Article created to help you remove the 2.0 version of CryptoShield ransomware and restore AES encrypted files with an added .CRYPTOSHIELD file extension.

A ransomware virus, that came out in 2 versions back in January 2017, named CryptoShield, has reappeared. The virus has a ransom note that imitates one of the most notorious viruses out there – CryptoWall. It came out in 1.0 and 1.1 versions and was distributed by a very dangerous exploit kit and distribution malware. The new version does not step away from this tendency. Since this ransomware virus aims only to encrypt the files on the computers it infects to ask for money to get them back, we advise you to read this article carefully. It will help you remove CryptoShield 2.0 ransomware and restore .CRYPTOSHIELD encrypted files.

Threat Summary

Name	CryptoShield 2.0
Type	Ransomware
Short Description	Encrypts the files on the computers it infects and then drops a ransom note, asking to pay a hefty sum to get the files back.
Symptoms	Encrypts files via the AES cipher, leaving the .CRYPTOSHIELD file extension and changing their names to an e-mail and random symbols. Then drops ransom note files, named # RESTORING FILES #.txt and # RESTORING FILES #.html in which, the ransom instructions are written.
Distribution Method	Via an Exploit kit, Dll file attack, malicious JavaScript or a drive-by download of the malware itself in an obfuscated manner.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by CryptoShield 2.0 Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss CryptoShield 2.0.
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.

CryptoShield 2.0 Ransomware – More Information

CryptoShield Is a ransomware virus that encrypts files, rendering them no longer openable until a hefty ransom fee is paid to the cyber-criminals. The virus came out in 1.0 and 1.1 versions earlier this year.

CryptoShield 2.0 Ransomware – How Does It Infect

The infection of CryptoShield 2.0 ransomware is conducted in combination with the 4th version of RIG Exploit Kit. The exploit kit has also been reported to spread other notorious ransomware viruses such as Locky, Cerber, Spora and Sage 2.0 ransomware viruses.

This exploit kit is embedded in a malicious executable, which is sent to unsuspecting users’ e-mails in the form of spam message. Such messages may contain a malicious e-mail attachment, which may be a malicious file type, like one of the following:

→ ‘sys’,’shs’,’wmf’,’chm’,’wmf’,’ozd’,’ocx’,’aru’,’xtbl’,’bin’,’exe1′,’386′,’dev’,’xnxx’,’vexe’,’tps’,’pgm’,’php3′,’hlp’,’vxd’,’buk’,’dxz’,’rsc_tmp’,’sop’,’wlpginstall’,’boo’,’bkd’,’tsa’,’cla’,’cih’,’kcd’,’s7p’,’smm’,’osa’,’exe_renamed’,’smtp’,’dom’,’vbx’,’hlw’,’dyz’,’rhk’,’fag’,’qrn’,’fnr’,’dlb’,’mfu’,’xir’,’lik’,’ctbl’,’dyv’,’bll’,’bxz’,’mjz’,’mjg’,’dli’,’fjl’,’ska’,’dllx’,’tti’,’upa’,’txs’,’wsh’,’uzy’,’cfxxe’,’xdu’,’bup’,’spam’,’nls’,’iws’,’ezt’,’oar’,’.9′,’blf’,’cxq’,’cxq’,’cc’,’dbd’,’xlv’,’rna’,’tko’,’delf’,’ceo’,’bhx’,’atm’,’lkh’,’vzr’,’ce0′,’bps’,’pid’,’hsq’,’zvz’,’bmw’,’fuj’,’ssy’,’hts’,’qit’,’aepl’,’dx’,’lok’,’plc’,’mcq’,’cyw’,’let’,’bqf’,’iva’,’xnt’,’pr’,’lpaq5′,’capxml’

There may also be documents with malicious macros, like Microsoft Office or Adobe files. These may cause an infection when the user opens them and clicks on the “Enable Content” button. Usually, such ransomware infections are caused primarily because of deceitful messages, such as a fake notification, from PayPal claiming the user’s invoice for a purchase is in the attachment.

Once the attachment is opened, the infection process commences. It consists primarily of various different scripts, and connects to a remote distribution website to download the payload of CryptoShield 2.0. The payload of this virus consists of multiple files that it drops on the computer of the victim:

CryptoShield 2.0 Ransomware – Post-Infection Activity

In addition to this CryptoShield 2.0 Ransomware also performs multiple different commands on the computer of the user to disable data recovery procedures and delete shadow backups on the user’s PC.

→ cmd.exe /C bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No
cmd.exe /C bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures
{DRIVE}:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe” /C vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet
{DRIVE}:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe” /C net stop vss

The virus also adds itself automatically on the startup of the system and after it’s encryption module is started, it begins to encipher the files on the compromised computer. To encrypt files, CryptoShield 2.0 uses the same AES encryption mode and the virus attacks:

• Microsoft Office documents.
• Pictures.
• Audio files.
• Videos.
• Adobe PDF files.
• Virtual Images.
• Archive file types.

After the encryption process has completed, the ransomware virus leaves the files modified with a random id plus the file extension .CRYPTOSHIELD. The encoded files look like the following:

After encrypting the files on the compromised computer, CryptoShield 2.0 ransomware makes sure that the user is known of it’s presence on the computer. This is achieved by dropping multiple files on the computer, called # RESTORING FILES #.txt and # RESTORING FILES #.html. They have similar content:

The instructions themselves ask to contact an e-mail with a personal identification and from there the cyber-criminals most likely provide a Tor-based website or a BitCoin address for the ransom payoff.

CryptoShield 2.0 Ransomware – Remove and Restore .CRYPTOSHIELD Files

In order to remove this file encryption virus from your computer, recommendations are to focus on following the instructions for the removal below. They are carefully designed to assist in the removal of CryptoShield 2.0 ransomware by following methodological steps. For maximum effectiveness, or If you do not have experience in manual malware removal, experts often advise using an advanced anti-malware program, which will make sure that the removal of CryptoShield 2.0 ransomware is full.

After having removed this virus, do not try to tamper with the files in any way. The first thing you should do is to back up your encrypted data. This will allow you to try using copies of them in combination with the alternative data recovery tools below in step “2. Restore files encrypted by CryptoShield 2.0”. They are carefully designed to help you recover at least some of the files, but are not entirely effective, so we take no responsibility of the outcome.

Manually delete CryptoShield 2.0 from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the CryptoShield 2.0 threat: Manual removal of CryptoShield 2.0 requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.

1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove CryptoShield 2.0 files and objects

Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode

1. For Windows 7,XP and Vista. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by CryptoShield 2.0 on your PC.

For Windows XP, Vista, 7 systems:

1. Remove all CDs and DVDs, and then Restart your PC from the “Start” menu.
2. Select one of the two options provided below:

– For PCs with a single operating system: Press “F8” repeatedly after the first boot screen shows up during the restart of your computer. In case the Windows logo appears on the screen, you have to repeat the same task again.

– For PCs with multiple operating systems: Тhe arrow keys will help you select the operating system you prefer to start in Safe Mode. Press “F8” just as described for a single operating system.

3. As the “Advanced Boot Options” screen appears, select the Safe Mode option you want using the arrow keys. As you make your selection, press “Enter“.

4. Log on to your computer using your administrator account

While your computer is in Safe Mode, the words “Safe Mode” will appear in all four corners of your screen.

Step 1: Open the Start Menu

Step 2: Whilst holding down Shift button, click on Power and then click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, the aftermentioned menu will appear. From there you should choose Troubleshoot.

Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu you can choose Advanced Options.

Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.

Step 6: Click on Restart.

Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You should choose Safe Mode by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries of your computer to change different settings. This is why manual clean up of your Windows Registry Database is strongly recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit lenghty, we recommend following our instructive article about fixing registry entries.

2.Find malicious files created by CryptoShield 2.0 on your PC

Find malicious files created by CryptoShield 2.0

1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows 7,XP and Vista.

For Newer Windows Operating Systems

Step 1:

On your keyboard press  + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.

Step 2:

Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.

Step 3:

Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:

N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.

For Older Windows Operating Systems

In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:

Step 1:

Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.

Step 2:

After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.

Step 3:

After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.

Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.

Automatically remove CryptoShield 2.0 by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove CryptoShield 2.0 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove CryptoShield 2.0 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove CryptoShield 2.0.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove CryptoShield 2.0. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by CryptoShield 2.0 in the future.

Step 1:Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is highly recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter.

Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to automatically update.

Step1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Scan Computer Now’ button.

Step2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any CryptoShield 2.0 files, click on the ‘Fix Threats’ button to remove them automatically and permanently.

Step3: Once the intrusions on your PC have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart it.

Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future

IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data automatically with cloud backup and insure it against any type of data loss on your device, even the most severe. We recommend reading more about and downloading SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

2. Restore files encrypted by CryptoShield 2.0

Restore Files Encrypted by CryptoShield 2.0

Ransomware infections like CryptoShield 2.0 aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to directly decrypt. This is why we have suggested several alternative methods that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that they may not be 100% effective but they may help you little or a lot in some situations.

Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software.
Another method of restoring your files is by trying to bring back your files via data recovery software. Here are some suggestions for preferred data recovery software solutions:

• Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Technicians License(Pro version with more features)
• Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery
• Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery

Method 2: Trying Kaspersky and EmsiSoft’s decryptors.
If the first method does not work, we suggest trying to use decryptors for other ransomware viruses, in case your virus is a variant of them. The two primary developers of decryptors are Kaspersky and EmsiSoft, links to which we have provided below:

• Kaspersky Decryptors
• Emsisoft Decryptors

Urgent! It is strongly advisable to first remove the CryptoShield 2.0 threat before attempting any decryption, since it may interfere with system files and registries. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using an advanced malware removal tool.

Method 3: Using Shadow Explorer

To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for shadow copies in Windows using this software if ransomware has not deleted them:

• Shadow Explorer

Method 4: Finding CryptoShield 2.0 decryption key while it communicates it via a network sniffing software.

Another way to decrypt the files is by using a Network Sniffer to get the encryption key, while files are encrypted on your system. A Network Sniffer is a program and/or device monitoring data traveling over a network, such as its internet traffic and internet packets. If you have a sniffer set before the attack happened you might get information about the decryption key. See how-to instructions below:

Instructions on How to Find Decryption Key for Files Encrypted By Ransowmare

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove CryptoShield 2.0 Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove CryptoShield 2.0.
Step 1: Download STOPZilla by clicking here.
Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards.

Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it.
Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again.

Step 6: Review and click on the ‘Install’ button.

Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button.

2. Scan your PC with STOPZilla Anti Malware to remove all CryptoShield 2.0 associated files completely.
Step 1: Launch STOPZilla if you haven’t launched it after install.
Step 2: Wait for the software to automatically scan and then click on the ‘Repair Now’ button. If it does not scan automatically, click on the ‘Scan Now’ button.

Step 3: After the removal of all threats and associated objects, you should Restart your PC.

Vencislav Krustev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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