.Onion Dharma Ransomware Virus – Remove And Restore Your Windows

.Onion is the new extension used by the Dharma ransomware virus. The .Onion virus aims to encrypt your files and demand a ransom for their decryption. Upon encryption, all target files are inaccessible until the ransom fee is paid.You can remove .onion virus by:

Manual Removal Guide
Recover Lost Files
Skip all steps and download anti-malware tool that will safely scan and clean your PC.

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.Onion Ransomware Virus – How Did I Get It?

The methods of distribution often vary across different viruses, but Dharma is known to use:

Email Spamming.
Exploit Kits.
Phishing Schemes.
JavaScripts.

The email method will often try to push a word document onto your computer, trying to get you to open it, thus infecting your computer.

.Onion Ransomware virus – How Does It Work?

The .Onion virus will be dropped into your computer, after which the virus will attempt to get itself deep into the operating folders. The usual folders are:

%AppData%
%Temp%
%Roaming%
%System32%
%Common%

The dropped files will try to mask themselves as other system files. The OS is full of such little files, so it may be hard to locate them if you’re trying to remove the virus. This is why manual removal can be tricky, if not outright dangerous for your system.

The virus will try to target some of the following file types:

PNG .PSD .PSPIMAGE .TGA .THM .TIF .TIFF .YUV .AI .EPS .PS .SVG .INDD .PCT .PDF .XLR .XLS .XLSX .ACCDB .DB .DBF .MDB .PDB .SQL .APK .APP .BAT .CGI .COM .EXE .GADGET .JAR .PIF .WSF .DEM .GAM .NES .ROM .SAV CAD Files .DWG .DXF GIS Files .GPX .KML .KMZ .ASP .ASPX .CER .CFM .CSR .CSS .HTM .HTML .JS .JSP .PHP .RSS .XHTML. DOC .DOCX .LOG .MSG .ODT .PAGES .RTF .TEX .TXT .WPD .WPS .CSV .DAT .GED .KEY .KEYCHAIN .PPS .PPT .PPTX ..INI .PRF Encoded Files .HQX .MIM .UUE .7Z .CBR .DEB .GZ .PKG .RAR .RPM .SITX .TAR.GZ .ZIP .ZIPX .BIN .CUE .DMG .ISO .MDF .TOAST .VCD SDF .TAR .TAX2014 .TAX2015 .VCF .XML Audio Files .AIF .IFF .M3U .M4A .MID .MP3 .MPA .WAV .WMA Video Files .3G2 .3GP .ASF .AVI .FLV .M4V .MOV .MP4 .MPG .RM .SRT .SWF .VOB .WMV 3D .3DM .3DS .MAX .OBJ R.BMP .DDS .GIF .JPG ..CRX .PLUGIN .FNT .FON .OTF .TTF .CAB .CPL .CUR .DESKTHEMEPACK .DLL

The .onion Dharma ransomware aims to find all target files mentioned above so it can implement the AES encipher algorithm and render them completely unusable. This latest variant of Dharma is associated primarily with the .onion file extension and an email address that is left be the hackers as a way to contact them for the payment process. One of the emails associated with .onion ransomware is [email protected]. So all encrypted files may look corrupted and have malicious file extensions that follow the pattern:

.id-| victimID |.[[email protected]].onion

During the decryption process, the ransomware generates a decryption key, connects to its remote command and control server and delivers the key to the crooks. The whole infection process happens unnoticeably until its final stage. During its last stage, the ransomware drops an HTA, TXT, JPG or HTML file that contains a ransom message and payment instructions. The file is likely to be located on the desktop as well as in all folders that contain encrypted files. The .onion ransomware may also modify the default desktop wallpaper and replace it with the ransom note. As the previous .wallet variant, .onion Dharma ransom message instructs victims how to contact hackers at a given email in order to follow their further instructions and transfer Bitcoins to a given bitcoin address.

Remove .Onion Dharma Ransomware Virus and Restore Your PC

WARNING! Manual removal of the .Onion Dharma ransomware 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.

 
SpyHunter anti-malware tool will diagnose all current threats on the computer. By purchasing the full version, you will be able to remove all malware threats instantly. Additional information about SpyHunter / Help to uninstall SpyHunter

.Onion Dharma Ransomware 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 .Onion Files

WARNING! All files and objects associated with .Onion Dharma ransomware 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.

SpyHunter anti-malware tool will diagnose all current threats on the computer. By purchasing the full version, you will be able to remove all malware threats instantly. Additional information about SpyHunter / Help to uninstall SpyHunter

Security experts have come up with a freely available decryption solution for the first version of the ransomware ( .dharma ), so there is a real chance that their analyses of Dharma .onion samples will result in a new working decryptor for .onion decrypted files soon. Meanwhile, you may restore some critical .onion files via alternative data recovery solutions. It is crucial, though to make several copies of all .onion files before any recovery attempts as sometimes an error during the process may result in total data loss.

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

Preventive Security Measures