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 MakTub Locker and other threats.
Threats such as MakTub Locker 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.
Another ransomware has been reported to wreak havoc on a massive scale. It is known as MakTub Locker and it encrypts the user files with a strong cypher. The crypto-malware then leaves a ransom note giving the user a deadline to pay for get the files decrypted. Everyone who has had their files encrypted with the .IAALIXR file extension most likely has malware on their computer and a swift action is needed to scan for and remove it.
Name
MakTub Locker
Type
Ransomware
Short Description
Encrypts the user data with a strong cypher and demands payment for the decryption process.
Symptoms
The user may witness his files to be come encrypted with the .IAALIXR file extension and the ransom message featured below in this article.
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.
MakTub Ransomware – How It Infects
There is one primary method that this malware may use to spread. An exploit kit inserted via a drive-by attack. Such attacks are characteristic when malicious URLs are advertised. They may be spread in different ways over the web:
Spam emails that resemble genuine ones featuring them.
Posted URLs on social media or other form of spam.
Usually, the exploit kit comes in a well-made obfuscated form concealing the malware from antivirus software. The user has no way of being aware whether or not the computer has been infected, not until its too late and the files have been encrypted.
MakTub Ransomware In Detail
Once it has been activated on the user’s computer, the ransomware may begin to create files of the following file formats:
→ .exe, .tmp, .dll
The files may be more than just one or two, and they might be dropped onto different locations:
%AppData%
%Roaming%
%Local%
%Common%
After situating itself on the computer, the ransomware may modify the registries by creating values to make its malicious executables run on system start-up. The key in which it may set a custom value to run the executable is:
After the infected PC has been restarted, the ransomware scans for files with the most widely used file extensions. It then encrypts them adding a custom file extension. An encrypted file may look like the following example:
→ New Text Document.txt.IAALIXR
After encrypting the files of the user, the ransomware may open a pop-up displaying instructions on how to pay ransom money to unlock the files using the Tor network – a typical behavior for such malware. The ransom message is the following:
→ “Your documents, photos, databases and other important files have been encrypted with the strongest encryption and unique key, generated by this computer. The private decryption key is stored on a secret Internet server and nobody can decrypt your files until you pay and obtain the private key. The server will eliminate the key after a period specified in this window. Open http://b833hdj38d8k.onion.link or http://b833hdj38d8k.torstorm.org or http://b833hdj38d8k.tor2web.org in your browser. They are public gates to the secret server. If you have problems with gates, use direct connection: 1) Download TOR Browser from http://torproject.org 2) In the Tor Browser open the http://b833hdj38d8k.onion (Note that this server is available via Tor Browser only. Retry in 1 hour if site is not reachable). Write in the following public key in the input from on server: {large alpha-numerical public key separated between each four symbols}”Source: Makelal’s Forums
Not only this, but unlike other ransomware, into this one, some effort has been put, by even creating custom graphically designed pages with ransom messages and instructions:
Remove MakTub Locker and Restore the Encrypted Data
Such malware is very devastating to the user PC, and it is not one of the malware you should mess around with. The best thing to do according to experts is to immediately remove it using an advanced anti-malware software and attempt to restore your files on a safe PC.
Regarding file restoration, direct decryption may not succeed, because there is no viable way to decrypt directly such strong cypher. This is why we have suggested several less effective but sometimes working methods in the instructions below.
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove MakTub Locker
Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode
1. For Windows 7,XP and Vista. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
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.
2. Remove MakTub Locker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Remove MakTub Locker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove MakTub Locker.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove MakTub Locker.
Step 1:Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.
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 MakTub Locker 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.
3. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by MakTub Locker in the future
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.
To back up your files via Windows and prevent any future intrusions, follow these instructions:
1. For Windows 7 and earlier 1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 1. Enabling the Windows Defense Feature (Previous Versions)
1-Click on Windows Start Menu 2-Type Backup And Restore 3-Open it and click on Set Up Backup 4-A window will appear asking you where to set up backup. You should have a flash drive or an external hard drive. Mark it by clicking on it with your mouse then click on Next. 5-On the next window, the system will ask you what do you want to backup. Choose the ‘Let Me Choose’ option and then click on Next. 6-Click on ‘Save settings and run backup’ on the next window in order to protect your files from possible attacks by MakTub Locker.
1-Press Windows button + R 2-In the window type ‘filehistory’ and press Enter 3-A File History window will appear. Click on ‘Configure file history settings’ 4-The configuration menu for File History will appear. Click on ‘Turn On’. After its on, click on Select Drive in order to select the backup drive. It is recommended to choose an external HDD, SSD or a USB stick whose memory capacity is corresponding to the size of the files you want to backup. 5-Select the drive then click on ‘Ok’ in order to set up file backup and protect yourself from MakTub Locker.
1- Press Windows button + R keys. 2- A run windows should appear. In it type ‘sysdm.cpl’ and then click on Run. 3- A System Properties windows should appear. In it choose System Protection. 5- Click on Turn on system protection and select the size on the hard disk you want to utilize for system protection. 6- Click on Ok and you should see an indication in Protection settings that the protection from MakTub Locker is on. Restoring a file via Windows Defense feature: 1-Right-click on the encrypted file, then choose Properties. 2-Click on the Previous Versions tab and then mark the last version of the file. 3-Click on Apply and Ok and the file encrypted by MakTub Locker should be restored.
4. Restore files encrypted by MakTub Locker
Restore Files Encrypted by MakTub Locker
Security engineers strongly advise users NOT to pay the ransom money and attempt restoring the files using other methods. Here are several suggestions:
To restore your data, your first bet is to check again for shadow copies in Windows using this software:
Another method of restoring your files is by trying to bring back your files via data recovery software. Here are some examples of data recovery programs:
There is also the technical option to use a network sniffer:
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.
Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools
Remove MakTub Locker Using Other Alternative Tools
STOPZilla Anti Malware
1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove MakTub Locker. 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 MakTub Locker 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.
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.
Another ransomware has been reported to wreak havoc on a massive scale. It is known as MakTub Locker and it encrypts the user files with a strong cypher. The crypto-malware then leaves a ransom note giving the user a deadline to pay for get the files decrypted. Everyone who has had their files encrypted with the .IAALIXR file extension most likely has malware on their computer and a swift action is needed to scan for and remove it.
1. For Windows 7,XP and Vista.
2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove MakTub Locker.
1. For Windows 7 and earlier
STOPZilla Anti Malware
