Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Note! Your computer might be affected by Fs0ci3ty and other threats.
Threats such as Fs0ci3ty may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Another Fsociety themed ransomware virus is on the loose. The name is based on that of the hacker ring in the popular TV show “Mr. Robot” and is written in a semi-leet format – Fs0ci3ty. This cryptovirus will encrypt your files while adding the extension [email protected] as an appendix to each of them. The price asked as a ransom is 1.5 Bitcoins, but increases with up to 1 Bitcoin on a daily basis. To see how to remove this virus and how you can try to restore your files, read the whole article.
Threat Summary
Name
Fs0ci3ty
Type
Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description
The ransomware will encrypt your files and display a ransom note in which it states the initial price for decryption of 1.5 Bitcoins.
Symptoms
The ransomware will display a ransom message after encryption is complete and lock files with the [email protected] extension appended to them.
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.
Fs0ci3ty Virus – Delivery Ways
Fs0ci3ty ransomware might infect computer devices using various ways for delivery. Spam email campaigns can be delivering its payload file. Those kinds of email campaigns try to convince you that you need some update for a driver. With the electronic letter you will see a driver_update.exe file put as an attachment. There might be a document file with it that will have gibberish text inside, which will try to make you enable macros on Microsoft Word. The email will state that you need the update from the executable file. Once opened, the malicious code from the file will infect your entire PC system.
More delivery ways could be initiated for the Fs0ci3ty virus. The malware could use social media networks or file share services as outlets for the payload. The ransomware makers might have placed the driver_update.exe file on platforms like these and use them for infecting people’s systems. Try to be careful while you are surfing cyberspace. Refrain from opening files in dubious emails, and links, too. A file scan with a security application and doing a simple check for file signatures and sizes is a broadly welcomed idea. You should check out more tips for preventing ransomware in our forum topic.
Fs0ci3ty Virus – Detailed Information
The Fs0ci3ty virus is a ransomware type, which encrypts files on a compromised machine before asking for ransom. The interesting thing here is that its name is obviously inspired by the hacker group fsociety from the famous TV show “Mr. Robot”. In the show, the hackers infected computers with another, very popular cryptovirus – namely, CryptoWall ransomware.
When the Fs0ci3ty virus executes its payload file, it will then create entries in the Registry of Windows to retain persistence. These entries will most probably make the malware launch automatically with each start of the Windows operating system. Afterward, your files will get encrypted and a file called fs0ci3ty.html will be placed on your desktop. If you open this file it will load this page:
The file fs0ci3ty.html reads the following:
Welcome To Fs0ci3ty [email protected] You Will need to make a Payment of 1.5 Bitcoins within the next 24 Hours or Ransome goes to 1 Btc more daily Your File System has been encrypted using state of the art Technology You may already understand how this works, if you do good but if you are confused or are unaware of how this works we are hoping to be more informative with our clients. buying bitcoins can be very hard to do, so to make this more trust worthy than most we are going to have a secure cold payment system set up that will allow us to secure bitcoins. as well as a different wallet address per client, each user is given a unique identifier by the server that is used to track distributed keys as well wallet addresses assigned. you can head to http://localbitcoins.com/ and create a new account in seconds flat, than go to the wallet and send 1.5 btc to the address you were given in the ransome message you will use the bitcoin you get through local bitcoins to pay to the unique wallet we gave you the identifier in the bottom left of this page is tied to your key contact us via email
As you can see above, the Fs0ci3ty ransomware gives an initial price for decryption of 1.5 Bitcoins which equals to around 920 US dollars. That is the price if you pay within the first-day time-frame. If you go over the first 24 hours, you would have to pay with up to 1 Bitcoin more for each day that has passed.
You shouldn’t pay the cybercriminals for a number of reasons. First, no one can guarantee you that you will restore your files by paying. Second, you will financially aid the crooks, and the money will be used for other criminal activity or to fund another ransomware project. Third, you might be infected again by another ransomware they make in the future. In any way, do NOT pay anything – you could be able to decrypt your files for free.
The list of file extensions which the virus seeks to encrypt is unknown contrary to the previously known Fsociety ransomware, which uses the same name but written a bit differently.
Documents, pictures, and databases are the top of the file types which could be encrypted as they are still the most widely used ones for important files by any Windows user. All encrypted files will have the [email protected] extension as their appendix, after their original file name. The extension is also the contact e-mail left by the cybercriminals. The mail server Sigaint is used, which is very similar to the ProtonMail service. This is how the main page of the Sigaint mail server looks like:
The ransomware is believed to utilize a 256-bit AES encryption algorithm. The Fs0ci3ty ransomware is very likely to erase all Shadow Volume Copies from the Windows operating system. Read on to see how you can try to restore some if not all of your data.
If your computer got infected with the Fs0ci3ty ransomware virus, you should have some experience in removing malware. You should get rid of this ransomware as fast as possible before it can have the chance to spread further and infect more computers. You should remove the ransomware and follow the step-by-step instructions guide given below. To see ways that you can try to recover your data, see the step titled 2. Restore files encrypted by Fs0ci3ty.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by Fs0ci3ty and other threats. Scan Your PC with SpyHunter SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as Fs0ci3ty. Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
To remove Fs0ci3ty follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Fs0ci3ty files and objects
OFFER
Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!
We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria
Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
For Windows XP, Vista and 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 up the Start Menu.
Step 2: Click on the Power button (for Windows 8 it is the little arrow next to the “Shut Down” button) and whilst holding down “Shift” click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, a blue menu with options will appear. From them you should choose Troubleshoot.
Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu choose Advanced Options.
Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.
Step 6: From the Startup Settings menu, click on Restart.
Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You can choose any of the three Safe Mode options by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.
Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.
2. Find files created by Fs0ci3ty on your PC
Find files created by Fs0ci3ty
1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
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.
Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs
3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Scan your PC and Remove Fs0ci3ty with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Fs0ci3ty and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Fs0ci3ty. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.
It is 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. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.
Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.
Step 2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.
Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.
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 with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup.
4. Try to Restore files encrypted by Fs0ci3ty
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by Fs0ci3ty
Ransomware infections and Fs0ci3ty aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to 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 these methods may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software. Another method for 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:
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:
To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for Volume Shadow Copies, if ransomware has not deleted them, in Windows using the below software:
Method 4: Finding the decryption key while the cryptovirus sends it over a network via a sniffing tool.
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:
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7.
2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Fs0ci3ty and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
