This material is created to show you how DH File Locker Ransomware works, how to remove it, protect yourself from it and restore locked files.

A ransomware builder kit, called DH File Locker with a lots of settings, obfuscation and many features has been released on the deep web and surfaced on multiple web forums. The virus aims to provide full access to even inexperienced cyber-criminals on how to create their own version of this ransomware infection. This is a strong indication that infections by variants of DH File Locker will begin to surface online. We have decided to download the ransomware builder and run it to test it’s capabilities and show what aspects of this virus should you beware of and how to protect yourself from it.

Threat Summary

Name	DH File Locker
Type	Ransomware Builder / Ransomware Family
Short Description	The malware locks victims files adding a custom unlock password. Has avoiding and anti techniques.
Symptoms	Custom file extension and ransom note are added, depending on what the cyber-criminal configures it to do.
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 DH File Locker Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss DH File Locker.
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.

DH File Locker – Technical Insight

The aim of the DH File Locker ransomware is to lock potential victims out of their files and to perform this, the virus also has an extra within it. It generates random passwords for each file that is blocked by it to make decoding of the files significantly more difficult.

When the ransomware builder kit is download, it is contained in a .RAR archive in which are the virus’s program files:

The main interface of this ransomware is well-designed and has very easy access to all features of this virus, making it user-friendly for any cyber-crook wannabe.

The virus comes with a per-embedded message which can be changed for the victim to see. This message is also known as a ransom note and it may contain different ransom instructions for the victim to see, like a payment “request” for different BitCoin amount to an anonymous BTC wallet.

As visible from the screenshot below, the configuration also includes a folder in which the infected files are hidden and a unique unlock password which is the only one that can unlock your files. In addition to this, DH File Locker can also be configured to run on system startup and hide the locked files as well.

Another interesting function of this ransomware builder is called UAC Tricky which aims to perform different evasion techniques of the User Account Control:

The functions of it can be either switched on or switched off in terms of how it responds when the UAC is off.

Another DH File Locker “function” is to allow it’s creator to choose where the malicious files of the virus will be extracted:

The virus also has a feature, known as FilePumper, aslo associated with the encryption procedure of the files. Furthemore, DH File Locker has multiple other functions, like Extension Spoofer or a function that allows for a custom file extension to be added to the locked files and in addition to it, the virus can also change their icon with a custom one, to further scare the victim.

But this is not all when it comes to DH File Locker. The malware also comes packed with a kit that allows it to run obfuscation against different programs that may allow it’s research. The programs it can fool are:

• Virtual PC software.
• Virtual Box drives.
• Wireshark.
• Debug.
• Anubis.
• Kaspersky.
• VMWare.
• OllyDbg.

In addition to this extra, DH File Locker can also directly disable different Windows services too. The services it can shut down by force are:

• UAC (User Account Control).
• Regedit.
• Windows Firewall.
• Windows Command Prompt.
• Windows Run Window.
• Windows Task Manager.
• System Configuration service.
• Windows Registry Editor.
• Windows Update Service.

DH File Locker – Conclusion and How To Protect Yourself

Since this virus is still out in the wild and may be re-modified and reused in many different versions, we advise you to take multiple measures in order to protect yourself from it. Here are some of the advices which we would definitely recommend you follow.

Download anti-malware software which will decrease infection possibility.
Learn how to protect yourself from malicious e-mail attachments and web links, by watching the following video.
Learn how to safely store your files by visiting our educational material with different methods to backup in a safe manner.

What If My PC Has Already Been Infected?

In case you were infected by the DH File Locker ransomware, the first thing you should do is to focus on backing up the encrypted files. Then we advise you to follow our removal instructions below. They are carefully designed to help you remove DH File Locker’s malicious files from your computer. In case you do not have the experience in malware removal, experts always recommend using an advanced anti-malware program that will take care of this virus automatically.

If your files have already be locked by DH File Locker, do not despair, because we have suggested several alternative methods below that can help you recover a big chunk of the files if you are in luck, until malware researchers come up with a decryptor.

Manually delete DH File Locker from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the DH File Locker threat: Manual removal of DH File Locker 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 DH File Locker 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 DH File Locker 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 DH File Locker on your PC

Find malicious files created by DH File Locker

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 DH File Locker by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove DH File Locker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove DH File Locker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by DH File Locker

Ransomware infections like DH File Locker 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 DH File Locker 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 DH File Locker 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 DH File Locker Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove DH File Locker.
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 DH File Locker 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

A network administrator and malware researcher at SensorsTechForum with passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cyber security. Strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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