[email protected] virus - How to remove

[email protected] is one of the email addresses (the other is [email protected]) of some cybercriminals, used in an extortion scheme that some call the RSA ransomware. RSA, which usually is a name of one of the most popular encryption algorithms, is in this case used as the file type for files locked by the RSA virus.

picture.jpg.id-[random].[[email protected]].RSA is the extension that the RSA virus labels locked files with. You can try to edit the files to remove it, but the people who made this malware thought of that; they actually edited each file using encryption, which basically broke the files and made them impossible to read. Their insides are nonsense right now.

The trick with encryption is that it’s reversible if (and only if) you have the decryption key. If you write to [email protected] like the criminals want you to, they might tell you how much money they want for sending you the key (though they might also ignore you). Usually, the price is somewhere around a few thousand dollars.

After being infected with the [email protected] malware, it’s important to remove is as soon as possible. The file-encrypting malware might have been installed together with some other dangerous program, such as a trojan or some spyware. Note that your locked files are not dangerous — they’re just broken.

Remove the RSA virus and restore the files:

Details about RSA (Dharma) ransomware	Extension — id-[random].[[email protected]].RSA Email address — [email protected], [email protected] VirusTotal link
Infection sources	Remote Desktop Malicious email spam Outdated security software
Restoring the files	Backups System Restore Shadow Volume Copies Data recovery
Removing the [email protected] virus	Anti-malware programs (SpyHunter)

 

Here’s some text from the pop-up window that [email protected] displays:

All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC. If you want to restore them, write us to the e-mail [email protected]
Write this ID in the title of your message —
In case of no answer in 24 hours write us to theese e-mails: [email protected]
You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins. The price depends on how fast you write to us. After payment we will send you the decryption tool that will decrypt all your files.

Can the [email protected] files be recovered?

[email protected] is a very devastating and destructive attack for those who lost the only copies of their important files. Documents, images, audio files, archives — RSA attacks all of these. That’s why having data backups is so important. Recovering encrypted files isn’t always possible, but replacing them with copies that were on another storage device is simple and easy.

This RSA virus is known to be a part of the Dharma/Crysis family of ransomware, along with Dharma-Btc, Gate, and PDF. Some older versions of Dharma actually had free decrypters released that cybersecurity researchers created — free to use for everyone. The problem is that [email protected] is one of many new versions that were patched by the criminals to not have those flaws that made them decryptable. It’s almost sure that files locked by this virus can’t be recovered without the decryption keys.

If you’re tempted to contact the criminals to get your files back, it’s important to be aware of the risks. After all, a lot of the people who pay the ransom for their files still end up losing their data:

• If you send the money, there is nothing to guarantee that the criminals will keep their end of the deal and send you a working decrypter. They ask you to pay in Bitcoin and there’s no mechanism to allow you to get your money back after you sent it.
• If you contact the people behind [email protected], you might end up revealing private information. They might decide to use it against you later.
• Paying could mark you as a potential future target. [email protected] is meant to make money for the criminals, so if they feel that you could make them more money, they might decide to target you again.

It’s risky dealing with cybercriminals who only care about making as much money as possible. That’s why it’s important to secure your computer against any attacks.

How to avoid ransomware infections

Staying safe against ransomware and avoiding infections is definitely worth the effort, considering how widespread this type of malware is and how destructive it can be.

Since the [email protected] virus most likely spreads using exposed RDP connections, that’s very important to take care of. Here is one guide that explains how. Having a weak password is one of the most common weaknesses that are exploited to break into your computer and plant malware on it.

It’s also possible for [email protected] to be spread using email spam. A document or another file could download the virus if it’s opened, so, any time that you get an email that makes you very curious to check out that attachment, stop yourself and scan it first using a professional and reliable anti-malware program.

Speaking of those, it’s important to keep your anti-malware and other software up-to-date. When a new ransomware variant is released, usually, only a handful of the various programs detect it as malicious, but updates for the other programs are put out very quickly. This is why, to be safe against any new malware, it’s necessary to regularly update your security software.

Remove the RSA virus and restore the files

There are some ways that can help get back lost data that don’t require you to write to the criminals. So you can maybe get back some of those [email protected] files even if you don’t have a backup. But before that, it’s important to clean your system of all malware using some strong anti-malware program, like SpyHunter. Like other Dharma variants, [email protected] can probably disable your installed antivirus program, so it’ll need to be repaired in order to function again.

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore [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 [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 [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.