There is a new ransomware on the loose, called Jigsaw. The Jigsaw ransomware is themed on the movie series ‘Saw’ and encrypts files with over 120 extension types. To see the solution for restoring your files and remove the ransomware, you should read the whole article carefully.
Threat Summary
| Name | Jigsaw Ransomware |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Short Description | The ransomware encrypts files with different extensions and asks a ransom for decryption. |
| Symptoms | Files with over 120 extension types get encrypted. A ‘Saw’ themed message with instructions for paying the ransom is shown. Every hour files get deleted if the ransom is not paid. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments, File Sharing Networks |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Jigsaw Ransomware Download Malware Removal Tool |
| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Jigsaw 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. |
Jigsaw Ransomware Decryptor
Jigsaw Ransomware – Distribution
Jigsaw ransomware can be spread in multiple ways. One of them is through spam emails which have a malicious file attached. Opening this attachment can inject the malware inside your computer. The file can be with the name firefox.exe trying to trick you it’s the famous web browser Mozilla Firefox.
The Jigsaw ransomware could also be spread on social networks and file sharing services. DropBox is not excluded. Social media and file sharing sites can also have malicious code or files attached. Visiting untrusted websites and clicking on such links is another way of getting this malware infection.
Jigsaw Ransomware – Description
The Jigsaw malware is classified as a ransomware. It will encrypt your files, so they become inaccessible. It asks for money to be paid as ransom. If the ransom is not paid, files will get deleted every hour.
The following files will be created:
%AppData%\Frfx\firefox.exe
%AppData%\Drpbx\drpbx.exe
%AppData%\System32Work\EncryptedFileList.txt
and
%AppData%\System32Work\Address.txt
The first two files from the above-listed ones are created so the ransomware can be masked as the Firefox web browser or a process related to the DropBox application. All of the above is done to trick users that these are legitimate processes if viewed from a Task Manager window.
The Windows Registry is also modified. This registry entry is made:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ “firefox.exe” = “%AppData%\Frfx\firefox.exe”
That registry entry is set to make the earlier created file firefox.exe to auto-start. It will start with each boot of the Windows operating system and launch the Jigsaw ransomware.
Afterward, the ransomware pops up a screen with a picture of a puppet used in the movie ‘Saw’ – used by the character Jigsaw. That is why the ransomware bears the name of the character. Instructions for paying the ransom are being typed live on the screen, like somebody is typing them in as the face of the puppet is covered:
You are asked to pay around 0.4 Bitcoins or 150 US dollars within one hour. If you do not comply – every hour encrypted files will get deleted and if three days pass – all files will be erased.
The ransom message reads the following:
Your computer files have been encrypted. Your photos, videos, documents, etc….
But, don’t worry! I have not deleted them, yet.
You have 24 hours to pay 150 USD in Bitcoins to get the decryption key.
Every hour files will be deleted. Increasing in amount every time.
After 72 hours all that are left will be deleted.If you do not have bitcoins Google the website localbitcoins.
Purchase 150 American Dollars worth of Bitcoins or .4 BTC. The system will accept either one.
Send to the Bitcoins address specified.
Within two minutes of receiving your payment your computer will receive the decryption key and return to normal.
Try anything funny and the computer has several safety measures to delete your files.
As soon as the payment is received the crypted files will be returned to normal.Thank you
Contacting or paying the ransomware creators is strongly NOT advised. Nobody can guarantee that you will get your files restored. Paying the money will not only be considered as a support to the cyber crooks, but it will probably trigger them to make a stronger version of the malware as well.
Here is a picture of a malware sample uploaded to VirusTotal, being detected by most anti-malware programs already:
The Jigsaw ransomware searches your disk drives for file encryption. According to Symantec researchers, the ransomware looks for files with over 120 extensions, including the following:
→ .3dm, .3g2, .3gp, .aaf, .accdb, .aep, .aepx, .aet, .ai, .aif, .as, .as3, .asf, .asp, .asx, .avi, .bmp, .c, .class, .cpp, .cs, .csv, .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, .jpeg, .jpg, .js, .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, .rtf, .sdf, .ses, .sldm, .sldx, .sql, .svg, .swf, .tif, .txt, .vcf, .vob, .wav, .wma, .wmv, .wpd, .wps, .xla, .xlam, .xll, .xlm, .xls, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xlt, .xltm, .xltx, .xlw, .xml, .xqx, .xqx
The AES algorithm is used for encryption and the ransomware will put a .fun, .btc and .kkk extension to the encrypted files. There might be more versions that append other extensions to the encrypted files. If you restart your computer, around 1,000 of the encrypted files will be deleted from your disk drives.
A solution to get your files back has been found, and if you already restarted your PC after the encryption process was complete, you shouldn’t worry too much as you can use Data Recovery software for that.
Remove Jigsaw Ransomware and Restore .fun, .kkk, .btc Encrypted Files
If Jigsaw ransomware infected your PC, do not worry, as there is a solution to decrypt your files without paying. If you were infected by this ransomware, you should have at least a little bit of experience in removing malware. See the instructions written below to see how to recover your files.
