This article will show you how to successfully delete Nx Ransomware infection and try to restore encrypted files by the virus.
A ransomware virus, uploaded as an open source malware in GitHub in the end of march 2016 has begun to show activity in the end of March 2017, reports indicate. The virus is oriented on victims who are not experienced and may spread on a global scale. The ransomware aims to encrypt the files on the computers infected by it via the AES and RSA encryption algorithms. After this, the virus begins to drop information on how to contact the cyber-criminals and pay a hefty ransom fee to restore encrypted files. In case your computer has been infected by the Nx ransomware infection, recommendations are to read the following article thoroughly.
Threat Summary
| Name |
Nx Ransomware |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Short Description | The malware encrypts users files using a AES and RSA, ciphers, generating a public and private key files. |
| Symptoms | The user may witness that the files are no longer openable, plus instructions on how to pay a hefty ransom fee to the criminals to decrypt the files. |
| 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 malware
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Malware Removal Tool
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| User Experience | Join our forum to Discuss Nx 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. |
Nx Ransomware – How Does It Infect
The infection process of Nx Ransomware is conducted via a malicious file, pretending to be Google Update Service. The false name on the description of the file is Google Software Update and it is called GoogleUpdate.exe. There is even data in it’s description to deceive that the creators of these file are Google themselves.
The infection file related to the GoogleUpdate.exe file, however is different than it. It is named ransomware1.exe and has the following signature and detection rate:
In addition to being spread as a false Google Service update, the Nx virus may also be replicated via the assistance of massive spam services that spread suspicious e-mail messages that seem legitimate only at first glance. However, many of those e-mails only aim to convince the victim into opening the suspicious e-mail attachment attached to them:
Nx Ransomware – Infection Activity
After causing the infection, the Nx Ransomware virus may begin to drop it’s malicious files on the compromised computers. The files that are being dropped are the following:
- GoogleUpdate.exe (SHA256: 2a3da7eaae24d815a246beb194c72eacf10383e6ac3f46ef23298fb65ca10407)
- master_pri_key.info
- master_public_key.info
Along those main files of the virus, there may be other support files (.dll, .tmp, .vbs, .bat, .exe, .js, .wsf, .bin) that may be dropped alongside them. They are usually located in the following Windows directories:
- %AppData%
- %Local%
- %Roaming%
- %LocalRow%
- %Windows%
After all the malicious files are dropped on the compromised computer, the Nx ransomware infection may begin to perform multiple other activities, such as delete the shadow volume copies of it, for example. This is achievable by executing versions of the following vssadmin command in the background:
In addition to deleting system backups, the Nx virus may also begin to modify the Windows Registry Editor. Among the attacked Windows Registry sub-keys may usually be the ones that change the wallpaper and run files on Windows boot:
→ HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop\
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
Other interference the Nx virus may perform is modify the following files within the %WINDIR% directory of Windows, again related to the registry:
→ Clr.dll
Mscorwks.dll
Mscorlib.ni.dll.aux
Sortdefault.nls
System.xml.ni.dll.aux
Pubpol47.dat
System.ni.dll.aux
Mscorlib.dl
Nx Ransomware’s Encryption Process
For the encryption of files, the Nx virus is believed to use a combination of two of the strongest known ciphers for public use.
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman or RSA encryption.
Advanced Encryption Standard also known as AES.
The AES cipher may be used to scramble the following important files, if detected on the compromised computer:
→ .AVI, .C, .CLASS, .CONFIG, .CPP, .CS, .CSC, .DBX, .DOC, .DOCX, .EML, .GIF, .GZ, .H, .JAVA, .JPG, .JS, .JSON, .JSP, .MBX, .MP3, .MP4, .MPEG, .MSG, .NEF, .PDF, .PHP, .PNG, .PPT, .PPTX, .PST, .PY, .R, .RAR, .TAR, .TXT, .VB, .VBS, .WAB, .XAML, .XLS, .XLSX, .ZIP Source: id-ransomware.blogspot.bg
After these files have already been encoded by this ransomware virus, the infection may use the RSA cipher to further insert private and public keys within the files themselves, making them increasingly difficult to decrypt, primarily because different key may be assigned to each of the files.
When the encryption process has completed, the files encoded by it can no longer be opened and the user may be presented a ransom note with instructions on how to decrypt them by making a payoff.
Remove Nx Ransomware and Restore Encoded Files
Before beginning the removal process of Nx Ransomware infection, users are advised to perform multiple backups of the encrypted files, just in case.
For the removal of this virus to be successful, we advise following the instruction steps down below, which will help isolate the threat and then locate the malicious files belonging to this virus and delete them. In case you cannot manually locate the files or feel unsure that manual removal would do the job, experts always advise downloading an advanced anti-malware tool to scan for and remove those malicious objects automatically and protect your computer against future threats as well.
For the file restoration, there is no free decryption scenario at the moment. However, we will track the situation and post decryption instructions with web links as soon as there are such available. In the meantime, we advise following the alternative methods for restoring your files at your own risk, even though they are not 100% guaranteed to get all the files back. They are located down in step “2. Restore files encrypted by Nx Ransomware”.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove Nx Ransomware from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Nx Ransomware from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Nx Ransomware from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Nx Ransomware from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Nx Ransomware from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Nx Ransomware from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Nx Ransomware from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Nx Ransomware from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Nx Ransomware
Step 2: Uninstall Nx Ransomware 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:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Nx Ransomware 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 Nx Ransomware there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
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.
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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Nx Ransomware from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Nx Ransomware and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- 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 Nx Ransomware 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:
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 Nx Ransomware files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Nx Ransomware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Nx Ransomware from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase Nx Ransomware from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall Nx Ransomware from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Nx Ransomware from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Nx Ransomware will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Nx Ransomware from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
