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.
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.
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.
Note! Your computer might be affected by Locky .osiris and other threats.
Threats such as Locky .osiris 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
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.
This article will help you remove .osiris file extension virus (Locky ransomware) successfully. Follow the ransomware removal instructions below carefully.
Another version of the top 3 malware ever to be recorded, Locky Ransomware has come out into the open in a massive spam campaign infecting users as of now. The ransom malware aims to encrypt the files on the users’ computers after which changes their names and adds the .osiris file extension to the files. The algorithms used by the ransomware virus are RSA-2048 and AES-128 and they make sure the files become no longer openable until the victim of the virus pays the ransom of 3 BTC to restore the files, which is not guaranteed. Continue reading this article in order to familiarize yourself with the latest Locky iteration and learn what is the best way to eliminate it permanently from your computer.
Threat Summary
Name
Locky .osiris
Type
Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description
The .osiris virus encrypts your data and then displays a ransom message with instructions for payment.
Symptoms
Encrypted files by .osiris Locky will have the .osiris expansion after their name and their names changed with random characters appended to them.
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.
.osiris Locky Virus – What Is New
The clever individuals who have coded Locky ransomware have become stuck to a method which is very well-known to work best, even though a little outdated – spam e-mails. The crooks have a wide network of resources to spread the malware and the e-mail messages they use are very cleverly designed fake messages. This tactic is also known as “social engineering” or simply playing the inexperienced user for access to his PC.
What the cyber-criminals behind Locky do is they attack couple of documents among which is a malicious .xls file pretending to be Microsoft excel which may conduct the infection by Locky ransomware using a malicious macro. Accompanying the .xls file are several .txt files just to make the e-mail seem more legitimate. The body of the e-mail discovered by TMMalAnalyst (Twitter) states the following message:
Another e-mail was discovered later and uploaded in Pastebin with those contents:
Dear {name}, Our accountants have noticed a mistake in the payment bill #DEC-12112015. The full information regarding the mistake, and further recommendations are in the attached document. Please confirm the amount and let us know if you have any questions. Attachment: bill5543521.zip -> -W24C24SS543.js
And accompanying this message are the malicious files attached which once clicked on by the user make the successful infection with Locky .osiris inevitable. This is done with the assistance of an extremely large network of distribution hosts:
Several rumors surfaced that Locky ransomware has been using the ransomware infection just as an excuse to cause a second infection with an information-stealing botnet malware. For those uninformed, botnet is malware that replicates automatically on a given network hence increasing the impact and it’s “zombie network” of submissive computers to the cyber-criminal controlling it.
So far, Tripwire has reported this event to occur in the .zzzzz iteration of Locky ransomware (previous one to .osiris) and many feel convinced that history shall repeat itself, primarily because not much has changed between the two iterations of the ransomware. So what is expected from this iteration is to repeat the same process – after infecting the victim to connect to an external IP address and make the computer a part of a large-scale bot network. This is extremely dangerous because someone in control may damage or take advantage of a vast number of machines, and even simultaneously damage them in some cases.
How Does The .osiris Locky Virus Work
After the user has been infected via this malicious infection file, whether it is .htm, .js or .xls, the ransomware is already activated on the computer and slips past any real-time defenses and process monitoring services of standard security software.
Then Locky .osiris ransomware may modify the registry sub-key Desktop so that it changes the wallpaper of the infected computer to the default Locky wallpaper:
After this, the .osiris ransomware drops the following files on the infected system:
OSIRIS-{RANDOM}.htm in %Documents%
Shtefans1.spe in %Temp%
Rundll32.exe (malicious executable file pretending to be legitimate rundll process of Windows)
After these files are dropped, the Locky .osiris virus begins the encryption procedure. To successfully encrypt the files on the infected computer, the ransomware virus uses a strong mixture of RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) and AES(Advanced Encryption Standard) which are ciphers that were confirmed to be used by the government to encode secret files for defensive purposes. These ciphers replace blocks or segments of data on the source code of the encrypted file and this makes it no longer openable. After the .osiris virus encrypts the files, it also respectively ads it’s distinctive extension and random A-Z, 0-9 identification on each encrypted file. The files are reported by Marcelo Rivero (Twitter) to be altered in the following format:
After the user becomes presented with the .hta file which has instructions on how to pay funds, the user is led to a website, advertising Locky Decrypter, just like it’s previous .shit, .zzzzz, .aesir, .odin, .locky and .thor ransomware variants:
Should the user choose to pay the ransom amount, there is no guarantee on whether or not his files will be successfully recovered or not. This is why malware research experts strongly advise against trusting cyber-crooks.
The .osiris virus is still infecting computers to this day and regarded as one of the toughest ransomware viruses.
Remove Locky Ransomware and Restore .Osiris Encrypted Files
The first thing that springs up to mind when removing Locky ransomware is to simply delete any files you see. This is highly inadvisable and may further complicate the situation. Instead, malware researchers strongly advise taking a more surgical approach and removing the malicious files using an advanced malware scanner which automatically and swiftly takes care of Locky without any further damage to the files.
After you have removed Locky’s .osiris ransomware virus, the next step for you is to try and restore your files. But, before restoring the files we strongly urge you to create couple of copies of them and then try the methods we have suggested in step “2. Restore files encrypted by Locky .osiris” below. This way you will not risk the actual files why attempting those alternative solutions. Let us know in the comment section below whether or not the solutions worked and do not hesitate to ask us any questions, we will attempt to help to the best of our abilities.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by Locky .osiris 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 Locky .osiris. 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 Locky .osiris follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Locky .osiris 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 Locky .osiris on your PC
Find files created by Locky .osiris
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.
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 Locky .osiris with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Locky .osiris and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Locky .osiris. 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 Locky .osiris
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by Locky .osiris
Ransomware infections and Locky .osiris 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:
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.
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.
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 Locky .osiris and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
