Active .3nCRY virus infections can be recovered using our in-depth guide on restoring your computer and data, read our article to learn more.
Manual Removal Guide
Recover .3nCRY virus Files
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How Does .3nCRY virus Infiltrate the System?
The .3nCRY virus can be delivered to the victims using different methods depending on the campaign. At the moment the virus seems to target mainly English-speaking users.
A popular way to spread the threat is to use email spam messages. They use various social engineering tricks to deliberately confuse the targets into infecting themselves with the .3nCRY virus. There are several options that the criminals can opt to use:
- In-body hyperlinks ‒ The hackers can include links in the body contents of the sent emails. They can redirect to a malicious hosting site or directly to the .3nCRY virus samples.
- File Attachments ‒ The .3nCRY virus files can be directly attached to the emails.
- Infected Documents ‒ The hackers can customize documents of different types to include scripts that deliver the .3nCRY virus threat. This is done to many rich text documents, spreadsheets or databases. When such files are opened a prompt notification appears which asks the victims if they want to enable the scripts. If this is done the infection follows.
- Infected Software Installers ‒ They represent hacker-modified installers of legitimate free or trial applications. The criminals modify them to include the .3nCRY virus code after which they are sent to the targets via emails.
Note that the documents and installers can also be distributed via hacker-controlled sites. They may come under different forms: download portals, redirects or fake product pages. In all cases computer users should only seek to look out for software from official vendors only. P2P networks where pirate content is usually found such as BitTorrent can spread the .3nCRY virus as well.
Another option is the use of browser hijackers which are malicious browser plugins. They are usually made for the most popular applications: Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, Microsoft Edge and etc. Once installed they change important settings such as the default home page, search engine and new tabs page to point to a criminal site. During this process the .3nCRY virus can be used to infect the computers as part of the virus sequence. Computer users also need to be careful as hackers have been known to abuse ad networks, redirects and web scripts to cause virus infections as well.
Infection Flow of .3nCRY virus
The .3nCRY virus is a newly discovered malware that has been detected in an attack wave observed by both security researchers and victims. The initial analysis reveals that it is not modeled after the famous malware families, which means that it is made by its creators from scratch. At the moment the identity of the hacker or criminal collective behind it is unknown.
The .3nCRY virus captured samples so far showcase that only a limited number of capabilities are made part of the core virus engine. This means that the criminals can update the core to include additional features. Examples include any of the following:
- Trojan Instance ‒ They allow the victims to spy on the compromised computers and steal valuable data prior to it being encrypted by the ransomware engine.
- Additional Malware Delivery ‒ The .3nCRY virus can be used to distribute other threats to computers.
- Information Harvesting ‒ As well as stealing sensitive files from the comuters the malware can also gather information about the hardware components of the machines, specific user settings and the software configuration of both applications and the operating system.
- Botnet Recruitment ‒ Viruses like this one are used to load backdoor applications which have the ability to recruit the machines into a worldwide network of “bots” that are used to launch distributed attacks against predefined targets.
Some of the collected .3nCRY virus samples showcase that they perform a persistent installation onto the system. This means that the malware is able to monitor the user’s behavior and protect itself from manual removal methods. In such cases only the use of a quality anti-spyware solution can remedy the infection.
Once all preliminary checks have been complete the ransomware process is started. It targets a predefine list of file type extensions according to a list. In most cases it seeks to encrypt the most popular files: documents, archives, backups, music, videos, photos, databases and etc. As a result the victim files receive the .3nCRY extension.
A ransomware message is crafted in a READ_ME.txt file which reads the following:
BTC:1J853DwYBASNegyhLsZF1YkD7JzGnJ1U2J
Hello,
Your files are encrypted.
Pay 0.5 BTC (bitcoin)
Your files will be decrypted 48 hours after receipt of payment.
cordially
adresse: 1J853DwYBASNegyhLsZF1YkD7JzGnJ1U2J
————————————————————–
Hola,
Sus archivos están encriptados.
Pague 0.5 BTC (bitcoin)
Sus archivos serán descifrados 48 horas después del recibo del pago.
cordialment
eAdresse: 1J853DwYBASNegyhLsZF1YkD7JzGnJ1U2J
————————————————————–
Olá,
Seus arquivos estão criptografados.
Pagar 0.5 BTC (bitcoin)
Seus arquivos serão descriptografados 48 horas após o recebimento do pagamento.
Cordialmente
Adresse: 1J853DwYBASNegyhLsZF1YkD7JzGnJ1U2J
————————————————————–
你好，
您的文件已加密。
支付0.5 BTC（比特币）
您的文件将在收到付款后48小时解密。
亲切
地址：1J853DwYBASNegyhLsZF1YkD7JzGnJ1U2J
————————————————————–
Здравствуйте,
Ваши файлы зашифрованы.
Оплатить 0.5 BTC (биткойн)
Ваши файлы будут расшифрованы через 48 часов после получения оплаты.
сердечно
адресуют: 1J853DwYBASNegyhLsZF1YkD7JzGnJ1U2J
Like other similar threats the .3nCRY virus demands a ransomware fee payment from the victims which is given in the Bitcoin digital currency. The current exchange rate shows that the sum of 0.5 BTC is the equivalent of about $2148. The users should not contact the hackers, as they can effectively restore their computers by following our in-depth .3nCRY virus removal guide below.
Remove .3nCRY virus and Restore Data
WARNING! Manual removal of .3nCRY virus requires being familiar with system files and registries. Removing important data accidentally can lead to permanent system damage. If you don’t feel comfortable with manual instructions, download a powerful anti-malware tool that will scan your system for malware and clean it safely for you.
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.3nCRY virus – Manual Removal Steps
Start the PC in Safe Mode with Network
This will isolate all files and objects created by the ransomware so they will be removed efficiently. The steps bellow are applicable to all Windows versions.
1. Hit the WIN Key + R
2. A Run window will appear. In it, write msconfig and then press Enter
3. A Configuration box shall appear. In it Choose the tab named Boot
4. Mark Safe Boot option and then go to Network under it to tick it too
5. Apply -> OK
Show Hidden Files
Some ransomware threats are designed to hide their malicious files in the Windows so all files stored on the system should be visible.
1. Open My Computer/This PC
2. Windows 7
-
– Click on Organize button
– Select Folder and search options
– Select the View tab
– Go under Hidden files and folders and mark Show hidden files and folders option
3. Windows 8/ 10
-
– Open View tab
– Mark Hidden items option
4. Click Apply and then OK button
Enter Windows Task Manager and Stop Malicious Processes
1. Hit the following key combination: CTRL+SHIFT+ESC
2. Get over to Processes
3. When you find suspicious process right click on it and select Open File Location
4. Go back to Task Manager and end the malicious process. Right click on it again and choose End Process
5. Next, you should go folder where the malicious file is located and delete it
Repair Windows Registry
1. Again type simultaneously the WIN Key + R key combination
2. In the box, write regedit and hit Enter
3. Type the CTRL+ F and then write the malicious name in the search type field to locate the malicious executable
4. In case you have discovered registry keys and values related to the name, you should delete them, but be careful not to delete legitimate keys
Click for more information about Windows Registry and further repair help
Recover .3nCRY virus Files
WARNING! All files and objects associated with .3nCRY virus should be removed from the infected PC before any data recovery attempts. Otherwise the virus may encrypt restored files. Furthermore, a backup of all encrypted files stored on external media is highly recommendable.
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1. Use present backups
2. Use professional data recovery software
Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery – a specialist tool that can restore partitions, data, documents, photos, and 300 more file types lost during various types of incidents and corruption.
3. Using System Restore Point
-
– Hit WIN Key
– Select “Open System Restore” and follow the steps
4. Restore your personal files using File History
-
– Hit WIN Key
– Type restore your files in the search box
– Select Restore your files with File History
– Choose a folder or type the name of the file in the search bar
– Hit the “Restore” button
