Article created to help you remove the Revenge ransomware virus and restore files encrypted with the .revenge file extension.

A well-coded ransomware infection that is using the AES and RSA encryption algorithms has been reported to infect users since March 2017. The ransomware virus Is dubbed Revenge ransomware and aims to encrypt the files on the computers infected by it. After the encryption, Revenge ransomware drops a # !!!HELP_FILE!!! #.TXT note in which it demands a payment to return all the files. The virus creators communicate via e-mail. In case you have become a victim of this ransomware infection, recommendations are to read this article completely.

Threat Summary

Name	Revenge
Type	Ransomware
Short Description	The malware encrypts users files using a strong encryption algorithm, making direct decryption possible only via a unique decryption key available to the cyber-criminals.
Symptoms	The user may witness ransom notes and “instructions” linking to a web page and a decryptor. Changed file names and the file-extension .REVENGE has been used.
Distribution Method	Via an Exploit kit, Dll file attack, malicious JavaScript or a drive-by download of the malware itself in an obfuscated manner.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Revenge Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss Revenge.
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.

Revenge Ransomware – How Does It Infect

For this virus to become active and infect an increasing number of Windows users’ multiple techniques are reportedly used. One of them is to utilize malicious files that contain either the Rig Exploit Kit or EiTest kit, web-injectors and fake updates for the infection. Such may be spread by being added as web links or malicious e-mail attachments in archives. The e-mails accompanying those attachments may contain deceptive messages that aim to trick the user into opening them, for instance:

After the user opens the malicious e-mail attachment, Revenge ransomware becomes activated and multiple malicious files are downloaded onto the computer of the user:

• Rig-EK.swf
• Svchost.exe
• {random named file}.exe
• {random named file(2)}.exe
• {random named file(3)}.exe
• {random named file}.bin.exe
• # !!!HELP_FILE!!! #.TXT

Most of the files are located in the %AppData% dorectory. But there is also the situation with malicious files that are located in the %Windows NT% directory.

Revenge Ransomware – Infection Analysis

After the infection by Revenge ransomware has been initiated, the virus begins to perform multiple different types of modifications to the computer, starting with the executing of administrative Windows commands in the Command Prompt without the user noticing. The commands are reported by researchers to be the following:

→ /C vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet
/C bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No
/C bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures
/C net stop vss
/C vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet
/C net stop vss

These commands are executed with the one and only purpose to stop the volume shadow service and delete the volume shadow copies (backed up files) in a quiet mode, without the user even seeing it.

In the meantime, Revenge ransomware also establishes connection with the following hosts:

• dfg.stickneylodge.com (217.107.34.86)
• 109.236.87.201
• www.everythingcebu.com

The virus also performs multiple other modifications, such as changing the functionality of the autorun service to run malicious executables on system boot. Revenge ransomware also steals confidential information from the web browsers of the infected computer and this may even include passwords and login usernames. This activity is very typical for evolved ransomware viruses, known as doxware.

Revenge Ransomware – Encryption Process

For the encryption of Revenge ransomware, multiple different processes are initiated in the Windows Task Manager to ensure that it is uninterrupted. The encryption procedure targets over 400 different types of files, including pictures, archives, documents, videos and other widely used content. When we put together all of the file extensions together, the list of encrypted files, if detected, becomes quite big:

.1CD, .3DM, .3DS, .3FR, .3G2, .3GP, .3PR, .7Z, .7ZIP, .AAC, .AB4, .ABD, .ACC,.ACCDB, .ACCDE, .ACCDR, .ACCDT, .ACH, .ACR, .ACT, .ADB, .ADP, .ADS, .AGDL, .AI, .AIFF, .AIT, .AL, .AOI, .APJ, .APK, .ARW, .ASCX, .ASF, .ASM, .ASP, .ASPX, .ASSET, .ASX, .ATB, .AVI, .AWG, .BACK, .BACKUP, .BACKUPDB, .BAK, .BANK, .BAY, .BDB, .BGT, .BIK, .BIN, .BKP, .BLEND, .BMP, .BPW, .BSA, .C, .CASH, .CDB, .CDF, .CDR, .CDR3, .CDR4, .CDR5, .CDR6, .CDRW, .CDX, .CE1, .CE2, .CER, .CFG, .CFN, .CGM, .CIB, .CLASS, .CLS, .CMT, .CONFIG, .CONTACT, .CPI, .CPP, .CR2, .CRAW, .CRT, .CRW, .CRY, .CS, .CSH, .CSL, .CSS, .CSV, .D3DBSP, .DAC, .DAS, .DAT, .DB .DB_JOURNAL, .DB3, .DBF, .DBX, .DC2, .DCR, .DCS, .DDD, .DDOC, .DDRW, .DDS, .DEF, .DER, .DES, .DESIGN, .DGC, .DGN, .DIT, .DJVU, .DNG, .DOC, .DOCM, .DOCX, .DOT, .DOTM, .DOTX, .DRF, .DRW, .DTD, .DWG, .DXB, .DXF, .DXG, .EDB, .EML, .EPS, .ERBSQL, .ERF, .EXF, .FDB, .FFD, .FFF, .FH, .FHD, .FLA, .FLAC, .FLB, .FLF, .FLV, .FLVV, .FORGE, .FPX, .FXG, .GBR, .GHO, .GIF, .GRAY, .GREY, .GROUPS, .GRY, .H, .HBK, .HDD, .HPP, .HTML, .IBANK, .IBD, .IBZ, .IDX, .IIF, .IIQ, .INCPAS, .INDD, .INFO, .INFO_, .IWI, .JAR, .JAVA, .JNT, .JPE, .JPEG, .JPG, .JS, .JSON, .K2P, .KC2, .KDBX, .KDC, .KEY, .KPDX, .KWM, .LACCDB, .LBF, .LCK, .LDF, .LIT, .LITEMOD, .LITESQL, .LOCK, .LTX, .LUA, .M, .M2TS, .M3U, .M4A, .M4P, .M4V, .MA, .MAB, .MAPIMAIL, .MAX, .MBX, .MD, .MDB, .MDC, .MDF, .MEF, .MFW, .MID, .MKV, .MLB, .MMW, .MNY, .MONEY, .MONEYWELL, .MOS, .MOV, .MP3, .MP4, .MPEG, .MPG, .MRW, .MSF, .MSG, .MTS, .MYD, .ND, .NDD, .NDF, .NEF, .NK2, .NOP, .NRW, .NS2, .NS3, .NS4, .NSD, .NSF, .NSG, .NSH, .NVRAM, .NWB, .NX2, .NXL, .NYF, .OAB, .OBJ, .ODB, .ODC, .ODF, .ODG, .ODM, .ODP, .ODS, .ODT, .OGG, .OIL, .OMG, .ONE, .ORF, .OST, .OTG, .OTH, .OTP, .OTS, .OTT, .P12, .P7B, .P7C, .PAB, .PAGES, .PAS, .PAT, .PBF, .PCD, .PCT, .PDB, .PDD, .PDF, .PEF, .PFX, .PHP, .PIF, .PL, .PLC, .PLUS_MUHD, .PM!, .PM, .PMI, .PMJ, .PML, .PMM, .PMO, .PMR, .PNC, .PND, .PNG, .PNX, .POT, .POTM, .POTX, .PPAM, .PPS, .PPSM, .PPSX, .PPT, .PPTM, .PPTX, .PRF, .PRIVATE, .PS, .PSAFE3, .PSD, .PSPIMAGE, .PST, .PTX, .PUB, .PWM, .PY, .QBA, .QBB, .QBM, .QBR, .QBW, .QBX, .QBY, .QCOW, .QCOW2, .QED, .QTB, .R3D, .RAF, .RAR, .RAT, .RAW, .RDB, .RE4, .RM, .RTF, .RVT, .RW2, .RWL, .RWZ, .S3DB, .SAFE, .SAS7BDAT, .SAV, .SAVE, .SAY, .SD0, .SDA, .SDB, .SDF, .SH, .SLDM, .SLDX, .SLM, .SQL, .SQLITE, .SQLITE3, .SQLITEDB, .SQLITE-SHM, .SQLITE-WAL, .SR2, .SRB, .SRF, .SRS, .SRT, .SRW, .ST4, .ST5, .ST6, .ST7, .ST8, .STC, .STD, .STI, .STL, .STM, .STW, .STX, .SVG, .SWF, .SXC, .SXD, .SXG, .SXI, .SXM, .SXW, .TAX, .TBB, .TBK, .TBN, .TEX, .TGA, .THM, .TIF, .TIFF, .TLG, .TLX, .TXT, .UPK, .USR, .VBOX, .VDI, .VHD, .VHDX, .VMDK, .VMSD, .VMX, .VMXF, .VOB, .VPD, .VSD, .WAB, .WAD, .WALLET, .WAR, .WAV, .WB2, .WMA, .WMF, .WMV, .WPD, .WPS, .X11, .X3F, .XIS, .XLA, .XLAM, .XLK, .XLM, .XLR, .XLS, .XLSB, .XLSM, .XLSX, .XLT, .XLTM, .XLTX, .XLW, .XML, .XPS, .XXX, .YCBCRA, .YUV, .ZIP Source: id-ransomware.blogspot.bg

For the encryption process, Revenge ransomware reportedly uses two types of encryption algorithms which are both very strong:

• RSA-1024
• AES-256

For the specific encryption process of the files, the AES cipher may be used. Bytes of the original files are replaced with encrypted data and the files become no longer openable. After the procedure is complete, the RSA cipher may be additionally applied to generate unique decryption keys, which makes decryption even more difficult and highly unlikely.

The files are appended the .revenge file extension after the encryption process has completed and they may also contain a victim id, the file name in an encrypted format, a 8 character string and another filename in an 8 character encrypted format and after all of these, the files have the extension appended. They may look like the following:

After the encryption process is complete, the # !!!HELP_FILE!!! #.TXT appears on the infected computer. It has the same message written in 5 languages (English, Italian, German, Polish, Korean):

Remove Revenge Ransomware and Restore .REVENGE Files

Before attempting any removal of this ransomware infections, malware researchers strongly recommend to focus on backing up the files that have been encrypted by this ransomware infection, just in case.

Then, we advise you to follow the step-by-step removal guide below which will show you how to remove the Revenge ransomware infection from your computer permanently. In case you lack the experience to perform a manual removal, experts always advise taking the approach that is conducted automatically. It includes the download and installation of an advanced anti-malware program which will take care of the Revenge virus swiftly and protect your computer in the future too.

After having already taken care of the malicious objects dropped by Revenge on your computer, recommendations are to try and restore your files using alternative tools, like the ones we suggested in step “2. Restore files encrypted by Revenge” below. These tools are in no way guarantee that you will recover all your encrypted data, however they are a good alternative, because at least some of the files can be recovered this way.

Manually delete Revenge from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the Revenge threat: Manual removal of Revenge requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.

1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Revenge files and objects

Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode

1. For Windows 7,XP and Vista. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by Revenge on your PC.

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.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries of your computer to change different settings. This is why manual clean up of your Windows Registry Database is strongly recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit lenghty, we recommend following our instructive article about fixing registry entries.

2.Find malicious files created by Revenge on your PC

Find malicious files created by Revenge

1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows 7,XP and Vista.

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.

Automatically remove Revenge by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove Revenge with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove Revenge with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Revenge.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove Revenge. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by Revenge in the future.

Step 1:Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

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 Revenge 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.

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 .

SOS Online Backup

2. Restore files encrypted by Revenge

Restore Files Encrypted by Revenge

Ransomware infections like Revenge aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to directly 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 they may not be 100% effective but they may help you little or a lot in some situations.

Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software.
Another method of 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:

• Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Technicians License(Pro version with more features)
• Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery
• Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery

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:

• Kaspersky Decryptors
• Emsisoft Decryptors

Urgent! It is strongly advisable to first remove the Revenge threat before attempting any decryption, since it may interfere with system files and registries. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using an advanced malware removal tool.

Method 3: Using Shadow Explorer

To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for shadow copies in Windows using this software if ransomware has not deleted them:

• Shadow Explorer

Method 4: Finding Revenge decryption key while it communicates it via a network sniffing software.

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:

Instructions on How to Find Decryption Key for Files Encrypted By Ransowmare

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove Revenge Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove Revenge.
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 Revenge 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.

Vencislav Krustev

A network administrator and malware researcher at SensorsTechForum with passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cyber security. Strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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