Motocos mo2 Ransomware - How to remove

Motocos is file-encrypting malware. It corrupts files and changes their names by adding second extensions “mo2”. Then it asks the victim to pay a ransom to have their data fixed.

If Motocos infected your computer, it’s important to find out how. It’s also needed to delete the ransomware and consider your file recovery options.

Motocos in short:

Threat type	Ransomware.
Motocos infection symptoms	Files do not open, their names end with “mo2”, text files encourage victims to contact the Telegram channel @Motocos_bot.
File recovery options	Restore your data from backups, wait for a decryption solution.
How to delete Motocos	Use antivirus programs (Spyhunter, others) to find and delete Motocos ransomware, reset your PC, protect your computer from future infections.

How does Motocos ransomware work?

Little is known about Motocos, as this ransomware is still new. It was discovered by a ransomware researcher on May 27th. So far, it’s not known to be related to any other ransomware.

When Motocos infects a computer (whether through malicious email attachments, infected installers, or remote desktop accounts), it deletes backups (Shadow Copies) and disables system restore. It may also block a few websites.

Motocos encrypts files, marks them with new extensions “mo2”, then creates ransom notes in which it asks victims to contact a Telegram channel to learn how to pay the extortion.

The ransom note shared by the researcher threatens that, for as long as the victim doesn’t pay, their ransom amount will rise by 0.1 Bitcoin per day. At the time of writing, this is around 3,700 dollars per day.

Not your language? Use https://translate.google.com
———————————————————————
What happens to your files?
It’s clear, your files encrypted with [RSA-2048] algorithm and the decryption key is safe with us.
Don’t worry, you can get all your data back.
– To decrypt your files send this readme file to (@Motocos_bot) bot in Telegram messenger and follow the instructions, (https://telegram.org)
*** Don’t waste your time and money on forensics or recovery techniques to restore files, it definitely makes your files unrecoverable:(
*** To ensure you’ll get a working decrypter, you can decrypt 2 files for free using the bot.
*** Remember, the entire process from payment to decryption will be handle by a stupid automated bot, so don’t beg on it!
*** From now [05-27-2021] you have exactly 5 days to contact our bot to pay the requested money.
There’s a pressure about time on you! An extra 0.025 BTC will be add to

the price every 6 hours (0.1 a day), which calculated by the bot as well.
After 5 days, the bot stops responding to you, but you can still pay negotiation price to make a deal.
*** The bot needs below information to decrypt your files, so don’t remove or modify any part of this file ***
—– BEGIN PUBLIC KEY —–

Can you get your data back?

Motocos targets documents, media files, archives, etc. Any popular file formats that might hold valuable data. Encrypted data is as good as gone unless you have the decryption key and software.

But sometimes, ransomware fails to encrypt all the files. Go through your folders to see if some of your data might have remained untouched. In addition, data recovery tools may help undelete some valuable files.

Paying the ransom to the people behind Motocos would be very risky. These extortionists are unknown – even if they don’t just take the money and block you, there might be many technical issues with Motocos ransomware that could get in the way of restoring files.

If you don’t have backups to restore your data from, you should keep the Motocos-encrypted files somewhere safe – in case that a decryption tool is released for all victims for free. Just remember to not edit the encrypted files, as this can make decryption impossible. If there’s ever a free decryptor for Motocos released, visit Nomoreransom.org – it’s a site that collects links to free decryption tools.

Backups are the best way to stay safe against ransomware. It’s just important to configure them correctly so that the extortionists behind Motocos and other ransomware can’t mess with them.

How to delete Motocos ransomware

You could use an antivirus program (Spyhunter, others) to find and remove Motocos and any other malware that may be present. Antivirus scanners detect Motocos ransomware as Malicious, Encoder, Trojan, Filecoder, and similar names: Virustotal.com.

You might need to boot your computer into safe mode first, as described in the instructions below.

Alternatively, you could reformat your drive. This does mean that you’ll need to reinstall your programs, but it gets rid of all but the most persistent infections.

Try to recall how your computer might have got infected with Motocos ransomware – there are a few possibilities. To avoid repeat infections, you need to stitch that security hole.

Important -- edit the hosts file to unblock security websites

TL DR : The hosts file is edited to block security sites Before the virus can be removed, it's necessary to fix the hosts file (the file which controls which addresses connect to which IPs). That is the reason the majority of security websites is inaccessible when infected with this particular parasite. This infection edits this file to stop certain websites, including anti-malware download sites, from being accessed from the infected computer, making browsers return the "This site can't be reached" error. Luckily, it's trivial to fix the file and remove the edits that were made to it.

Find and edit the hosts file

The hosts file can be found on C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts. If you don't see it, change the settings to see hidden files.

1. In the Start Menu, search for Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, find Appearance and Personalization.
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Open the View tab.
5. Open Advanced settings.
6. Select "Show hidden files...".
7. Select OK.

Open this file with administrator privileges.

1. Open the Start Menu and enter "notepad".
2. When Notepad shows up in the result, right-click on it.
3. In the menu, choose "Run as administrator"
4. File->Open and browse for the hosts file.

The hosts file should look like this: Delete additional lines that they connect various domain names to the wrong IP address. Save the file.

Download and run the antivirus program

After that, download antivirus programs and use them to remove the ransomware, the trojan, and other malware. Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/reviews/spyhunter/dwnld/).

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Motocos mo2 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 Motocos mo2 Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Motocos mo2 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 Motocos mo2 Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Motocos mo2 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 Motocos mo2 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 Motocos mo2 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.