Ransowmare virus, going by the name CryptoWire has been reported to cause infections and encrypt files of affected comptuers by appending the .encrypted file extension after that. The virus uses AES encryption algorithm to encipher the files of its victims rendering them no longer openable. It also leaves a lockscreen in addition to the encryption where the demands are to pay approximately 0.29 BTC in ransom by buying decryption keys via pressing a button. Anyone who has become victim of the CrytoWire ransomware are strongly advised to not pay the ransom and follow the information in this article to help you learn more about the virus, remove it and hopefully restore your files.

Threat Summary

Name	CryptoWire
Type	Ransomware
Short Description	The ransomware encrypts files with the AES ciphers and asks a ransom payoff for decryption.
Symptoms	Files are encrypted and become inaccessible. A ransom note with instructions for paying the ransom shows as a lockscreen.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, File Sharing Networks.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by CryptoWire Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss CryptoWire 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.

CryptoWire Ransom Virus – Distribution Vectors

Similar to other crypto-viruses, the CryptoWire threat could use the following tools to help it cause successful infections:

• Malicious JavaScript (URLs or .wsf, .js type of files in attachments)
• Malicious HTML files (.html, .htm, .hta and others)
• Malware obfuscators that hide the malware from any security software on the victim computer.
• File Joiners that may combine the virus with legitimate documents, such as Microsoft Office documents or Adobe documents containing malicious macros.
• Malicious servers (for command and control and the download of the payload).
• Tools used to help the virus spread via different spam, also known as spam bots.
• External spamming services of other cyber-crooks as a form of collaboration.

These tools may successfully spread CryptoWire on your e-mail, your social media accounts and even as comments on forums, like reddit and others. Sometimes spam bots may be used to take over Facebook accounts , create duplicate accounts or other devious activities and spam the virus via posts or messages this way. Whatever the case may be, once you open CryptoWire’s malicious payload, you become “cryptowired” and so far there seems to be no turning back.

CryptoWire Ransomware – Technical Analysis

The virus interestingly enough uses a combination of lockscreen techniques as well as techniques that directly cause file encryption via the AES encryption algorithm which is one of the strongest publicly available. The encryption is originally designed for military defensive purposes when it comes down to classified files and depending on how strong it is lies the outcome of the decryption of your data.

After infection by CryptoWire, the virus may download it’s payload via several different names, but most researchers who detected it know its malicious file to be named completely randomly with the following technical information about it:

The malicious files belonging to CryptoWire may be located In several key Windows folders:

After executed, the malicious file of CryptWire immediately begins malicious process injection in key Windows processes:

• schtasks.exe
• vssadmin.exe
• bcedit.exe
• cmd.exe
• rundll32.exe

It may use those key Windows modules for different malicious activities:

• To communicate online with the C&C(Command and Control) servers of the cyber-criminals.
• To execute the privileged vssadmin command in “/quiet” mode and delete all shadow volume copies of the infected computer.
• To heavily modify subkeys and add custom values in the Windows Registry Editor. These may be used to lock the screen and run on system startup before any protection software blocks it while it encrypts user data.

After the module which is responsible for encrypting files is ran, it may immediately attack types of files that are used very often, like videos, images, audio files, databases and others. We have summed up commonly used file extensions to give you a vague overview of what file extensions this virus may be pre-programmed to encipher:

After the encryption process by CryptWire has completed, the virus begins to immediately lock the screen of the user PC and display it’s unique message:

The virus even has a button that leads directly to a Bitcoin trading platform where victims will be able to buy BTC, making it more convenient.

The worse news about CryptoWire, however are not related either to the AES-256 algorithm It uses neither to the fact that it uses lockscreen messages. They are related to the fact that the virus has been uploaded directly for free with all of it’s “features” advertised in GitHub which may be an opportunity for coders who want to create their own variant of CryptoWire. Here are some of the extras being advertised:

• Encrypts files on stored USB drives, other external drives, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive (cloud services), Google Games(Steam), Network shares.
• Not specifically extension based, encrypts all files besides critical Windows files that are maximum 30 MB in size.
• Deletes shadow volume copies.
• Overwrites old versions of the files which are non-encrypted several times, 10 to be prices to make them permanently deleted and unable to be recovered by any type of data recovery software.
• Avoids heuristic scans using custom algorithms.
• Runs on startup.
• Checks the domain of the victim PC and if the computer is an eneterprise machine belonging to a business network the ransom payoff amount significantly rises ten times.

April 2018 New CryptoWire Release

Even though the CryptoWire ransomware family is not among the most advanced ones it is frequently used by beginner malware actors against users worldwide. A recent active attack campaign bearing its signatures was detected in April 2018, the analysis reveals that the virus payload is a customized version of the main version. The strain is compiled on April 10 2018 and shortly after that we have received reports of infected users.

By following the already established behavior patterns the virus engine proceeds into certain system modifications that make it more difficult to restore the affected system and data:

• Shadow Volume Copies Removal — The malware engine has the ability to remove all found shadow volume copies of the victim data. The impacted files can be restored with a quality recovery software. Refer to our instructions below.
• Boot Options Modification — The CryptoWire malware engine modifies the boot options thereby removing the possibility to boot into the recovery menu.
• Persistent State of Execution — CryptoWire creates a scheduled task that executes the virus every time the computer boots.

The captured samples have been found to affect the following file type extensions:

3fr, 7z, EPS, M3U, M4A, PEM, PSD, WPS, XLSX, abw, accdb, afsnit, ai, aif, arc, arw, as, asc, asd, asf,
ashdisc, asm, asp, aspx, asx, aup, avi, bay, bbb, bdb, bibtex, bkf, bmp, bmp, bpn, btd, bz2, c, cdi, cdr,
cer, cert, cfm, cgi, cpio, cpp, cr2, crt, crw, csr, cue, dbf, dcr, dds, dem, der, dmg, dng, doc, docm, docx, dsb,
dwg, dxf, dxg, eddx, edoc, eml, emlx, eps, epub, erf, fdf, ffu, flv, gam, gcode, gho, gpx, gz, h, hbk, hdd, hds,
himmel, hpp, ics, idml, iff, img, indd, ipd, iso, isz, iwa, j2k, jp2, jpeg, jpf, jpg, jpm, jpx, jsp, jspa, jspx,
jst, kdc, key, keynote, kml, kmz, lic, lwp, lzma, m4v, max, mbox, md2, mdb, mdbackup, mddata, mdf, mdinfo, mds,
mef, mid, mov, mp3, mp4, mpa, mpb, mpeg, mpg, mpj, mpp, mrw, msg, mso, nba, nbf, nbi, nbu, nbz, nco, nef, nes,
note, nrg, nri, nrw, odb, odc, odm, odp, ods, odt, ogg, one, orf, ova, ovf, oxps, p12, p2i, p65, p7, p7b, p7c,
pages, pct, pdd, pdf, pef, pem, pfx, php, php3, php4, php5, phps, phpx, phpxx, phtm, phtml, pl, plist, pmd, pmx,
png, ppdf, pps, ppsm, ppsx, ppt, pptm, pptx, ps, psd, pspimage, pst, ptx, pub, pvm, qcn, qcow, qcow2, qt, r3d, ra,
raf, rar, raw, rm, rtf, rtf, rw2, rwl, s, sbf, set, skb, slf, sme, smm, snp, spb, sql, sr2, srf, srt, srw, ssc, ssi,
stg, stl, svg, swf, sxw, syncdb, tager, tc, tex, tga, thm, tif, tiff, til, toast, torrent, txt, vbk, vcard, vcd, vcf,
vdi, vfs4, vhd, vhdx, vmdk, vob, vsdx, wav, wb2, wbk, wbverify, webm, wmb, wpb, wpd, wps, x3f, xdw, xlk, xlr, xls, xlsb,
xlsm, xlsx, xz, yuv, zip, zipx

As a consequence all affected data is renamed with the .encrypted extension. Like some of its previous versions this particular sample launches an application-based lockscreen with the “CryptoWire” title. It reads the following message:

The only way you can recover your files is to buy a decryption key
The payment method is: Bitcoins. The price is: $1000 = Bitcoins
When you are ready, send a message by email to [email protected]
We will send you our BTC wallet for the transfer
After confirmation we will send you the decryption key
Click on the ‘Buy decryption key’ button.

CryptoWire Ransomware – The Bottom Line, Removal and How to Restore the Files

In conclusion, this is a very ambitious ransomware project, that not only has evasive techniques but may also prove to be well coded as well. With the source code being released into the open on GitHub, many opportunist blackhats may take advantage of the malware and begin infecting users with their own variants of it. Malware researchers, however are also aware of the virus and are working on methods to decrypt it by reverse engineering it’s code. This is the primary reason we recommend not paying the ransoma and focusing on removing the ransomware yourself while waiting for a decryptor for your files.

In case you feel convinced that CryptoWire malware must go(recommended), we advise you to follow the instructions below and hunt for it’s malicious files and other objects in Windows Safe Mode. Security experts always advise that the best method to fully remove viruses like CryptoWire is to use an advanced anti-malware program, instructions for which we have posted below as well. This will allow for the automatic detection off all the CryptoWire objects and other malware it may have slithered onto your system as well.

Furthermore, even though restoring files encriphered by CryptoWire may not be easy, we still advise you to try the alternative methods in step “2. Restore files encrypted by CryptoWire” below. They are not guarantee of successful file reversing but they are the best temporary alternative to choose from while a free decryptor is released. When free decryptor is released, we will post instructions on our blog and post a web link in this article for you to see and recover your files for free.

Manually delete CryptoWire from your computer

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

Find malicious files created by CryptoWire

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 CryptoWire by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

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

Remove CryptoWire with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by CryptoWire

Ransomware infections like CryptoWire 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 CryptoWire 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 CryptoWire 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 CryptoWire Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

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