If you have been infected by the Dharma virus, this article aims to help you remove it and try to restore the .wallet files for free.

Dharma ransomware which was latter established to be a variant of the CrySiS ransomware family has come up with yet another .wallet file extension. The Dharma virus encrypts the files on the computer which it infects by likely using the AES (Advanced Encryption Algorithm) after which holds the encrypted files hostage. It also leaves behind a ransom note in a .txt and .jpg files that demands from the victim to pay a hefty “fee” to get the files back. In case you have become victim of the Dharma ransomware virus, we suggest that you read this article to learn how to remove Dharma and try to restore your files.

Threat Summary

Name	Dharma
Type	Ransomware
Short Description	Dharma encrypts user files and leaves as contact e-mail addresses to contact the criminals behind it and pay the ransom fee.
Symptoms	Changes file extension of encrypted files to .wallet. Changes wallpaper to one with ransom instructions that have the backup ransom e-mail – [email protected]
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 Dharma Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss Dharma.
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.

Update May 2017 – New Data Recovery Method

Update May 2017. Our research indicates that this .wallet file virus continues to infect users in May 2017. In addition, there is a new ransomware infection, which uses the .wallet file extension. This new .Wallet infection encrypts the files by using the AES and RSA encryption algorithm. The ransom note is named #_Restoring_files_#.txt.

It has been brought to our attention that victims of the latest Dharma .wallet ransomware infection variants have managed to restore a very high percentage (over 90%) of their files using a very unique method – converting files into virtual drives and then using partition recovery option on data recovery programs. This method takes advantage of the converting the files into a .VHD file type which is a virtual drive. Since there are new data recovery programs specifically designed to recover partitions, one approach is to restore files encyrpted by Dharma ransomware is to convert the encrypted files into .VHD files and then try to recover them using partition recovery software. Since the algorithm that encrypts files actually alters only a small portion of the file, you have a much higher chance of recovering the files if you change them into .VHD type.

The methods have been reported to not be a full guarantee to recover all the files, but if you haven’t reinstalled your operating system yet, we advise you to follow them. But first, make sure to remove Dharma’s malicious files from the instructions at the bottom of these article. Here are the instructions:

Which Techniques Dharma Virus Uses to Spread and Infect

In order to cause a successful infection, the Dharma’s .wallet variant may utilize a mixture of tools to obfuscate the malware, such as:

• Program obfuscators.
• Exploit kit.
• File Joiners.
• Infection URLs.
• Malicious JavaScripts.
• A Database of distribution sites.
• Spamming services or spam bots.

The combination of those tools may spread Dharma ransomware in different places over the web, such as:

• Social media websites.
• Spam messages on e-mails.
• Messages on messaging services and communication programs(Skype, for example).
• Fake files uploaded on torrent websites as fake game key generators or cracks and patch-fixes.

The activation of either a malicious URL or a file leads to the devastating infection with Dharma ransomware, which makes the virus perform malicious script injection in legitimate Windows processes or services, such as sysdm.cpl or svchost.exe.

Dharma Ransomware – What Happens After Infection

After being infected by Dharma ransomware, the virus begins to perform several different tasks. For starters, it may initially create multiple objects in the Windows Registry editor. Those objects may make the ransomware virus run automatically on Windows startup and furthermore execute it’s files which it has created every time Windows boots up. Amongst the affected Windows registry entries may be the Run and RunOnce registry keys.

And when it comes to the files it creates, Dharma ransomware may create multiple files in the %Temp% and %AppData% folders. But it also may drop it’s ransom note files, which researchers claim to be named as the following:

• Readme.txt
• Readme.jpg

Furthermore, Dharma ransomware may modify the registry key for the Desktop of the computer to change the wallpaper of the affected machine to Dharma’s ransom note.

Although not confirmed, the ransom note of the virus may be similar to the other version of Dharma:

“//hallo, our dear friend!
//looks like you have some troubles with your security.
//all your files are now encrypted.
//using third-party recovering software will corrupt your data.
//you have only one way to get them back safely – using our decryption tool.
//to get original decryption tool contact us with email. In subject like write your ID, which you can find in name of every crypted file, also attach to email 3 crypted files.
[email protected]
//it is in your interest to respond as soon as pissible to ensure the restoration of your files, because we won’t keep your decryption keys at our servers more than 72 hours in interest of our security.
//P.S. only in case you don’t receive a response from the first email address within 24 hours, please use this alternative email address.
[email protected]

In addition to this, this variant of Dharma also takes a similar approach to CrySiS XTBL when it comes to the structure of the files after encryption. They again contain the e-mail address requested for contact but they also have the unique for Dharma .wallet extension. Files encrypted by Dharma may look like the following:

After Dharma has already encrypted the files, they can no longer be opened. Their code is altered using a unique encryption algorithm.

Dharma Ransomware – Conclusion, Removal and File Restoration

Ransomware like Dharma has once proven that it can be fixed and patched to become more difficult to decrypt and for this to happen the cyber-criminals most likely have invested a lot. It is believed that the same people who are behind the notorious Shade .XTBL ransomware have managed to make a profit by simply releasing too many variants for malware researchers to track. This resulted in a lot of people paying the ransom instead of decrypting their files for free. One theory is that these money were used to create the modified version of Shade – Dharma which is currently non-decryptable.

Despite all, it is strongly advisable that you avoid paying the ransom at all costs. Malware researchers are constantly monitoring Dharma and we will update this article with free decryption instructions, just like we did with it’s previous version. In the meantime we advise you to perform the following if infected by Dharma:

1. Backup the encrypted files and create several copies of them.
2. Remove Dharma, preferably by following the instructions below.
3. Focus on trying to restore the files using alternative methods, like the ones we have suggested below in step “2. Restore files encrypted by Dharma”.

Manually delete Dharma from your computer

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

Find malicious files created by Dharma

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 Dharma by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

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

Remove Dharma with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by Dharma

Ransomware infections like Dharma 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 Dharma 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 Dharma 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 Dharma Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

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