.Defender Files Virus (Ransomware) – How to Remove and Restore Files

This article has been created in order to help you by showing you how to remove the Defender ransomware virus from your computer and how to restore files that have been encrypted with the .defender file extension added as their suffix.

A new ransomware infection known as the Defender Ransomware has been reported by malware analysts to drop a malicious executable on the computers of victims and then encrypt their files, adding the .defender file extension. The virus also aims to imitate Windows defender, adding a wall, alongside which a corny ransom note is added. If your computer has been infected by Defender Ransomware, you should read the following article in order to learn how to remove it from your computer and how to try and restore files encrypted by it.

Threat Summary

Name	Defender Ransomware
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	Aims to encrypt the files on your computer and then holds them hostage until the victim pays a hefty ransom fee in order to get the files working.
Symptoms	Files are encrypted with the .defender file extension and a ransom note, looking like a wall appears on the victim PC.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Defender Ransomware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Defender Ransomware.
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.

Defender Ransomware – Infection Methods

In order to infect a computer, the Defender Ransomware may use malicious spam e-mails which aim to spread the infection files to as many computers as possible. Such e-mails often contain deceitful messages, like the one you are seeing below:

Besides via malicious e-mail attachments, that pretend to be invoices, orders, receipts, Defender Ransowmare’s infection files may also be uploaded as fake:

• Setups of programs or drivers.
• Game installers.
• Key generators.
• Software license activators.

Defender Ransomware – More Information

As soon as Defender Ransomware has been executed on yoru computer, the malware begins to check if there is an Antivirus installed on it. Then the virus begins to query the kernel debugger data in order to evade detection on the victim PC. After this, it creates various different types of malicious files which aim to modify the auto execution of the virus by creating values in the Run keys to run the file MpCmdRun.exe:

After this, the virus contacts the command and control servers of the cyber-criminals in order to possibly relay different information about the infected computer.

The activities of Defender Ransomware which follow are not of the plesent ones. The virus then targets several database and desktop.ini files for deletion, as reported in reverse.it. These files are as follows:

→ “%USERPROFILE%\Videos\desktop.ini” for deletion
“%USERPROFILE%\Music\desktop.ini” for deletion
“%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\desktop.ini” for deletion
“%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Database1.accdb” for deletion
“%USERPROFILE%\Documents\desktop.ini” for deletion
“%USERPROFILE%\Pictures\desktop.ini” for deletion

As soon as those are deleted, the virus contacts the server 46.166.139.231 via port 80 and soon after, it creates a file, that is writable in the %Temp% directory, which is naturally the MpCmdRun.exe file. Shortly after this is done, the malware creates the following mutexes:

→ “\Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\RasPbFile”
“RasPbFile”

Then, it contacts the host www109.zippyshare.com and from it GTs the ransom note file on the victim’s computer, named Defender_Ransomware.txt. It has the following message:

Text from image:
YOUR FILES HAVE BEEN ENCRYPTED BY DEFENDER RANSOMWARE. THE WALL WILL NOT
FALL. THIS RANSOMWARE IS NOT DECRYPTABLE. SORRY ABOUT THAT.l

In addition to this, the Defender Ransomware also performs modifications on the following Microsoft Windows system files:

→ “%WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.0.3705\clr.dll”
“C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.0.3705\mscorwks.dll”
“C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\clr.dll”
“C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\mscorwks.dll”
“C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\clr.dll”
“C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\mscorwks.dll”
“C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Config\machine.config”
“C:\Windows\Globalization\Sorting\SortDefault.nls”
“C:\Windows\assembly\NativeImages_v4.0.30319_32\mscorlib\77f338d420d067a26b2d34f47445fc51\mscorlib.ni.dll.aux”
“C:\Windows\assembly\pubpol107.dat”
“C:\Windows\assembly\NativeImages_v4.0.30319_32\System\0b2f69b43a576b9edcc807a30872bd91\System.ni.dll.aux”
“C:\Windows\assembly\NativeImages_v4.0.30319_32\System.Core\7aa0dcace3b5d10b626540709537d280\System.Core.ni.dll.aux”
“C:\Windows\assembly\NativeImages_v4.0.30319_32\System.Windows.Forms\fb36278a0a934ae244f843b62229421c\System.Windows.Forms.ni.dll.aux”
“C:\Windows\assembly\NativeImages_v4.0.30319_32\System.Drawing\3c20a6b0ca532bcc6271bf4b7ad0b4d9\System.Drawing.ni.dll.aux”
“C:\Windows\assembly\NativeImages_v4.0.30319_32\System.Configuration\ce9750286ad44cbfb2acf176df9df0a2\System.Configuration.ni.dll.aux”

But this is not the part where the activity ends, since Defener Ransomware also aims to modify the following Windows Registry key in order to allow it to further edit your Registry Editor:

→ HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\TCPIP\PARAMETERS

Defender Ransomware – Encryption Process

The Defender Ransomware is no different than any other ransom virus out there when it comes to files encryption. The malware hunts for the most commonly used files on the victim’s computer, based on their file extensions, which may as well be the following:

→ “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 .DMP .DRV .ICNS .ICO .LNK .SYS .CFG”

After the encryption is finished, you can no longer open your favorite documents, archives, images, videos and other vital files, since their data has been replaced by an advanced cipher and this procedure can be reverted by having the private decryption keys which are known to the cyber-criminals exclusively. After the encryption, the files assume the .defender file extension and begin to appear like the following:

The bad news is that researchers are yet to develop a free decrypter for this ransomware virus, since it’s not decryptable so far. However, we will update this article with decryption information if available and in the meantime we advise you to use the alternative methods to recover files while backing up all of the data.

Remove Defender Ransomware and Restore Encrypted Files

In order to remove this malware from your PC, we would suggest that you focus on follow the manual or automatic removal instructions down below. They are specifically crated in order to help you by showing step by step how to perform the elimination process while using the information stated in this article. If you lack the experience in removing Defender Ransomware manually, security analysts strongly recommend to do so automatically, preferrably by downloading an advanced anti-malware software, which will ensure automatic scan and removal plus future protection against malware as well.

After having removed this malware, you should know that there are alternative methods on how to restore as many files as you can without having to pay the ransom, but without any guarantees. You can see some of the methods we have suggested down below in step “2. Restore files, encrypted by Defender Ransomware”.

Manually delete Defender Ransomware from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the Defender Ransomware threat: Manual removal of Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware on your PC

Find malicious files created by Defender Ransomware

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 Defender Ransomware by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove Defender Ransomware with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove Defender Ransomware with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Defender Ransomware.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove Defender Ransomware. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware

Restore Files Encrypted by Defender Ransomware

Ransomware infections like Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware 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 Defender Ransomware Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove Defender Ransomware.
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 Defender Ransomware 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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