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 .STOPDATA Virus and other threats.
Threats such as .STOPDATA Virus 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.
This article has been created with the purpose to help explain to you what is the new version of STOP ransomware and how to remove it plus how to try and restore .STOPDATA files, encrypted by it on your PC.
A new variant of the STOP Ransomware virus, released back in January 2018, has been detected by security researchers to append the .STOPDATA file extension to the files, encrypted by it and then ask from victims to pay a hefty ransom fee in order to get the encrypted files recovered back to their normal working state. In the events that your computer has been affected by the .STOPDATA ransomware virus, we recommend that you read this article thoroughly so that you can understand more about it plus learn how you can remove it from your computer and how you can try and restore as many files as possible without having to pay ransom.
Threat Summary
Name
.STOPDATA Virus
Type
Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description
The ransomware encrypts files on your computer machine and demands a ransom to be paid to allegedly recover them.
Symptoms
The ransomware will encrypt your files with the help of the AES and RSA encryption algorithms. All locked files will have the .STOPDATA extension appended to them.
Distribution Method
Spam Emails, Email Attachments
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by .STOPDATA Virus
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.
.STOPDATA Virus – Methods of Distribution
In order to be spread onto the computers of victims, the .STOPDATA files virus may be spread via various different types of methods. The ransomware has a payload which is dropped by an intermediary malware known as dropper. This dropper may be spread via different ways, the main ones of which are believed to be via e-mail messages that are sent directly to the victim. These e-mails often have malicious e-mail attachments embedded by them and those attachments have the main goal initiating the infection dropper. The e-mails often have convincing messages embedded in them and they often pretend to be legitimate Windows companies, such as:
PayPal.
DHL.
FedEx.
Image files
Amazon.
eBay.
In addition to being sent to victims, the malicious file, infecting computers with the .STOPDATA virus may also be sent to victims via a drive-by download web link on social media sites or even uploaded on websites, while posing as seemingly legitimate programs, from the likes of:
Setups of software.
Cracks.
Keygens.
Patches.
Fixes.
Portable programs.
.STOPDATA Ransomware – Further Information
The .STOPDATA ransomware virus may perform a wide variety of activities on the computer infected by it once it has dropped it’s payload. The payload of the .STOPDATA ransomware may consist of different types of files, each having it’s own set of activities to be done. The payload files may exist in the following Windows directories:
%AppData%.
%Local%.
%Temp%.
%LocalLow%.
%Roaming%.
%SystemDrive%.
%Windows%.
%Documents%.
Once the malicious files of the .STOPDATA ransomware are dropped on the computer of the victim, the virus may begin it’s activity. Similar to it’s predecessor, the ransomware may drop it’s ransom note on the victim’s computer. The ransom note file has the following message to victims:
“All your important files were encrypted on this PC. All files with .STOPDATA extension are encrypted. Encryption was produced using unique private key RSA-1024 generated for this computer. To decrypt your files, you need to obtain private key + decrypt software. To retrieve the private key and decrypt software, you need to contact us by email [email protected] send us an email your !!!RESTORE_DATA!!!.txt file and wait for further instructions. For you to be sure, that we can decrypt your files – you can send us a 1-3 any not very big encrypted files and we will send you back it in a original form FREE. Price for decryption $200 if you contact us first 72 hours. Your personal id: E-mail address to contact us: [email protected]
In addition to this, the .STOPDATA virus may create mutants as well as create scheduled tasks to run each time you start Windows. The virus may also collect information from your computer, such as:
Computer name.
Programs, installed on your PC.
Network and system information.
The .STOPDATA files virus may then attack the shadow volume copies of the compromised PC in order to delete the files on your PC, that have been backed up by Windows. This happens by executing a malicious .bat file that runs Windows Commands as administrator. The commands which are executed by the .STOPDATA virus are believed to be the following:
Before encrypting the files on your computer, the .STOPDATA files ransomware may start to scan for the important file types that are used on a regular basis. These types of files often are:
Music and other audio file types.
Videos and all video file formats.
Document file types.
Image file types.
Databases and backup file extensions.
Signatures, virtual drives and other specific files.
After the .STOPDATA virus has detected those virus, the malware may use the RSA-1024 encryption algorithm in order to encrypt them. The encryption is performed in a way that the original files are deleted and their encrypted copies exist in a non-openable state and they appear like the following:
Remove STOP Ransomware and Restore .STOPDATA Files
In case your PC has been infected by the .STOPDATA virus, we advise that you read the removal instructions underneath this article. They have been created so that they enable you to remove this malware either manually or automatically from your computer. If manual removal does not seem to help, be advised that security experts recommend to remove the .STOPDATA ransomware automatically from your computer, preferably by downloading an advanced anti-malware software. It’s primary purpose is to scan your computer for various malicious files and then remove those files and objects in a safe manner plus make sure that your computer remains protected against future infections as well.
If you want to restore files, encrypted by the .STOPDATA variant of STOP ransomware, you can try and recover as many files as you can, preferably by trying out the file recovery methods underneath this article in step “2. Restore files, encrypted by .STOPDATA Virus”. They have been created to help you restore as many .STOPDATA files back to their normal state, but be advised that they are not a direct and complete solution and for such solution to take place, an official decryptor for this ransomware has to be released by the cyber-criminals or the malware researchers who are behind the .STOPDATA virus.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by .STOPDATA Virus 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 .STOPDATA Virus. 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 .STOPDATA Virus follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove .STOPDATA Virus 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 .STOPDATA Virus on your PC
Find files created by .STOPDATA Virus
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 .STOPDATA Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for .STOPDATA Virus and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove .STOPDATA Virus. 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 .STOPDATA Virus
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .STOPDATA Virus
Ransomware infections and .STOPDATA Virus 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:
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.
This article has been created with the purpose to help explain to you what is the new version of STOP ransomware and how to remove it plus how to try and restore .STOPDATA files, encrypted by it on your PC.
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 .STOPDATA Virus and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
