Heroset Ransomware - How to remove

Heroset is a virus that locks files (pictures, documents, movies, etc.) and appends the .heroset extension to them. It also leaves a text file with a message. The result of a Heroset infection is that normal files become impossible to open. Your antivirus program might not function correctly, and you might be unable to visit some websites.

Heroset’s developers are online extortionists who created and spread this virus to infect people’s computers, lock their files, and get the victims to send them money by promising that they’ll fix the files if they’re paid. The files that have the .heroset extension are not dangerous, but the infected computer should be scanned and fixed before it can be used normally. Whether the locked files can be recovered depends on different circumstances, but there are a few ways to try and restore them.

What does Heroset look like?

The Heroset virus should be removed as soon as possible. It’s not safe to use your computer while the virus is still on the system — Heroset will periodically encrypt any new files as long as it’s not deleted. Besides, this ransomware can be distributed together with other viruses which should also be caught and removed.

picture.jpg.heroset

A file called _readme.txt is created, in which the criminals who spread Heroset talk about how they can fix your files and provide their e-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected], @datarestore (Telegram). The ransom note is almost identical to some other viruses, like Drume and Guvara. That’s because Heroset, though a new virus, is part of an established family of viruses, called the STOP or Djvu ransomware.

Don’t worry my friend, you can return all your files!
All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.

The extortionists also try to get people to send them money by offering a cheaper price for those who pay them quickly: $490 instead of the usual $980. They use Bitcoin, which does not allow you to charge the money back or somehow recall the payment, which means that they can keep the money no matter what happens, including when the files are not fixed — which happens with extortionists a lot.

How to remove Heroset

Heroset can infect a computer in a few different ways. Pirated files or free software bundles are some of the most likely ones. Infected files that arrive on deceptive e-mails are another suspect. Either way, there’s a might chance that Heroset came together with other malware, such as a spyware program, or a trojan. It’s very important to scan your device and find all the malicious programs and files.

Use a strong antivirus program to find Heroset. If your usual one isn’t detecting anything, try another one, like Spyhunter. Heroset can mess with the settings of some antivirus programs to make them not function correctly. If you can’t access some websites, Heroset might have messed with your settings — follow this guide.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to restore the files

Even if you can afford to pay the ransom, avoid doing that if you can. Not only is there no guarantee that the files will be restored, but the money would finance a criminals activity — file extortion. The problem is that Heroset used really strong encryption to lock the files. Even though the files are still recoverable in theory, a single computer might take a few million years to compute a single 1024 key.

So, can you get your files back?

If you have a backup of your files then you have nothing to worry about. Backups are a redundant copy of valuable files, stored somewhere separate, like the cloud or a disconnected USB key. Heroset might have locked your files on your computer, but if you have copies that weren’t encrypted, you can simply replace your files.

As for decryption, there is a little bit of hope in that a researcher known as @demonslay335 has developed a program (direct link) which can decrypt some of the files — those which were encrypted using an offline key (this happens when there are problems with the internet connection). This key is the same for everyone, but only some people have files encrypted with it.

The problem is, most people’s files are locked by Heroset using unique keys and can’t be decrypted. Other ways of recovering files should be used in this situation, such as a data recovery program. These ways are basically the same as for recovering deleted files, and will not work perfectly. Still, they might be able to rescue some of your files.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Heroset 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 Heroset 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 Heroset 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.