.kharma Virus File (Dharma Ransomware)

by Martin Beltov | November 19, 2019 | 0 Comments .kharma, Dharma, file-encryption, ransomware, virus

The .kharma virus is a new Dharma ransomware sample that is currently set against target end users on a global scale. There is no information available about the hacking group behind it. It is believed to be a new iteration of the famous ransomware family. This is one of the reasons why we believe that the hackers are experienced.

Once the .kharma virus has started it will execute its built-in sequence of dangerous commands. Depending on local conditions or the specific hacker instructions various actions will take place. The file encryption will begin after them — the encrypting component will use a built-in list of target file type extensions. In the end the victim files will be renamed with the .kharma extension.

Threat Summary

Name	.kharma Virus
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	The ransomware encrypts files on your computer machine and demands a ransom to be paid to allegedly restore them.
Symptoms	The ransomware will blackmail the victims to pay them a decryption fee. Sensitive user data may be encrypted by the ransomware code.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss .kharma Virus.
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.

.kharma Virus – Spread and Impact

The Dharma ransomware family has grown with a new sample which is identified as the .kharma virus. Information about it was poted onlne in a Twitter report by the virus researcher Raby. Together with information posted in the security community we have confirmed that the attacks are ongoing and set against users worldwide.

At the moment there is no information about the hacking group an their exact targets, as such we assume that the most popular strategies are to be used by the criminals when it comes to distribution. Ransomware samples are easily delivered to the target users by means of social engineering. This is done by operating scam sites or sending out bulk email messages that impersonate companies or services. By falling victim to them the virus will be installed. The scam pages can be hosted on similar sounding domain names that includes security certificates that may be self-signed.

The virus code can be placed in malware files such as malware documents across all popular formats and also dangerous setup installers of widely used software. These files can be spread on file-sharing networks like BitTorrent and also on social networks where using fake or hacked accounts links to the data can be posted.

Other distribution techniques can be used as well. Based on the activity and code analysis we can state that the .kharma virus is similar in activity to previous Dharma versions.

.kharma Virus – What Does It Do?

The Dharma ransomware viruses continue to develop as is the case with the .kharma sample. The security researchers have given us a sample code to study giving us information about its current state. What we know is that the virus files can take the form of executables that will immediately start the built-in actions.

At the moment the modules which are run include the setting up of a file removal component. This is set to locate, identify and delete Shadow Volume Copies. This means that file recovery will be made very difficult unless a professional-grade recovery solution is used. The next step in the process is the manipulation of the Task Manager in order to extract detailed information about the running processes. The data is saved in a format that can be easily read by the hackers. The information can be automatically sent to them during execution or after that.

The captured samples include an execution of a final component before the encryption is started. This part can be customized to include a lot of different functionality:

Information Gathering — The engine can be used to seek for sensitive information that can reveal the identity of the victims or machine information. All of this can be used for other crimes such as identity theft and financial abuse.
Additional Malware Installations — The .kharma virus can be used to install other threats such as Trojans and miners.
Boot Options — The malware engine can be used to modify the configuration files and settings of the system which will automatically start the ransomware engine as soon as the computer is booted. In some cases this method will also disable access to the recovery boot options.
Windows Registry Changes — Some of the advanced samples have been found to edit existing values in the Windows Registry or create new ones. This can lead to problems such as performance issues, data loss and unexpected errors.

We remind our readers that infections with the Dharma ransomware can cause not only computer damage, but also sabotage as was the case with the hacked garage of the Canadian Domain Authority.

.kharma Virus – The Encryption Phase

When all components have finished running the actual ransomware will be run. As strong cipher will be used to process user data and make it inaccessible. Commonly this is done against the most popular files which may include any of the following:

Archives
Documents
Databases
Multimedia Files
System Configuration Files

The ongoing attack campaign which we are actively tracking creates a ransom note in a file called RETURN FILES.txt. It will blackmail the victims by sating that they need to pay the hackers a fee in order to restore access to their data. The victim data will be renamed with the .kharma extension and preceded by the hacker’s email contact address in brackets. In this case there are two registered accounts used in the campaign which we have analyzed — teammarcy10@cock.li and justbtcwillhelpu@firemail.cc.

Dharma ransomware versions are also known for displaying the ransom note in a pop-up window which is also known as a lockscreen. This is very effective as it can block the users from interacting with the computers in the ordinary way.

Remove .kharma Virus

If your computer system got infected with the .kharma Files ransomware virus, you should have a bit of experience in removing malware. You should get rid of this ransomware as quickly as possible before it can have the chance to spread further and infect other computers. You should remove the ransomware and follow the step-by-step instructions guide provided below.

Martin Beltov

Martin graduated with a degree in Publishing from Sofia University. As a cyber security enthusiast he enjoys writing about the latest threats and mechanisms of intrusion.

How to Remove .kharma Virus from Windows.

Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove .kharma Virus

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

1. Hold Windows key() + R

2. The "Run" Window will appear. In it, type "msconfig" and click OK.

3. Go to the "Boot" tab. There select "Safe Boot" and then click "Apply" and "OK".

Tip: Make sure to reverse those changes by unticking Safe Boot after that, because your system will always boot in Safe Boot from now on.

4. When prompted, click on "Restart" to go into Safe Mode.

5. You can recognise Safe Mode by the words written on the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Uninstall .kharma Virus and related software 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:

1. Hold the Windows Logo Button and "R" on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear.

2. In the field type in "appwiz.cpl" and press ENTER.

3. This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press "Uninstall"

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

Step 3: Clean any registries, created by .kharma Virus 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 .kharma Virus there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:

1. Open the Run Window again, type "regedit" and click OK.

2. When you open it, you can freely navigate to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are shown above.

3. You can remove the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and removing it.

Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.

IMPORTANT!
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: Scan for .kharma Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

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.

2. After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

3. After the update process has finished, click on the 'Malware/PC Scan' tab. A new window will appear. Click on 'Start Scan'.

4. 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.

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Step 5 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .kharma Virus.

Ransomware infections and .kharma Virus 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.

1. Download the reccomended Data Recovery software by clicking on the link underneath:

EaseUS Data Recovery Software

Simply click on the link and on the website menus on top, choose Data Recovery - Data Recovery Wizard for Windows or Mac (depending on your OS), and then download and run the tool.

Windows Mac OS X

Get rid of .kharma Virus from Mac OS X.

Step 1: Uninstall .kharma Virus and remove related files and objects

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your Mac with SpyHunter for Mac

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter for Mac needs to purchased to remove the malware threats. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy

1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:

3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to .kharma Virus:

Tip: To quit a process completely, choose the “Force Quit” option.

4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.

5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to .kharma Virus. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.

6: Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to .kharma Virus. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.

7: Remove any left-over files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:

Go to Finder.
In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.

In case you cannot remove .kharma Virus via Step 1 above:

In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:

Disclaimer! If you are about to tamper with Library files on Mac, be sure to know the name of the virus file, because if you delete the wrong file, it may cause irreversible damage to your MacOS. Continue on your own responsibility!

1: Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:

2: Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:

3: Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as .kharma Virus. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.

You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:

→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.

Step 2: Scan for and remove malware from your Mac

When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.

Download

Combo Cleaner

Step 3 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .kharma Virus.

1. Download the reccomended Data Recovery software by clicking on the link underneath:

EaseUS Data Recovery Software

Simply click on the link and on the website menus on top, choose Data Recovery - Data Recovery Wizard for Windows or Mac (depending on your OS), and then download and run the tool.

.kharma Virus FAQ

What is .kharma Virus ransomware and how does it work?

.kharma Virus 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 algorithm how 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.

How does .kharma Virus ransomware infect my computer?

Via several ways..kharma Virus Ransomware infects computers by being sent via phishing e-mails, 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.

After you download and execute this attachment, a drive-by download occurs and your computer is infected with the ransomware virus.

Another way, you may become a victim of .kharma Virus 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 ..kharma Virus files?

You can't. At this point the ..kharma Virus files are encrypted. You can only open them once they are decrypted.

Decryptor did not decrypt my data. What now?

Do not panic and backup the files. If a decryptor did not decrypt your ..kharma Virus files successfully, then do not despair, because this virus is still new.

One way to restore files, encrypted by .kharma Virus ransomware is to use a decryptor for it. But since it's a new virus, advised that the decryption keys for it may not be out yet and available to the public. We will update this article and keep you posted as soon as this decryptor is released.

How Do I restore "..kharma Virus" files (Other Methods)?

Yes, sometimes files can be restored. We have suggested several file recovery methods that could work if you want to restore ..kharma Virus files.

These methods are in no way 100% guarantee that you will be able to get your files back. But if you have a backup, your chances of success are much greater.

How do I get rid of .kharma Virus ransomware virus?

The safest way and the most efficient one for the removal of this ransomware infection is the use a professional anti malware software. It will scan for and locate .kharma Virus ransomware and then remove it without causing any additional harm to your important ..kharma Virus files.

Also, keep in mind that viruses like .kharma Virus ransomware also install Trojans and keyloggers that can steal your passwords and accounts. Scanning your computer with an anti-malware software will make sure that all of these virus components are removed and your computer is protected in the future.

What to Do If nothing works?

There is still a lot you can do. If none of the above methods seem to work for you, then try these methods:

Try to find a safe computer from where you can can login on your own line accounts like One Drive, iDrive, Google Drive and so on.
Try to contact your friends, relatives and other people so that they can check if they have some of your important photos or documents just in case you sent them.
Also, check if some of the files that were encrypted it can be re-downloaded from the web.
Another clever way to get back some of your files is to find another old computer, a flash drive or even a CD or a DVD where you may have saved your older documents. You might be surprised what will turn up.
You can also go to your email account to check if you can send any attachments to other people. Usually what is sent the email is saved on your account and you can re-download it. But most importantly, make sure that this is done from a safe computer and make sure to remove the virus first.

More tips you can find on our forums, where you can also asks any questions about your ransomware problem.

.kharma Virus File (Dharma Ransomware) – Remove It