NEW UPDATE MAY 2017 This article is created to help you cope with the latest Wana Decrypt0r update. It will show how to remove the .WNCRYT file virus and restore files encrypted by this threat.
The greatest ransomware threat seen so far has come in a new outbreak. The newly updated version is now appending .WNCRYT file extension and it is not here to mess about. The malware has now been updated to use the AES-128 algorithm. However, the malware writers have somehow managed to utilize it and unleash the WannaCry virus this time via a worm. This will result in the worm spreading despite the efforts of researchers to cut it off by registering attack domains. In case you have been affected by the .WNCRYT ransomware infection, we strongly urge you to read the following material.
SensorsTechForum is currently looking into the latest WannaCry threat and will update this article as soon as more information comes through.
Threat Summary
| Name |
Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 |
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| Type | Ransomware | |
| Short Description | Aims to hold your files hostage for a hefty ransom fee – $300. | |
| Symptoms | The victim witnesses a changed wallpaper with the image above and the program for payment, called “Wana Decrypt0r 2.0” which has a deadline timer and FAQ. | |
| Distribution Method | Via exploits from the “Lost in Translation” leak, multiple botnet operations and an obfuscated worm infection. | |
| Detection Tool |
See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware
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Malware Removal Tool
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| User Experience | Join our forum to Discuss Wana Decrypt0r 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. |
.WNCRYT WannaCry – New Information and Activity
According to the latest information from malware analysts, this ransomware virus has not modified much of what it does. However, there have been significant changes on how does it infect. In addition to the previously used botnets to infect victims, the malware has also been reported to infect victims via a worm. Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) displayed how the ransomware spreads automatically from a computer to a computer:
If your boss thinks WannaCry has to be email to email transmission, show then this video of PCs infecting other PCs. pic.twitter.com/00MT2V9BW2
— Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) May 14, 2017
Once an infection by the .WNCRYT iteration of the WannaCry ransomware virus has already occurred, the virus installs Tor on the infected computer. From there it embeds tor URLs in it’s software for ransom payoff, along with a custom BitCoin address. So far there have been multiple different BitCoin addresses detected for ransom payoff and the Twitter bot @actual_ransom is following every payment processed from the 3 wallets and updates it real-time on every payoff made to the cyber-criminals behind the WannaCry threat. The BitCoin wallets are believed to rise in number since this new variant appeared.
In addition to this activity, the Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 virus also takes advantage of Visual Basic Script (VBS) to perform some tasks on the infected computer. Similar to the other variants, the virus makes data recovery impossible via Windows backups, since it deletes the shadow copies and System Restore points as well.
.WNCRYT File Virus – Encryption
For the encryption process, malware researchers have identified this ransomware virus to use a military-grade encryption algorithm which is particularly chosen, because of it’s safety. The algorithm is named Advanced Encryption Standard and it aims to replace blocks of the encrypted files with encrypted data. What is interesting in this particular case is that the .WNCRYT virus uses the AES-128 bit strength which is used by ransomware threats. It is even amazing how the cyber-criminals have managed to make the encryption process stable. It seems that they have invested great deal of research to make this encryption work.
The encryption aims to replace blocks of code of the original file targeted, which are documents, photos, audio files and other types of files with blocks of data from the cipher. It does not encrypt the whole file, only enough to render the file itself no longer to be able to be opened. The files look like the following after becoming encrypted:
After the encryption, the virus changes the wallpaper and naturally opens it’s ransom note:
What is interesting is that not only it starts automatically on system boot, but it also detects if it is ran on a Sandbox, so the WannaCry ransomware has defensive features against malware researchers as well. Furthermore, after infecting your computer, the .WNCRYT virus also creates a mutex object so that it won’t be able to infect your PC twice.
WannaCry Ransomware – Remove, Restore Files and Protect Yourself
In the event that the inevitable has happened, your first symptom of noticing this virus should be to see the icons of the ransomware on your computer. They look like the following:
If you see those files, you should IMMEDIATELY power off your computer and take out the hard drive from it to allow specialists to salvage what is left of your files without triggering the virus. In case this has already happened, we advise you to look into the instructions below to remove the ransomware. For the removal of the Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 threat, security experts outline the best method to be using an advanced anti-malware software to perform the removal automatically, especially if you lack the experience in manual removal. In order to attempt and restore encrypted files, at the moment there is no decryptor that is free and leaked out into the public, but we have multiple reports of users managing to restore chunks of their files using alternative methods. Such tools you can find in the step “2. Restore files encrypted by .WNCRYT Virus” below.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0
Step 2: Uninstall Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Wana Decrypt0r 2.0, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Wana Decrypt0r 2.0 from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
