Has it ever happened that you received an email, Skype or ICQ message from an unknown sender with a link to your friend's photo or congratulations on the upcoming holiday? It seems that you do not expect any set-up, and suddenly, when you click on the link, serious malicious software is loaded on your computer. Before you know it, the virus has already encrypted all the files. What to do in such a situation? Is it possible to recover documents?
In order to understand how to deal with malware, you need to know what it is and how it gets into the operating system. In addition, it does not matter at all which version of Windows you are using - the Critroni virus is aimed at infecting any operating system.
Encryption computer virus: definition and algorithm of action
A new computer virus software has appeared on the Internet, known to many as CTB (Curve Tor Bitcoin) or Critroni. It is an advanced ransomware Trojan, similar in algorithm to the previously known malware CriptoLocker. If the virus has encrypted all the files, what to do in this case? First of all, you need to understand the algorithm of its work. The essence of the virus is to encrypt all your files in the extensions .ctbl, .ctb2, .vault, .xtbl or others. However, you will not be able to open them until you have paid the requested amount of money.
The viruses Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Shade and Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Onion are common. They are very similar to PTS in their local action. They can be distinguished by the extension of the encrypted files. Trojan-Ransom encodes information in the .xtbl format. When you open any file, a message is displayed on the screen stating that your personal documents, databases, photos and other files have been encrypted by a malicious program. To decrypt them, you need to obtain a unique key for a fee, which is stored on a secret server, and only in this case you will be able to decrypt and perform cryptographic actions with your documents. But do not worry, and even more so send money to the specified number, there is another way to combat this type of cybercrime. If just such a virus got on your computer, encrypted all the .xtbl files, what should you do in such a situation?
What not to do when a encryption virus enters your computer
It happens that in a panic we install an antivirus program and with its help we automatically or manually remove the virus software, losing important documents along with it. This is unpleasant, in addition, the computer may store data on which you have been working for months. It is a shame to lose such documents without the possibility of their recovery.
If the virus has encrypted all the .xtbl files, some try to change their extension, but this also does not lead to positive results. Reinstalling and formatting the hard drive will permanently remove the malicious program, but at the same time you will lose any possibility of document recovery. In this situation, specially created decoder programs will not help either, because the ransomware is programmed according to a non-standard algorithm and requires a special approach.
Why a ransomware virus is dangerous for a personal computer
It is clear that no malware will benefit your personal computer. Why is this software created? Oddly enough, such programs were created not only in order to lure out as much money as possible from users. In fact, viral marketing is quite beneficial for many antivirus inventors. After all, if a virus has encrypted all files on your computer, where do you go first? Naturally, for the help of professionals. What is encryption for your laptop or personal computer?
Their work algorithm is non-standard, so it will be impossible to cure infected files with ordinary anti-virus software. Removing malicious objects will result in data loss. Only moving to quarantine will make it possible to secure other files that the malicious virus has not yet managed to encrypt.
Expiration date of encryption malware
If your computer gets infected with Critroni (malware) and the virus encrypts all the files, what to do? You cannot decrypt the .vault-, .xtbl-, .rar-formats by yourself, manually changing the extension to .doc, .mp3, .txt and others. If within 96 hours you do not pay the required amount to cybercriminals, you will be intimidated by mail that all your files will be irrevocably deleted. In most cases, such threats act on people, and they reluctantly, but obediently, perform these actions, fearing to lose precious information. It's a shame that users do not understand the fact that cybercriminals are not always true to their word. Having received the money, they often no longer worry about decrypting your locked files.
It closes automatically when the timer expires. But you still have a chance to recover important documents. A message will appear on the screen stating that the time has expired, and you can view more detailed information about the files in the documents folder in the specially created notepad file DecryptAllFiles.txt.
How encryption malware penetrates the operating system
Typically, ransomware viruses enter a computer through infected messages sent to e-mail or through fake downloads. These could be fake flash updates or fraudulent video players. As soon as the program is loaded onto the computer using any of these methods, it immediately encrypts the data and cannot be recovered. If the virus encrypted all the .cbf, .ctbl, .ctb2 files into other formats and you do not have a backup copy of the document stored on removable media, consider that you will no longer be able to recover them. At the moment, antivirus labs do not know how to crack such encryption viruses. Without the required key, it is only possible to block infected files, move them to quarantine or delete them.
How to avoid getting a virus on your computer
Ominous all .xtbl files. What to do? You have already re-read a lot of unnecessary information that is written on most websites, and you cannot find the answer. It so happens that at the most inopportune moment, when you urgently need to submit a report at work, a thesis at the university or defend your professorship, the computer begins to live its own life: it breaks down, gets infected with viruses, freezes. You must be prepared for such situations and keep the information on the server and removable media. This will allow you to reinstall the operating system at any time and in 20 minutes work at the computer as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, we are not always that adventurous.
To avoid infecting your computer with a virus, you first need to install a good antivirus program. You must have correctly configured Windows firewall, which protects against the entry of various malicious objects through the network. And most importantly: do not download software from unverified sites, torrent trackers. To avoid infecting your computer with virus programs, keep track of which links you go to. If you receive an email from an incomprehensible recipient with a request or an offer to see what is hidden behind the link, it is best to move the message to spam or delete it altogether.
So that at one point it does not happen that the virus encrypted all .xtbl files, the antivirus software laboratories advise a free way to protect against infection with encryption viruses: once a week, carry out and inspect their condition.
The virus encrypted all files on the computer: methods of treatment
If you have become a victim of cybercrime and the data on your computer has been infected with one of the encryption types of malware, then it's time to try to recover your files.
There are several ways to disinfect infected documents for free:
- The most common method, and probably the most effective at the moment, is to back up documents and then restore them in case of an unexpected infection.
- The software Algorithm of the CTB virus works in an interesting way. Once in the computer, it copies files, encrypts them, and deletes the original documents, thereby excluding the possibility of their recovery. But with the help of Photorec or R-Studio software you can have time to save some of the original files untouched. You should know that the longer you use your computer after it has been infected, the less likely you are to recover all the necessary documents.
- If the virus has encrypted all the .vault files, there is another good way to decrypt them - using shadow copy volumes. Of course, the virus will try to permanently and permanently delete all of them, but it also happens that some files remain intact. In this case, you will have, albeit a small, but chance of their recovery.
- It is possible to store data on file hosting services such as DropBox. It can be installed on your computer as a local disk mapping. Naturally, the encryption virus will also infect it. But in this case, it is much more realistic to recover documents and important files.
Software prevention of personal computer virus infection
If you are afraid of malicious malware getting on your computer and do not want an insidious virus to encrypt all files, you should use the Local Policy Editor or Windows Groups. Thanks to this integrated software, you can configure the program restriction policy - and then you will not be bothered by the thought of infecting your computer.
How to recover infected files
If the CTB virus has encrypted all files, what should be done in this case to recover the necessary documents? Unfortunately, at the present time, no antivirus laboratory can offer decryption of your files, but neutralization of the infection, its complete removal from a personal computer is possible. The above are all effective methods of information recovery. If your files are too dear to you, and you did not bother to back them up to a removable media or Internet drive, then you will have to pay the amount of money requested by cybercriminals. But there is no chance that the decryption key will be sent to you even after payment.
How to find infected files
To see a list of infected files, you can go to this path: "My Documents" \. Html or "C:" \ "Users" \ "All users" \. Html. This html sheet contains data not only about random instructions, but also about infected objects.
How to block an encryption virus
Once the computer has been infected with malware, the first action required by the user is to turn on with the network. This is done by pressing the F10 keyboard key.
If a Critroni virus accidentally gets on your computer, encrypts all files in .rar, .ctbl, .ctb2, .xtbl, .vault, .cbf or any other format, in this case it is already difficult to recover them. But if the virus has not yet managed to make many changes, there is a possibility of blocking it using the program restricted access policy.