This article has been created in order to help you by showing how to remove the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] file ransomware from your computer (Matrix Ransomware) and how to restore files that have been encrypted by it.
A new ransomware infection has been reported to cause multiple infections on the computers of victims. The virus is a new variant of the older detected Matrix ransomware and uses the _[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] file extension after it encrypts the files of the computers infected by it. In addition to this, the Matrix ransomware also drops a ransom note, named !OoopsYourFilesLocked!.rtf whose primary purpose is to notify the victim that he or she must pay a hefty ransom fee in order to get the files decrypted once again.
Threat Summary
Name | [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] |
Type | Ransomware, Cryptovirus |
Short Description | Aims to encrypt the files on your computer and extort you into paying ransom to get them decrypted and working again. |
Symptoms | Files become encrypted with an added _[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] file extension and a ransom note, named !OoopsYourFilesLocked!.rtf is dropped. The wallpaper is also changed. |
Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files |
Detection Tool |
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Malware Removal Tool
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO]. |
Data Recovery Tool | Windows Data Recovery by Stellar Phoenix Notice! This product scans your drive sectors to recover lost files and it may not recover 100% of the encrypted files, but only few of them, depending on the situation and whether or not you have reformatted your drive. |
_[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware – Infection Methods
The primary way of infecting victims by this ransomware is conducted via malicious e-mail spam messages. The cyber-criminals behind the _[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] file virus may mask it’s infection file as:
- Invoice.
- Receipt.
- Banking statement.
- Other types of important documents.
The files may be accompanied by convincing messages whose purpose is to stress the importance of those e-mail spam attachments. One example is the e-mail below:
Besides these methods, the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] ransomware may also be spread via other methods and tools, such as:
- Fake setups of programs.
- Fake license activators of software.
- Game patches or cracks downloaded from suspcious websites.
The primary infection file that is reported to be associated with this threat has the following parameters according to VirusTotal:
_[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransowmare – Malicious Activity
As soon as this ransomware infection compromises your computer, it’s payload is immediately dropped on the computer of the victim. It may consist of the following files with random names:
“dH1rDN9f9.doc”
“huG9mMCD.lnk”
“6SZfLTu9z.doc”
“lCEf83Wf7e4nuIMk.doc”
“C04T72pR0Bcl.doc”
“w5JaoO.doc”
“lgaG7K9M.exe”
“smj7qB36.cmd”
“huG9mMCD.exe”
“bg3oTe.doc”
In addition to dropping it’s payload files on the victim PC, the virus also modifies the following Windows Registry sub-keys:
→ “HKLM\SYSTEM\CONTROLSET001\CONTROL\TERMINAL SERVER”; Key: “TSUSERENABLED”)
“huG9mMCD.exe” (Path: “HKLM\SYSTEM\CONTROLSET001\CONTROL\TERMINAL SERVER”; Key: “TSUSERENABLED”)
“lgaG7K9M.exe” (Path: “HKLM\SYSTEM\CONTROLSET001\CONTROL\TERMINAL SERVER”; Key: “TSUSERENABLED”)
“JuXhyoaz.exe” (Path: “HKLM\SYSTEM\CONTROLSET001\CONTROL\TERMINAL SERVER”; Key: “TSUSERENABLED”)
The virus then changes the network status of the infected computer, using the process PING.EXE. This happens with the following ping command ran as an administrator:
→ ping -n 3 localhost
In addition to running ping commands, this ransomware virus also runs the following commands directly in Windows Shell:
After it has ran those commands which basically give it’s malicious executables and documents privileges, the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] virus also spawns new processes on the infected computer:
→ trib.exe” with commandline “”ATTRIB -R -A -H “%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\RAC\PublishedData\RacWmiDatabase.sdf”” (UID: 00016492-00001520)
Spawned process “cmd.exe” with commandline “/C type “%APPDATA%\!OOOPS~1.RTF” > “%USERPROFILE%\MICROS~1\RAC\PUBLIS~1\!OoopsYourFilesLocked!.rtf”” (UID: 00016496-00001156)
Spawned process “cmd.exe” with commandline “/C CACLS “%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\RAC\StateData\RacDatabase.sdf” /E /G %USERNAME%:F /C & ATTRIB -R -A -H “%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\RAC\StateData\RacDatabase.sdf”” (UID: 00016497-00003652)
Spawned process “cacls.exe” with commandline “”CACLS “%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\RAC\StateData\RacDatabase.sdf” /E /G OsbXLIT:F /C” (UID: 00016509-00003696), Spawned process “attrib.exe” with commandline “”ATTRIB -R -A -H “%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\RAC\StateData\RacDatabase.sdf”” (UID: 00016514-00003744)
Spawned process “cmd.exe” with commandline “/C type “%APPDATA%\!OOOPS~1.RTF” > “%USERPROFILE%\MICROS~1\RAC\STATED~1\!OoopsYourFilesLocked!.rtf”” (UID: 00016516-00003760)
In addition to dropping malicious files, the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] ransomware also interacts with the following important system files:
C:\Windows\AppPatch\sysmain.sdb
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Caches\cversions.1.db
C:\Windows\System32\en-US\setupapi.dll.mu
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\huG9mMCD.lnk
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Caches\cversions.1.db
Among the files dropped is also the image file of the wallpaper of this ransomware which looks like the following:
Text from image:
Warning! All your files were encrypted with strong crypto algorithm!
Without your personal key and special software data recovery is impossible!
If you want to restore your files, please write us to the e-mails:
relock001@tuta.io OR relock001@yahoo.com
* Additinal information you can find in files: !OoopsYourFilesLocked!.rtf
After _[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware changes the wallpaper with the image above, the virus also drops it’s ransom note in .rtm format, named !OoopsYourFilesLocked!.rtf:
Text from image:
Warning! All your files were encrypted with strong crypto algorithm.
It means that you will not be able to access them anymore until they are decrypted with your personal decryption key! Without your personal key and special software data recovery is impossible! If you will follow our instructions, we guarantee that you can decrypt all your files quickly and safely!
If you want to restore your files, please write us to the e-mail: relock001@tuta.io In subject of message write your personal ID: {ID GOES HERE}
To confirm that we can decrypt your files you can send us up to 3 files for free decryption. Please note that files for free decryption must NOT contain any valuable information and their total size must be less than 5Mb.
You have to respond as soon as possible to ensure the restoration of your files, because we wont keep your decryption keys at our server more than one week in Interest of our security.
And hurry up! Each 12 hours the payment size will be automatically increased!
Note that all the attempts of decryption by yourself or using third party tools will result only in irrevocable loss of your data.
if you did not receive the answer from the aforecited email for more then 24 hours, use the reserve e-mail address:
relock001@yahoo.com
_[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware – Encryption Process
Since the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] files virus is a new variant of the previously detected Matrix Ransomware, the malware uses similar encryption techniques regarding the files with few modifications. The virus may look to encrypt the following types of files on your computer:
- Documents.
- Pictures.
- Music.
- Videos.
- Archives.
- Images.
- Files associated with often used programs.
When the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] virus detects those files, it has been programmed to immediately begin to replace blocks of data from those files with data according to what encryption algorithm is used. Quickly after that, the files become no longer usable, until they are decrypted. A decryption key is also generated, but the victim has no access to it. The virus also sets a custom file extension to the encrypted files, while in the same time saving their original file extension as a suffix, for example, if the file is Image.jpg, it would look like the following:
In addition to this, the _[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] may also execute the following command as an administrator which make sure the encrypted files become no longer recoverable:
→ cipher /W:[Drive Letter]:\
Remove _[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware and Restore Your Files
In order to remove this virus completely from your computer system, you can follow the removal steps at the end of this article. They are divided in manual and automatic removal instructions and their primary purpose is to help you isolate the virus and remove it afterwards. Be advised that experts strongly recommend removing the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransowmare automatically by downloading an advanced anti-malware software, which will make sure that all the related files to [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] plus objects created by it are permanently gone.
If you want to restore the files that have been encrypted by this virus, we recommend trying out the alternative file recovery methods in step “2. Restore files encrypted by [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO]” below. They may not be 100% effective, but may help you in recovering most of your encrypted files.
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- Step 4
- Step 5
Step 1: Scan for [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Ransomware Automatic Removal - Video Guide
Step 2: Uninstall [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] and related malware from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Step 4: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO]
Step 5: Try to Restore Files Encrypted by [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO].
Method 1: Use STOP Decrypter by Emsisoft.
Not all variants of this ransomware can be decrypted for free, but we have added the decryptor used by researchers that is often updated with the variants which become eventually decrypted. You can try and decrypt your files using the instructions below, but if they do not work, then unfortunately your variant of the ransomware virus is not decryptable.
Follow the instructions below to use the Emsisoft decrypter and decrypt your files for free. You can download the Emsisoft decryption tool linked here and then follow the steps provided below:
1 Right-click on the decrypter and click on Run as Administrator as shown below:
2. Agree with the license terms:
3. Click on "Add Folder" and then add the folders where you want files decrypted as shown underneath:
4. Click on "Decrypt" and wait for your files to be decoded.
Note: Credit for the decryptor goes to Emsisoft researchers who have made the breakthrough with this virus.
Method 2: Use data recovery software
Ransomware infections and [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested a data recovery method that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that this method may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Simply click on the link and on the website menus on the top, choose Data Recovery - Data Recovery Wizard for Windows or Mac (depending on your OS), and then download and run the tool.
[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO]-FAQ
What is [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware?
[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] is a ransomware infection - the malicious software that enters your computer silently and blocks either access to the computer itself or encrypt your files.
Many ransomware viruses use sophisticated encryption algorithms to make your files inaccessible. The goal of ransomware infections is to demand that you pay a ransom payment to get access to your files back.
What Does [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware Do?
Ransomware in general is a malicious software that is designed to block access to your computer or files until a ransom is paid.
Ransomware viruses can also damage your system, corrupt data and delete files, resulting in the permanent loss of important files.
How Does [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Infect?
Via several ways.[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware infects computers by being sent via phishing emails, containing virus attachment. This attachment is usually masked as an important document, like an invoice, bank document or even a plane ticket and it looks very convincing to users.
Another way you may become a victim of [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] is if you download a fake installer, crack or patch from a low reputation website or if you click on a virus link. Many users report getting a ransomware infection by downloading torrents.
How to Open .[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] files?
You can't without a decryptor. At this point, the .[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] files are encrypted. You can only open them once they are decrypted using a specific decryption key for the particular algorithm.
What to Do If a Decryptor Does Not Work?
Do not panic, and backup the files. If a decryptor did not decrypt your .[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] files successfully, then do not despair, because this virus is still new.
Can I Restore ".[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO]" Files?
Yes, sometimes files can be restored. We have suggested several file recovery methods that could work if you want to restore .[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] files.
These methods are in no way 100% guaranteed that you will be able to get your files back. But if you have a backup, your chances of success are much greater.
How To Get Rid of [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Virus?
The safest way and the most efficient one for the removal of this ransomware infection is the use a professional anti-malware program.
It will scan for and locate [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] ransomware and then remove it without causing any additional harm to your important .[RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] files.
Can I Report Ransomware to Authorities?
In case your computer got infected with a ransomware infection, you can report it to the local Police departments. It can help authorities worldwide track and determine the perpetrators behind the virus that has infected your computer.
Below, we have prepared a list with government websites, where you can file a report in case you are a victim of a cybercrime:
Cyber-security authorities, responsible for handling ransomware attack reports in different regions all over the world:
Germany - Offizielles Portal der deutschen Polizei
United States - IC3 Internet Crime Complaint Centre
United Kingdom - Action Fraud Police
France - Ministère de l'Intérieur
Italy - Polizia Di Stato
Spain - Policía Nacional
Netherlands - Politie
Poland - Policja
Portugal - Polícia Judiciária
Greece - Cyber Crime Unit (Hellenic Police)
India - Mumbai Police - CyberCrime Investigation Cell
Australia - Australian High Tech Crime Center
Reports may be responded to in different timeframes, depending on your local authorities.
Can You Stop Ransomware from Encrypting Your Files?
Yes, you can prevent ransomware. The best way to do this is to ensure your computer system is updated with the latest security patches, use a reputable anti-malware program and firewall, backup your important files frequently, and avoid clicking on malicious links or downloading unknown files.
Can [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Ransomware Steal Your Data?
Yes, in most cases ransomware will steal your information. It is a form of malware that steals data from a user's computer, encrypts it, and then demands a ransom in order to decrypt it.
In many cases, the malware authors or attackers will threaten to delete the data or publish it online unless the ransom is paid.
Can Ransomware Infect WiFi?
Yes, ransomware can infect WiFi networks, as malicious actors can use it to gain control of the network, steal confidential data, and lock out users. If a ransomware attack is successful, it could lead to a loss of service and/or data, and in some cases, financial losses.
Should I Pay Ransomware?
No, you should not pay ransomware extortionists. Paying them only encourages criminals and does not guarantee that the files or data will be restored. The better approach is to have a secure backup of important data and be vigilant about security in the first place.
What Happens If I Don't Pay Ransom?
If you don't pay the ransom, the hackers may still have access to your computer, data, or files and may continue to threaten to expose or delete them, or even use them to commit cybercrimes. In some cases, they may even continue to demand additional ransom payments.
Can a Ransomware Attack Be Detected?
Yes, ransomware can be detected. Anti-malware software and other advanced security tools can detect ransomware and alert the user when it is present on a machine.
It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest security measures and to keep security software updated to ensure ransomware can be detected and prevented.
Do Ransomware Criminals Get Caught?
Yes, ransomware criminals do get caught. Law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, Interpol and others have been successful in tracking down and prosecuting ransomware criminals in the US and other countries. As ransomware threats continue to increase, so does the enforcement activity.
About the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific malware and restore your encrypted files.
How did we conduct the research on this ransomware?
Our research is based on an independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, and as such, we receive daily updates on the latest malware and ransomware definitions.
Furthermore, the research behind the [RELOCK001@TUTA.IO] ransomware threat is backed with VirusTotal and the NoMoreRansom project.
To better understand the ransomware threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.
As a site that has been dedicated to providing free removal instructions for ransomware and malware since 2014, SensorsTechForum’s recommendation is to only pay attention to trustworthy sources.
How to recognize trustworthy sources:
- Always check "About Us" web page.
- Profile of the content creator.
- Make sure that real people are behind the site and not fake names and profiles.
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