Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Note! Your computer might be affected by Fsociety Ransomware and other threats.
Threats such as Fsociety 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
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Mr. Robot TV series has become the inspiration for malware writers to create a ransomware, called Fsociety. The virus aims to imitate a fictional hacking group from the famous TV series, just like Anonymous is. As much as we enjoy hearing new Mr. Robot news, this one is unfortunate, because the Fsociety ransomware uses an extremely strong encryption algorithm, called AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) to encrypt the files of users. Everyone who has been infected by this threat should read this article to learn how to remove the Fsociety crypto-virus and try to restore encrypted files by it.
Threat Summary
Name
Fsociety Ransomware
Type
Ransomware
Short Description
Encrypts user files with AES cipher and RSA key and sets a wallpaper from the famous TV series Mr.Robot.
Symptoms
The user may witness changed wallpaper to an Fsociety mask and they may find their files to be unable to be opened.
Distribution Method
Via an Exploit kit, JavaScript or Trojan.Downloader
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by Fsociety 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.
Fsociety Ransomware – How Does It Spread
The creators of the Fsociety ransomware may use a different set of tools to replicate this virus. They may purchase spamming software that may distribute malicious URLs that may infect users using a JavaScript and drive-by-downloads by simply clicking on the URLs. Such URLs may be distributed in different ways, like referral spam, for instance. In addition to this, Fsociety ransomware may spread via malicious e-mail attachments, that are spam e-mails or phishing ones. The files may look like legitimate Microsoft Office documents. However, they are nothing like such, since they are disguised to get affected users to open them.
Fsociety Ransomware – More Information
Similar to Mr. Robot’s second season, Fsociety ransomware, uses strong encryption to hold the files of the victim’s computer hostage until a ransom payoff has been completed. When executed, Fsociety ransomware may drop it’s files in different places and under different names. The most often chosen names by malware writers are:
In addition to that, Fsociety ransomware is based on the EDA2 ransomware project which is an open source ransomware code uploaded online and created by Utku Sen. Since then, many variants of the EDA2 project have popped up, because all it takes is someone who knows coding to take this source code and design own version of ransomware, just like Fsociety ransomware variant is.
As soon as the Fsociety ransomware has infected a computer, it may begin encrypting files. The Fsociety virus may be pre-programmed to scan for a wide variety of file extensions which it encrypts. Some of those files may be the following:
The encrypted files are enciphered with a powerful AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption and the decryption key for them has been encoded in an RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman).
The encrypted decryption key is then sent to the cyber-criminals’ command and control server where they have it along with a unique identification number for every user PC they have infected. After this, the wallpaper of the infected computer is changed to the famous Fsociety logo from the TV series Mr. Robot.
While the inspiration of the malware writers led them to choose a good TV series to base their ransomware on, this threat is one of the worse you can see out there. However, no matter how dire and bad the situation is, malware researchers advise users not to pay any ransom money if they see a ransom note asking them to contact the crooks for a payoff. This is due to several obvious reasons:
You support the cyber-criminals by paying the ransom.
There is no guarantee that you are going to get your files back.
Remove Fsociety Ransomware and Restore the Encoded Files
The ransomware virus should be removed by following the instructions after this article. Since Fsociety may modify the Windows Registry Editor and in addition to this create multiple files in different locations, malware researchers advise using an advanced anti-malware program to remove it, since it will make sure it is permanently remove without any damage to the encrypted files.
To restore files encrypted by Fsociety ransomware, users are strongly advised to make sure they backup the encrypted files and make copies if they try direct decryption. We have provided some alternatives to try and restore your files in step “3.Restore files encrypted by Fsociety Ransomware” below and advise you to take a look at them. They may not be 100 percent effective but in case you are lucky, haven’t reinstalled your OS and had backups, they may work for you.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by Fsociety 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 Fsociety 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 Fsociety Ransomware follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Fsociety 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 Fsociety Ransomware on your PC
Find files created by Fsociety 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 Fsociety Ransomware with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Fsociety Ransomware and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Fsociety 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 Fsociety Ransomware
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by Fsociety Ransomware
Ransomware infections and Fsociety 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:
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Mr. Robot TV series has become the inspiration for malware writers to create a ransomware, called Fsociety. The virus aims to imitate a fictional hacking group from the famous TV series, just like Anonymous is. As much as we enjoy hearing new Mr. Robot news, this one is unfortunate, because the Fsociety ransomware uses an extremely strong encryption algorithm, called AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) to encrypt the files of users. Everyone who has been infected by this threat should read this article to learn how to remove the Fsociety crypto-virus and try to restore encrypted files by it. 
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 Fsociety Ransomware and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
Where are the instructions??? Where is part 3???
Fixed!