Gergana has completed a bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of National and World Economy. She has been with the STF team for three years, researching malware and reporting on the latest infections. She believes that in times of constantly evolving dependency of network connected technologies, people should spread the word not the war.
Gergana has completed a bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of National and World Economy. She has been with the STF team for three years, researching malware and reporting on the latest infections. She believes that in times of constantly evolving dependency of network connected technologies, people should spread the word not the war.
Gergana has completed a bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of National and World Economy. She has been with the STF team for three years, researching malware and reporting on the latest infections. She believes that in times of constantly evolving dependency of network connected technologies, people should spread the word not the war.
Note! Your computer might be affected by FRS Ransomware and other threats.
Threats such as FRS Ransomware may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy
Gergana has completed a bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of National and World Economy. She has been with the STF team for three years, researching malware and reporting on the latest infections. She believes that in times of constantly evolving dependency of network connected technologies, people should spread the word not the war.
This article has been created in order to explain what is FRS Ransomware and how to remove it from your computer. In addition, some alternative data recovery methods could help you to restore .FRS files are listed.
A new data locker ransomware has been spotted to harass online users. It is called FRS Ransomware and what it does is to encrypt important files stored on the infected hosts. After encryption all corrupted files receive the extension .FRS at the end of their original names. They remain out of order and your access to the information they store is restricted until a ransom is paid to hackers. The amount of the ransom is not stated in the text message which appears on the PC screen once the encryption process ends. The ransom message is dropped on the infected system in two file formats as a text file and as an image. The files are called READ_ME_HELP_ME.txt and READ_ME_HELP_ME.png.
Threat Summary
Name
FRS Ransomware
Type
Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description
FRS Ransomware virus encrypts files on your PC and drops a ransom note that demands payment for the decryption of .FRS files.
Symptoms
This ransomware encrypts important files and then renames them with the extension .FRS. The access to encrypted files is restricted. A ransom payment is demanded.
Distribution Method
Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by FRS Ransomware
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.
FRS Ransomware – More Information
Once FRS Ransomware crypto virus is running on the infected device it can drop additional malicious file by connecting to its server. The ransomware could be also designed to create needed files during the infection process. It is likely to locate malicious files in the following Windows system folders:
%AppData%
%Local%
%LocalLow%
%Roaming%
%Temp%
%Windows%
However, the threat may be set to delete its traits after it plagues your system and data. FRS Ransomware may also utilize obfuscation techniques to prevent detection so you may not be able to find out the files and objects associated with the threat manually.
FRS Ransomware uses the functionalities of some registry keys to execute certain malicious files needed for the infection. In addition, it may add some values under specific registry sub-keys that control the automatic execution of all apps that need to start on each system launch. By doing this FRS Ransomware ensures its persistence on the system. Thus, its detection and removal become rather tough tasks.
After FRS Ransomware establishes its files on the system it initiates a scan of all drives in order to locate target files and modify their original code with the help of strong cipher algorithm. Currently, there is no information which cipher is used by the threat. What is sure is that all corrupted files receive the extension .FRS and remain out of order until a proper decryption solution is applied to all of them.
FRS Ransomware is set to drop a ransom note on each infected host. The information it provides can be found in two different files. One of them is in a .TXT format while the other is a PNG image. Both files are named READ_ME_HELP_ME and what they read is:
Ooops,your important files have been encrypted! Ransomware […] FRS Decryptor […] the content of your files not readable?It is normal,because your important files have been encrypted by the “FRS Ransomware”.It means your files are NOT DAMAGED!Your files are just encrypted.From now it is not possible to use your files until they will be decrypted.The only way to decrypt your files safely is use special decryption tool “FRS Decryptor”.Please wait for “FRS Decryptor” to start automatically.If “FRS Decryptor” does not start automatically, open “FRS Decryptor” on the desktop.
In fact, this is the English extract of the message. It has another part that is probably written in Chinese. Under no circumstances, you should contact hackers or pay them the ransom as they may not send you a working decryption solution. The good news is that there are alternative solutions that may help you to restore .FRS files. Check out the guide below.
Remove FRS Ransomware and Restore Files
The step-by-step removal guide below provides both manual and automatic approaches. Beware that the removal of FRS Ransomware virus is not an easy task. It is a severe threat that plagues the whole system. Security researchers recommend the help of advanced anti-malware tool for maximum efficiency.
After you fulfill the removal process make sure to check the “Restore Files” step available in our guide below. But before that be advised to back up all encrypted files to an external drive and prevent their irreversible loss.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by FRS Ransomware and other threats. Scan Your PC with SpyHunter SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as FRS Ransomware. Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
To remove FRS Ransomware follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove FRS Ransomware files and objects
OFFER
Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!
We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria
Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
For Windows XP, Vista and 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 up the Start Menu.
Step 2: Click on the Power button (for Windows 8 it is the little arrow next to the “Shut Down” button) and whilst holding down “Shift” click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, a blue menu with options will appear. From them you should choose Troubleshoot.
Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu choose Advanced Options.
Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.
Step 6: From the Startup Settings menu, click on Restart.
Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You can choose any of the three Safe Mode options by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.
Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.
2. Find files created by FRS Ransomware on your PC
Find files created by FRS Ransomware
1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
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.
IMPORTANT! Before starting the Automatic Removal below, 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.
Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs
3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Scan your PC and Remove FRS Ransomware with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for FRS Ransomware and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove FRS Ransomware. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.
It is 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. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.
Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.
Step 2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.
Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.
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 with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup.
4. Try to Restore files encrypted by FRS Ransomware
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by FRS Ransomware
Ransomware infections and FRS Ransomware aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to 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 these methods may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software. Another method for 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:
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:
To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for Volume Shadow Copies, if ransomware has not deleted them, in Windows using the below software:
Method 4: Finding the decryption key while the cryptovirus sends it over a network via a sniffing tool.
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:
Gergana has completed a bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of National and World Economy. She has been with the STF team for three years, researching malware and reporting on the latest infections. She believes that in times of constantly evolving dependency of network connected technologies, people should spread the word not the war.
Gergana has completed a bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of National and World Economy. She has been with the STF team for three years, researching malware and reporting on the latest infections. She believes that in times of constantly evolving dependency of network connected technologies, people should spread the word not the war.
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7.
2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for FRS Ransomware and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
