This material is made to help you remove the Sage 2.0 ransomware virus version 2.0 and try and decrypt .sage encrypted files.

A second version of the Sage ransomware has come out in the open, after the first iteration was spotted back in December. This virus has been reported to be an evolved version of CryLocker ransomware. The Sage 2.0 ransomware virus spreads via malicious spam campaigns via different types of files and it performs heavy modification on infected system, besides encrypting it’s important files possibly with the AES encryption algorithm. For a ransom, the Sage ransomware virus wants the user to pay the large sum of 2.2 BTC or approximately 2000 dollars. If you have been infected by Sage ransomware, we urge you to read the following article and learn more about Sage ransomware, how to remove it and try decrypting the files.

Threat Summary

Name	Sage 2.0
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	The Sage ransomware encrypts your data and then displays a ransom message with instructions for payment.
Symptoms	Sage ransomware encrypts the files and adds the .sage file extension. A ransom note is dropped on the desktop with the following content.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, malicious .xls files, .htm Files, .js files, .ZIP archives
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Sage 2.0 Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Sage 2.0.
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.

Sage Ransomware – Malspam and Infection Process

The Distribution and Malspam

In order for Sage ransomware to cause a successful infection, the virus uses a combination of the whole two malicious spam techniques – spammed JavaScript file that downloads and installs the virus and a Word document with malicious macros. The files usually contain completely randomly generated names and they are archived in a .ZIP file. Sometimes Sage ransomware sends double zipped files (.zip in a .zip) to avoid detection, according to Brad Duncan at malware-traffic-analysis.net. The names of the zip files may be as the below-mentioned example displays:

One of the malicious files that may be contained in those zip files is a Word document with embedded malicious macros inside of it, that may be named something like 188241.doc. The document displays a coded messages and prompts to enable macros to decode it. Once the user enables them, the malicious script connects to the remote server of the cyber-criminals and downloads Sage ransomware on the computer:

Relatively the same process is conducted with the malicious JavaScript file. After the user opens it in the archive the infection takes place in the rather same manner:

At the moment of the Infection, Windows displays a User Account Control Windows which asks the user to click on Yes and does not close until this happens.

Sage Ransomware – Post-Infection and Encryption

After this has been done, the virus begins encrypting files. With the help of several commands and pre-configured code, Sage is able to render videos, music, pictures, audio files and others, completely non-openable. To make it’s presence known, this virus also appends the .sage file extension to those encrypted files, just like it’s previous version did:

The virus also drops it’s .HTML ransom note, named !Recovery_{random 3 letters}.html. It looks like the following:

Sage ransomware does not end the terror there. Malware researchers report it to also change the wallpaper of the user to further scare him. The wallpaper is very similar to the 1st version’s wallpaper:

The difference is in the actual text message, which is the following:

“*** ATTENTION! ALL YOUR FILES WERE ENCRYPTED! ***
***PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE CAREFULLY ***
All your important and critical files as well as databases, images and videos and so on were encrypted by strong encryption.
SAGE 2.0 uses military grade elliptic curve cryptography and you have no chances restoring your files.
But if you follow our instructions we guarantee that you can restore all your files quickly.
For your convenience, we created copies of this message, named !Recovery_{random}.html on your desktop.
To get the instructions open any of this temporary links in your browser.”

Sage ransomware does not self-delete. Instead, the virus creates an executable file with a completely random name in the %Roaming% directory.

After the user opens the URL in the ransom instructions, he is led to the original Sage 2.0 web-page, which has the same well-crafted design, just like the 1.0 version had:

The virus even threatens the user that if in approximately 7 days the ransom is not paid, the price for the important files will double to 2000 dollars.

Remove Sage 2.0 Ransomware and Restore .sage Encrypted Files

Despite that Sage 2.0 may tempt you to pay the ransom, malware researchers advise not paying any form of ransom. The primary reason for this is that the criminals of this virus may not return your files and in addition to this, you support their virus to continue spreading. Instead, advices are to focus on removing the malware and saving the encrypted files whilst trying alternative methods, like the ones in step “Restore files encrypted by Sage 2.0 below”. For all of this information, you may want to refer to the removal instructions below. They are divided in Manual (for experienced in malware removal) and Automatic (recommended) removal instructions. Advices are to use an advanced anti-malware tool which will focus on performing multiple different processes which will eliminate all of the objects created by Sage 2.0 Ransomware automatically.

Manually delete Sage 2.0 from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the Sage 2.0 threat: Manual removal of Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 on your PC

Find malicious files created by Sage 2.0

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 Sage 2.0 by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove Sage 2.0 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove Sage 2.0 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Sage 2.0.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove Sage 2.0. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0

Restore Files Encrypted by Sage 2.0

Ransomware infections like Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 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 Sage 2.0 Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove Sage 2.0.
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 Sage 2.0 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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