The Jigsaw ransomware proves to be persistent. This time around the extension .epic is given to encrypted files. The crypto-virus encrypts 120 file extensions and more, as previous variants, and creates a ransom note which is Anonymous-themed. Five thousand dollars is the sum asked as payment for decryption. To know how to restore your files and remove the ransomware variant, you should read the article till its end.
Threat Summary
| Name | Epic |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Short Description | The ransomware encrypts files by adding an .epic extension and demands a ransom for decryption. |
| Symptoms | Files with more than 120 different extensions get encrypted. Each hour files can get erased if the ransom money is not paid. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments, File Sharing Networks |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Epic. |
| 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. |
Epic Ransomware – Delivery
Epic ransomware might be delivered through spam e-mails containing an attachment. When the attachment is opened, the malicious code inside it will inject itself into your computer machine. That file could have a name such as firefox.exe or something popular like it, so it can trick people into opening it.
Past variants of the Epic ransomware were delivered via social media networks or file-share sites, as well. DropBox was another delivery method used by the original variant – Jigsaw ransomware. The best advice you could know is to avoid any suspicious sites, links or files because from them you could find malicious code infecting you with the Epic ransomware virus.
Epic Ransomware – Technical Information
The Epic ransomware is a crypto-virus of the Jigsaw family. All your files will get encrypted and be unusable. The malware demands a huge sum of money to be paid in BitCoins for file decryption. If you do not meet the criteria given by the Epic ransomware, your files will be deleted in an hourly manner or even sent to your Contacts. The theme of this variant is Anonymous.
The ransomware will create some files on a compromised computer and register them in the Windows Registry with specific values, to maintain persistence.
This is one of the common entries in the Windows Registry:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\[random name].exe
That registry value will automatically load a certain executable file of the ransomware with each boot of the Windows Operating System. That way the Epic ransomware will launch every time.
Next, the Epic ransomware will display a lock screen which will type out text meant to scare you into paying the ransom.
Here is how the lock screen looks like:
The ransomware demands a payment of at least 5000 US dollars to be paid in BitCoins. Otherwise, the Epic ransomware will delete some of your files with each passing hour. The asked ransom price won’t increase with time.
The text inside the lock screen reads:
Very bad news! I am a so-called crypt.locker with following advanced functions:
[TIMER]
Encrypting all your Data……………………………………………………………….……..Done!
Collecting all Logins, Contacts, eMail and Messenger History…..Done!
Uploading all of it on a Server………………………………………….Done!
Sending a copy of this Package to ALL of your contacts…Pending
Now here are some good news:
The pending task will never be executed and all your files will be decrypted
again as soon as you did a BITCOIN PAYMENT within the next 72h.
I will then remove myselfe from your system – like nothing ever happened!
To show you that I am serious I will delete every hour 1-5 files – better hurry!
If you fail no one will stop me from sending messages to all your contacts.
Sharing with them every private conversation or eMail of yours I could find.
Don’t try to be smart by closing me or Power off the Machine – its too late!
Now make your decission: Accepting the loss of Privacy and Data or doing the Payment.1 file will be deleted.
View encrypted files.Please, send at least $5000 worth of BTC here:
I made a payment now give me back my files!
Below you see an executable file of the Epic ransomware, uploaded to VirusTotal:
Paying any ransom money demanded by the Epic ransomware is ridiculous. The sum of 5,000 dollars is too high for the average user, and absolutely nobody can guarantee that you will indeed return your files to normal for them to be usable. The ransomware is sold for 35 times less than the ransom which is asked per user. Giving up the money to the cyber crooks will only feed their addiction for crimes and inspire them in that direction.
Know that at the end of this article you will find described ways to restore your files. A decryption tool is also available thanks to Michael Gillespie – the malware researcher who cracked the original Jigsaw ransomware.
The Epic ransomware searches extensions to encrypt files which have them, on every type of storage device you can think of – SSD, HDD, be it internal or external. The Epic variant like past iterations of the ransomware will search for files with 120 plus extensions. The list of all these extensions is the following:
→ .3dm, .3g2, .3gp, .aaf, .accdb, .aep, .aepx, .aet, .ai, .aif, .as, .as3, .asf, .asp, .asx, .avi, .bmp, .c, .class, .cpp, .cs, .csv, .jpeg, .jpg, .js, .rtf, .sdf, .ses, .sldm, .sldx, .sql, .svg, .swf, .tif, .txt, .vcf, .vob, .wav, .wma, .wmv, .wpd, .wps, .xla, .xlam, .m3u, .m3u8, .m4u, .max, .mdb, .mid, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .mpa, .mpeg, .mpg, .msg, .pdb, .pdf, .php, .plb, .pmd, .png, .pot, .potm, .potx, .ppam, .ppj, .pps, .ppsm, .ppsx, .ppt, .pptm, .pptx, .prel, .prproj, .ps, .psd, .py, .ra, .raw, .rb, .xll, .xlm, .xls, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xlt, .xltm, .xltx, .xlw, .xml, .xqx, .xqx, .dat, .db, .dbf, .doc, .docb, .docm, .docx, .dot, .dotm, .dotx, .dwg, .dxf, .efx, .eps, .fla, .flv, .gif, .h, .idml, .iff, .indb, .indd, .indl, .indt, .inx, .jar, .java
The AES algorithm used with this variant of the ransomware does not differ from the one used by the original Jigsaw ransomware. The ransomware sets .epic as an extension to all encrypted files. If you reboot your PC, there is a high chance that you could lose around 1,000 files of your encrypted data.
This variant of the Jigsaw Ransomware made an innovation with its scary ransom note and the bombastic sum of money wanted as ransom. Otherwise, a solution to restore all of your files is still present. In a case when you have rebooted your computer system after the infection and lost some of the files – do not panic. Data Recovery software might still recover the lost files.
Remove Epic Ransomware and Restore .epic Files
If Epic ransomware infected your machine, do not worry, as there is already a solution available for free file decryption. If you want to get rid of the ransomware, you should have a bit of experience in removing viruses. Check the instructions guide written below to see how you can recover your files.
- Guide 1: How to Remove Epic from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Epic from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Epic from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Epic from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Epic from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Epic from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Epic from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Epic from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Epic
Step 2: Uninstall Epic 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 Epic 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 Epic 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 Epic from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Epic 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 Epic 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 Epic files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Epic, 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 Epic 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 Epic 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 Epic 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 Epic 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 Epic will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Epic 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.
