A ransomware threat that is a part of the many .XTBL variants has appeared, and it has begun infecting users worldwide. It uses a strong encryption algorithm to encipher the files of its victims on system startup. The aim of this virus is to get users to contact the e-mail address [email protected] to negotiate the payoff sum to get back the files which are scrambled by this virus. In case you important documents are affected by this malware, researchers strongly advise against paying the ransom. Instead, it is recommended to read this article and learn more about how to remove [email protected] ransomware and alternative methods to restore files encrypted by it.

UPDATE! Kaspersky malware researchers have released a Shade decryptor which can decode files encoded by the the Shade ransomware variants. Since this includes the .xtbl file extension, we have created instructions on how to decrypt your .xtbl files. The instructions can be found on the link below:
Decrypt Files Encrypted by Shade Ransowmare

Threat Summary

Name	[email protected]
Type	Ransomware
Short Description	A variant of the .XTBL ransomware viruses. Encrypts files with a strong encryption and drops a ransom note with payoff for decryption instructions.
Symptoms	After encryption the ransomware may steal information and appends .xtbl extension after every file.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, File Sharing Networks.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by [email protected] Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss [email protected] 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.

[email protected] Ransomware – Distribution Methods

The creators of [email protected] virus do not mess about when it comes to spreading this virus and infecting computers. They have realized that this is the most important part if they are going to make a profit out of your important data and have heavily concealed from antivirus programs the files dropped on your computer via malicious executables. Such executables may be used as e-mail attachments in so-called phishing e-mails that aim to resemble a legitimate company or a person with convincing statements in them that get users to open such attachments.

Not only this, but the malicious executable may be an Exploit Kit or a .js (JavaScript) file that pretends to be a legitimate Adobe .PDF document or a Microsoft Office document or any other file that may fool the inexperienced user into downloading and opening it.

[email protected] Ransomware – In-Depth View

When users open the exploit kit, it may immediately connect to a remote domain and download the payload of the [email protected] virus. Like other .XTBL ransomware viruses, it may create it’s malicious files in the following Windows folders:

%AppData%
%Roaming%
%Local%
%Temp%

However, the [email protected] virus may also create copies of an .HTML and .hta files that contain it’s ransom note together with it’s malicious executable file that encrypts the files of the compromised computer. These files are reported by researchers to be dropped in the %Strartup% folders:

C:\Users\ {User’s profile}\ AppData\ Roaming\ Microsoft\Windows\ Start Menu\Programs\ Startup\ Decryption instructions.jpg
C:\Users\ {User’s profile}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ Startup\ Decryption instructions.txt
C:\Users\ {User’s profile}\ AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\ {malicious payload file}.exe
C:\Windows\System32\ {malicious payload file}.exe

This is done to make these files run every time you turn on or restart your Windows computer.

Regarding file encryption, [email protected] ransomware virus may attack the shadow copies and other backups and delete them using the vssadmin command, called delete shadows and executing it in administrative “quiet” mode so that the victim doesn’t suspect it.

After having begun to encode the files of users, [email protected] ransomware is focused on scanning for and detecting to encrypt widely used types of files, for example:

→“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” Source:fileinfo.com

After files that have been encrypted by [email protected] ransomware have been scrambled, the virus appends a very specific file extension to them, which includes the e-mail address, a unique identification number, and the .xtbl file extension. Encrypted files by this malware look like the following:

[email protected] Ransomware – Conclusion, Removal, and Restoring .XTBL Files

For it to be fully erased from your computer, we advise using the instructions below, instead of bringing your computer to an expert who will overcharge you. They are methodologically arranged to assist with the proper deletion. However, in case you believe no all files associated with [email protected] ransomware have been removed from your computer, malware researchers recommend using an advanced anti-malware software that will surely and swiftly take care of this threat.

If you are looking forward to reverting your files back to normal, it is advisable to avoid using direct decryption, since this procedure may break your files, because [email protected] may have defensive mechanisms. This is why we suggest avoiding it and trying some other methods from step “3. Restore files encrypted by [email protected] Ransomware” to restore your data. The methods there may not be 100% effective, but if you are in luck, you may restore a portion of your missing data.

Manually delete [email protected] from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the [email protected] threat: Manual removal of [email protected] 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 [email protected] files and objects

2.Find malicious files created by [email protected] on your PC

3.Fix registry entries created by [email protected] on your PC

Automatically remove [email protected] by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove [email protected] with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

2. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by [email protected] in the future

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 .

To back up your files via Windows and prevent any future intrusions, follow these instructions:

1. For Windows 7 and earlier

1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10

1. Enabling the Windows Defense Feature (Previous Versions)

1-Click on Windows Start Menu

2-Type Backup And Restore
3-Open it and click on Set Up Backup

4-A window will appear asking you where to set up backup. You should have a flash drive or an external hard drive. Mark it by clicking on it with your mouse then click on Next.

5-On the next window, the system will ask you what do you want to backup. Choose the ‘Let Me Choose’ option and then click on Next.

6-Click on ‘Save settings and run backup’ on the next window in order to protect your files from possible attacks by [email protected].

1-Press Windows button + R

2-In the window type ‘filehistory’ and press Enter

3-A File History window will appear. Click on ‘Configure file history settings’

4-The configuration menu for File History will appear. Click on ‘Turn On’. After its on, click on Select Drive in order to select the backup drive. It is recommended to choose an external HDD, SSD or a USB stick whose memory capacity is corresponding to the size of the files you want to backup.

5-Select the drive then click on ‘Ok’ in order to set up file backup and protect yourself from [email protected].

1- Press Windows button + R keys.

2- A run windows should appear. In it type ‘sysdm.cpl’ and then click on Run.

3- A System Properties windows should appear. In it choose System Protection.

5- Click on Turn on system protection and select the size on the hard disk you want to utilize for system protection.
6- Click on Ok and you should see an indication in Protection settings that the protection from [email protected] is on.

Restoring a file via Windows Defense feature:
1-Right-click on the encrypted file, then choose Properties.

2-Click on the Previous Versions tab and then mark the last version of the file.

3-Click on Apply and Ok and the file encrypted by [email protected] should be restored.

3. Restore files encrypted by [email protected]

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

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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[email protected] Virus Remove and Restore .Xtbl Files

Threat Summary

[email protected] Ransomware – Distribution Methods

[email protected] Ransomware – In-Depth View

[email protected] Ransomware – Conclusion, Removal, and Restoring .XTBL Files

Manually delete [email protected] from your computer

Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode

Find malicious files created by [email protected]

For Newer Windows Operating Systems

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

For Older Windows Operating Systems

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Fix registry entries created by [email protected] on your PC.

Automatically remove [email protected] by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

Remove [email protected] with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by [email protected]

Remove [email protected] Using Other Alternative Tools

Vencislav Krustev

Subscribe to our newsletter

Quick Removal Menu…

Hey you,BE IN THE KNOW!

Threat Summary

Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode

For Newer Windows Operating Systems

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

For Older Windows Operating Systems

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

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

Vencislav Krustev

Subscribe to our newsletter

Quick Removal Menu…

Hey you,
BE IN THE KNOW!