
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.
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