How to Remove Ransomware from Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and demands payment to restore access. It can be a devastating attack, but with the right steps, you can remove ransomware and get your files back. In this blog post, Foxietech will discuss the best ways to remove ransomware and protect your computer from future attacks.

Definition of Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands payment, usually in the form of cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key. This type of attack typically occurs when a victim unknowingly clicks on a malicious link or opens an infected attachment in an email. Once the malware is installed on the victim’s computer, it begins to encrypt files, making them inaccessible to the victim.

The attackers behind the ransomware often use social engineering tactics, such as posing as a reputable organization or using a sense of urgency, to convince victims to pay the ransom. In some cases, the attackers may also threaten to release sensitive information or cause damage to the victim’s computer or network if the ransom is not paid.

Ransomware attacks can have a significant impact on individuals and organizations, as they can result in the loss of important files and disrupt business operations. In addition to paying the ransom, victims may also incur costs associated with restoring their systems and recovering their data.

It is crucial to have a good backup strategy in place and keep all software updated, as well as be cautious of clicking on links or opening attachments from unknown or suspicious sources, to prevent being a victim of Ransomware attack. Therefore there are 4 types of ransomware below.

A. Encrypting Ransomware

Encrypting ransomware is one of the most common types of ransomware. It works by encrypting the victim’s files, making them inaccessible to the user. The attackers then demand a ransom payment, usually in the form of cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key.

Encrypting ransomware typically spreads through phishing emails or infected websites. Once the malware is installed on the victim’s computer, it begins to encrypt files, including documents, photos, and videos.

The encryption process used by encrypting ransomware is typically very strong, making it difficult or impossible for victims to decrypt their files without the decryption key. This means that victims often have no choice but to pay the ransom or lose access to their files.

Encrypting ransomware can have a significant impact on individuals and organizations. It can result in the loss of important files and disrupt business operations. In addition to paying the ransom, victims may also incur costs associated with restoring their systems and recovering their data.

It’s important to note that, while encrypting ransomware is a common type of ransomware, there are other types of ransomware as well, such as Locker Ransomware, which will lock the victim’s computer or whole system and make it inaccessible, unless the ransom is paid. Another example is the Screen-locking Ransomware, which will lock the victim’s computer screen and show a message demanding the ransom.

B. Non-Encrypting Ransomware

Non-encrypting ransomware, also known as “scareware” or “locker malware,” is a type of ransomware that does not encrypt the victim’s files but instead blocks access to the victim’s computer or specific files. It does this by displaying a message or locking the screen, making the computer or files inaccessible until the ransom is paid.

Unlike encrypting ransomware, non-encrypting ransomware does not typically cause the loss of data but instead prevents access to the computer or specific files.

Examples of non-encrypting ransomware include locker malware, which will lock the victim’s computer or whole system and make it inaccessible, unless the ransom is paid, and screen-locking ransomware, which will lock the victim’s computer screen and show a message demanding the ransom.

To protect yourself from non-encrypting ransomware, it is important to keep your software up to date, use a reputable antivirus software, be cautious of suspicious emails and links, and regularly backup your data. It’s also important to have a plan in place for how to respond in the event of an attack and regularly test and update the plan.

While non-encrypting ransomware does not cause the loss of data, it can still disrupt business operations and incur costs associated with restoring systems and recovering data. It is crucial to be aware of the different types of ransomware and their methods of attack to better protect yourself and your organization.

c. Mobile Ransomware

Mobile ransomware is a type of malware that targets smartphones and tablets. It works by encrypting the victim’s files or locking the device, making it inaccessible until a ransom is paid.

Mobile ransomware typically spreads through malicious apps or links that are downloaded onto the device. These apps or links may be disguised as legitimate, such as a game or a popular app, but when downloaded, they install the ransomware onto the device.

Once the ransomware is installed, it begins to encrypt the victim’s files or lock the device, making it inaccessible. The attackers then demand a ransom payment, usually in the form of cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key or unlocking the device.

Mobile ransomware can have a significant impact on individuals, as smartphones and tablets often contain important personal and financial information. The encryption process used by mobile ransomware is typically very strong, making it difficult or impossible for victims to decrypt their files or unlock their device without the decryption key or unlocking code.

To protect yourself from mobile ransomware, it is important to only download apps from reputable sources, such as the official app store for your device. Additionally, it’s crucial to keep your device’s software up to date as updates often include security patches that can protect you from malware.

It’s also a good practice to regularly backup your data, so you can restore your files if they are encrypted by mobile ransomware. Additionally, you should be cautious of clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown or suspicious sources.

In conclusion, mobile ransomware is a type of malware that targets smartphones and tablets by encrypting the victim’s files or locking the device, making it inaccessible until a ransom is paid. To protect yourself from mobile ransomware, it is important to only download apps from reputable sources, keep your device’s software up to date, regularly backup your data and be cautious of suspicious emails and links.

D. Leakware

Leakware is a type of malware that targets individuals and organizations by threatening to release sensitive information if a ransom is not paid. The attackers behind leakware typically gain access to sensitive information through data breaches or phishing attacks, and then threaten to release the information publicly or to third parties if the ransom is not paid.

Leakware attacks can have a significant impact on both individuals and organizations. For individuals, the release of personal information such as financial data or personal identification can lead to identity theft and financial loss. For organizations, the release of sensitive information such as business plans, confidential customer data or trade secrets can lead to financial loss and reputational damage.

Unlike other types of ransomware, the harm caused by leakware is not limited to the encryption of files or the locking of systems, but also to the potential release of sensitive information. Furthermore, once the information is leaked, it is difficult or impossible to retrieve it.

To protect yourself from leakware, it is important to implement robust security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and regular software updates. Additionally, it’s important to be aware of phishing scams and to be cautious of clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown or suspicious sources.

It’s also a good practice to regularly backup your data, so you can restore your files if they are lost or stolen. Furthermore, it is important to have a plan in place for how to respond in the event of a leakware attack, and regularly test and update the plan.

In conclusion, leakware is a type of malware that targets individuals and organizations by threatening to release sensitive information if a ransom is not paid. It can cause significant harm by releasing sensitive information publicly or to third parties, and it’s difficult or impossible to retrieve it once it’s been leaked. To protect yourself from leakware, it’s important to implement robust security measures, be aware of phishing scams and regularly backup your data, and have a plan in place for how to respond in the event of a leakware attack.

How to Prevent from Ransomware Attack

Preventing a ransomware attack is crucial to protect your personal and business data. Here are some steps you can take to reduce your risk of falling victim to a ransomware attack:

1. Keep your software up to date: Regularly updating your operating system and other software can help close security vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.
2. Use a reputable antivirus software: Having an antivirus software that is up to date and configured to run regular scans can help detect and remove malware before it can encrypt your files.
3. Be cautious of suspicious emails and links: Ransomware is often delivered through phishing emails or infected links. Be wary of clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown or suspicious sources.
4. Enable and regularly backup your data: Having a backup of your important files can help you restore your data in case of a successful ransomware attack. Backups should be stored on a separate, disconnected device, such as an external hard drive.
5. Limit access to sensitive data: Implementing user access controls and limiting the number of users who have access to sensitive data can reduce the attack surface.
6. Use network segmentation: Segmenting your network can help limit the spread of malware in case of an infection.
7. Use a firewall: A firewall can help prevent unauthorized access to your network.
8. Train your employees: Educating your employees about the dangers of ransomware and how to identify suspicious emails and links can help reduce the risk of a successful attack.

By following these steps, you can reduce your risk of falling victim to a ransomware attack and protect your personal and business data.

How to Remove Ransomware?

Removing ransomware can be a difficult task, but there are several steps that you can take to try and remove the malware from your system.

A .) Preparation Phase

In an organization/institution, the ability to respond quickly to an incident is a basic preparation for handling ransomware cyber incidents.

1. Prepare a cyber incident response team which can be from internal or external to the organization;
2. Prepare supporting documents for handling incidents, for example incident handling procedure documents, laptop/pc usage policy documents, antivirus, backups;
3. Coordinating with related parties, for example application team, infrastructure team, expert team, or other incident response team (CSIRT) that supports cyber incident handling;
4. Prepare tools which can be License Tools, Open Source Tools, other open sources.

Several websites that provide information about ransomware attacks and their mitigation techniques or provide decryption tools: nomoreransom and emisoft , this is to check whether the ransomware can be decrypted or not.

B. ) Identification and Analysis Phase

1. Identify and analyze the impacted system in order to get to the root cause of the incident that occurred.

• Identify the type of ransomware for further analysis. The steps taken are as follows:
• Find the message delivered by the Ransomware application (README File). The message file contains the attacker’s email address, the message string of the malware;
• Find the extension type of the file affected by the ransomware cyber incident (eg *.crypt, *.cry, *.locked, etc.);
• Use the Readme file, Attacker Email and Sample File affected by the incident to get the type of Ransomware through open sources eg https://nomoreransom.org or https://blog.emsisoft.com.

2. Check whether the antivirus is working normally or not.

This is because there is malware that can destroy antivirus installations by corrupting executable files, changing registry keys or corrupting definition files, or disabling updates of signature files.

3. Identify and analyze the affected system environment

In order to find persistent attacker mechanisms or digital artifacts resulting from attacks carried out. The process carried out is as follows:

•  Identification and analysis of running processes, for example using the Process Explorer tool to identify the Malicious Process that is running on the computer system.

• Identification and analysis of communication networks using Netstat tools to identify Malicious Connections with Listening, Established, SYN_SENT statuses.

• Identify and analyze registry, startup applications, scheduled services, browser history using Autoruns Tools to identify Malicious Activity and Persistent Mechanisms on affected systems;

4. Identify and analyze the communication network system

To determine the Lateral Movement of the attacker by implementing a list of leak indications (indicators of compromise) on the security perimeter such as Firewalls, Network IDS, Host IDS.

C. ) Detention Phase

This phase you can do so that the ransomware virus does not spread widely.

1. Isolate the affected system so that the ransomware cyber incident does not spread through the network, for example by closing access to the network.
2. Change the routing table configuration in the Firewall to separate infected systems from other systems.
3. Perform data backup on the affected system.
4. Identify symptoms of similarity on other systems to prevent the spread of attacks. If there are similarities, then the system must also be subject to a detention process.

D. ) Elimination Phase

The processes carried out in this stage are as follows:

1. Stopping a process that indicated as a Malicious Process
2. Remove suspicious autostart processes from autostart application analysis results;
3. If there are users created by malware, then delete the unknown users to avoid malware re-entry through the unknown user;
4. After the malware program is removed and the malicious process is killed, perform a full scan of the system using the updated antivirus signature, because to prevent the virus from returning.

E. ) Recovery Phase

This phase is useful for restoring files affected by ransomware to normal as before.

1. Perform decryption of affected files using available decryption tools;
2. Perform system validation to ensure that there are no corrupted or infected applications or files. Likewise, errors or deficiencies in system configuration for later adjustment;
3. Carry out monitoring activities to monitor connected network traffic;
4. If there is a severe enough damage (deleted system files, lost important data, causing boot failure of the operating system), then the system is rebuilt from the last backup file the system has;
5. Updating/patching Computer Systems and Antivirus.

F. ) The follow-up phase is useful in the long term so that users are not exposed to the ransomware virus a second time.

1. Create documentation and reports related to handling ransomware cyber incidents, because contain the steps and results that have been obtained.
2. Provide analysis and explanation of what should be done, so as to minimize similar incidents from reoccurring.
3. Write down the evidence found, this is related to the future legal process.
4. Make evaluations and recommendations.
5. Increased knowledge about handling Ransomware incidents, for example through training, cyber exercise.
6. Implement a monitoring system for early detection of cyber attacks or incidents.
7. Improve system defense, if your security system has not been updated then the virus will easily attack.
8. Improved cyber incident handling procedures based on cyber incidents that occurred.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands a ransom payment in order to restore access to them. There are several types of ransomware, including encrypting ransomware, non-encrypting ransomware, mobile ransomware, and leakware.

Preventing a ransomware attack is crucial, as the harm caused by ransomware is not only limited to the encryption of files or the locking of systems, but also to the potential release of sensitive information. To protect yourself from ransomware, it’s important to implement robust security measures, be aware of phishing scams and regularly backup your data, and have a plan in place for how to respond in the event of a ransomware attack.

Removing ransomware can be a difficult task, but there are several steps that you can take to try and remove the malware from your system. These include isolating the infected device, using anti-virus software, restoring from a backup, using specialized ransomware removal tools, and contacting a professional. However, it’s important to note that even if the malware is removed, it does not guarantee that the encrypted files will be decrypted.

It’s vital to be informed and proactive in preventing a ransomware attack, and knowing the appropriate actions to take if you fall victim to a ransomware attack. Remember, not paying the ransom is the best way to avoid further harm, and reporting the incident to the authorities can help them in their fight against ransomware.

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