MGS [email protected] Virus - How to remove

[[email protected]].MGS is the virus that continues the Dharma family of file-encrypting malware. It encrypts files with a secret key and then holds it for ransom. The criminals don’t care about the victims who might lose their childhood pictures or files needed for their job — they care to get the victims to send them money in exchange for the promise to fix everything.

The Dharma/Crysis type of ransomware is a big family with many known versions and even more unknown ones. This virus can’t be dismissed lightly — it’s obviously a part of a functional criminal operation that’s been going on for years now, the new editions being updated and improved. The way that they disable the antivirus programs is improved, their encryptions methods are perfected, new, creative infection routes are developed.

The race to avoid ransomware infections seems never-ending. Many new infections are emerging: some from the Dharma family, some from STOP, and others seemingly unrelated to any previous malware, like Nemty. Compared to the other infections, there is nothing special about [[email protected]].MGS, which is to say that the most popular cryptoviruses today are all professional and dangerous.

This means that [[email protected]].MGS can cause serious harm by interrupting the work on the infected computers and losing the valuable files that were stored on those computers with no way to get them back.

[[email protected]].MGS memo:

[[email protected]].MGS features	Dharma family [[email protected]].MGS extension [email protected] email
Consequences	Halted work on the infected computers Files are corrupted
Functioning of [[email protected]].MGS	Cryptography used to lock the files Shadow copies and other backups deleted or encrypted The decryption key is only known to the criminals The decryption key is unique to each victim
Removal options	Use anti-malware programs (Spyhunter) Reinstall Windows completely Replace the infected drives

[[email protected]].MGS ransomware features

[[email protected]].MGS locks the files without necessarily allowing the criminals behind this virus to access them. This is achieved with the help of cryptography. Cryptography is what protects our online connections from being spied on when the connection can’t be hidden. Encrypted text looks like random nonsense but can, with the help of math, be converted back to meaningful information if the correct private key is used. The private key is usually practically impossible to guess, which is what gives cryptography its security.

[[email protected]].MGS works by the same principle, with the virus going through your files and running them through an encryption algorithm and turning them into ciphertext. The files are locked and there doesn’t seem a way to reverse it. After all, Dharma has been known to security researchers for a long time and nobody has come up with a decrypter yet, despite releasing them for more amateurish infections all the time.

After it’s done encrypting your files, [[email protected]].MGS displays the ransom message in a pop-up window and it a ransom note called RETURN FILES.txt. In it, you’re offered a free file decryption as proof that the people behind [email protected] actually are capable for decrypting the files. You’re also threatened that if you don’t reply quickly enough, your key will be deleted after seven days. I don’t know if that’s true — it might be possible that master decryption keys exist. When TeslaCrypt, an unrelated ransomware company, shut down, they released a master key to the public.

Then, it asks for a ransom — they want the money to be paid in Bitcoin, of course. Unfortunately, the emergence of cryptocurrency has helped ransomware become more popular. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin don’t require the transfers to be overseen by a moral authority like a bank. It also doesn’t require people to tie their identity to each payment so the criminals can remain relatively anonymous.

This doesn’t mean that cryptocurrencies aren’t also used for good, but the privacy and freedom that they offer make them uniquely useful to criminals.

Remove [[email protected]].MGS

[[email protected]].MGS can be removed using competent antivirus software, like Spyhunter.

The problem with new viruses is that they use various strategies to avoid detection, like polymorphism or killing antivirus programs. So, though a virus might be easily recognized by multiple applications, an antivirus program, no matter how good, can’t be relied on to protect you completely.

Scan every file that someone unknown sent you or that you downloaded. Don’t pirate files or use websites that are known to bundle programs. If you have a problem with excessive ads, take care of it immediately. Adware is known to spread all kinds of malware. If you have an unsecured RDP, shut it down and don’t open it until you’ve put it under proper protection, like a VPN. If you’ve been putting off installing important security updates, now is the time to do that because, sometimes, these updates are vitally important to protecting a computer from malware.

Most importantly, always have a backup or two of your data that you can restore lost files from.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover MGS [email protected] 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 MGS [email protected] Virus has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of MGS [email protected] 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 MGS [email protected] Virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore MGS [email protected] 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 MGS [email protected] 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 MGS [email protected] 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.