Esmeralda ransomware is believed to be a new variant of the Apocalypse cryptovirus. The new strain uses the same domain for an e-mail contact and encrypts files by placing the same extension. That extension is .encrypted and is placed on each locked file. The AES algorithm is used for the encryption process. To see how to remove the ransomware and how you can try to decrypt your files, carefully read the article.

Threat Summary

Name	Esmeralda
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	The ransomware encrypts your files and then displays a ransom note with demand instructions.
Symptoms	Your files will become encrypted and inaccessible. The .encrypted extension will be appended to all of them.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Esmeralda Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Esmeralda.
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.

Esmeralda Ransomware – Infection

The Esmeralda ransomware can infiltrate your computer system in a number of ways. The payload file could be spreading through spam e-mails. Spam mail is made in such a way that is presented to you as something of crucial importance or like surprising news. The focus is put on the attachment, and while you don’t think about whether the letter is telling the truth or not, you open that attached file. Inside, the malicious content is released, and your computer machine is infected. The payload file in most cases is an executable or a Trojan horse, and you can see an example of such a file on the VirusTotal database:

Esmeralda ransomware could infect your device in other ways. For example, the malware creators could be delivering the files via social media networks and file-share websites. The malicious file might be hosted on one of these platforms with the goal of infecting more unsuspecting users. Refrain from opening unknown links and files from dubious sources. Do an initial scan with a security application and check their signature and size beforehand. You should read the ransomware prevention tips in the STF forum.

Esmeralda Ransomware – Information

A ransomware cryptovirus has been found a few days back, which goes by the name of Esmeralda. Malware researchers from Emsisoft believe that it is a variant of the Apocalypse ransomware.

It will encrypt your files and after that put the extension .encrypted to each of them. Instructions with demands will be written in a text file and also launched as a ransom message on your screen after the encryption process is finished.

When the Esmeralda ransomware executes its payload, it could create entries inside the Windows Registry for achieving persistence. Those registry entries are created to make the virus launch automatically with every boot of the Windows operating system. What follows is that your data becomes encrypted, and then the ransom note shows up on your desktop screen. The ransom message is contained inside a file named How_To_Decrypt.txt.

You can see the ransom message from the below screenshot:

The message reads the following:

Windows has encountered a critical problem and needs your immediate action to recover your data. The system access is locked and all the data have been encrypted to avoid the information be published or misused. You will not be able to access to your files and ignoring this message may cause the total loss of data. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

You need to contact the email below to restore the data of your system.

Email: [email protected]

You will have to order the Unlock-Password and the Esmeralda Decryption Software. All the
instructions will be sent to you by email.

No further instructions are given unless you contact the email address and write to the crooks. The ransom note is English and doesn’t appear to target specific users. The contact email is in Russian, and the instructions are to write to the provided e-mail. However, you should NOT, in any case, think of contacting the criminals or paying them. No one can guarantee you that by paying you will get your data restored. Adding to that the cybercriminals will probably invest the money in other ransomware viruses or more criminal activities.

The Esmeralda ransomware encrypts files while appending the .encrypted extension to them. The encryption process utilizes the AES encryption algorithm according to researchers. For now, this new variant of the Apocalypse ransomware does not seem decryptable.

The Esmeralda cryptovirus is very likely to delete the Shadow Volume Copies from the Windows operating system via the following command:

→vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /Quiet

Read further to see what types of methods you can try to possibly restore some of your data.

Remove Esmeralda Ransomware and Restore .encrypted Files

If your computer got infected with the Esmeralda ransomware virus, you should have some experience in removing malware. You should get rid of this ransomware as fast as possible before it can have the chance to spread further and infect more computers. You should remove the ransomware and follow the step-by-step instructions guide given below. To see ways that you can try to recover your data, see the step titled 2. Restore files encrypted by Esmeralda.

Manually delete Esmeralda from your computer

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

Find malicious files created by Esmeralda

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 Esmeralda by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

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

Remove Esmeralda with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by Esmeralda

Ransomware infections like Esmeralda 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 Esmeralda 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 Esmeralda 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 Esmeralda Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

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

Berta Bilbao

Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.

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