.XERO Files Virus – How to Remove XeroWare and Restore Data

This article has been created with the purpose to help you to remove the .XERO files virus from your computer and restore files, encrypted by it.

A new ransomware virus has been detected by researchers to extort victims for their files. The ransomware infection aims to encrypt the files on the computers of victims, leaving behind the .xero file extension added to them. The ransomware then leaves behind a ransom note In which it uncovers it’s doxware nature. The XeroWare ransomware threatens to leak your important files if you do not pay ransom to the cyber-criminals. If your computer has been infected by the .xero files virus, it is recommended that you read this article to learn how to remove it and try to restore files, encrypted by it.

Threat Summary

Name	XeroWare
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	Encrypts the files on your computer and leaves them no longer able to be opened until you pay ransom. Also threatens to leak the files if you do not pay ransom.
Symptoms	Your important files are encrypted with an added .XERO file extension to them.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by XeroWare Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss XeroWare.
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.

.XERO Files Virus – Spread

The .XERO file ransomware may be spread via various methods,the main of which still remains to be malicious e-mail spam messages, whose main goal is to get the victim to open an e-mail attachment, while thinking it is an important file, such as:

• Invoice.
• Receipt.
• Online banking statement.
• Suspicious account activity.

Besides via e-mail, the .XERO XeroWare files virus may also be spread as a result of being uploaded online and pretending to be a completely legitimate program, such as:

• Installer for a program.
• Crack.
• Patch.
• Key Generator.
• Driver.
• Portable version of a program.

.XERO Files Virus – Analysis

The .XERO files virus is the type of ransomware infection, whose primary purpose is to get victims to pay the ransom and it goes through quite the activities to reach this goal.

The first set of activities of the .dbger files virus is to drop it’s payload on the computers of victims. Once this payload has been dropped, it may reside in the following Windows directories:

• %AppData%
• %Local%
• %LocalLow%
• %Roaming%
• %Temp%

Once the .XERO XeroWare ransomware has dropped it’s payload, the malware may set registry values in the following Windows registry sub-keys to get them to run automatically on Windows boot:

→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

In addition to those, the virus may also perform modifications in the following registry entries as well:

→HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveTimeOut
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Once this ransomware virus has infected your computer, it may trigger it’s payload files, to delete the shadow copies and other backed up files. This happens by executing the following commands as an administrator on victim computers:

→ process call create “cmd.exe /c vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet & bcdedit.exe /set {default} recoveryenabled no & bcdedit.exe /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures”

XeroWare Ransomware – Encryption Process

In order to encrypt the files on victim computers, the XeroWare ransomware virus may initially scan for them, before actual encryption takes place. The virus may look for the following file types before encryption:

• Documents.
• Videos.
• Images.
• Archives.
• Audio files.

After the files on the infected computer have been encrypted, XeroWare ranosmware adds the .XERO file extension to them and they start to appear like the following:

Filename.extension.XERO

Remove XeroWare Ransomware and Restore .XERO Files

The XeroWare ransomware virus can be removed if you follow the removal instructions that are underneath this article. They have been created with the main purpose to assist you in removing this malware either manually or automatically. If manual removal is not something that you feel secure in doing, be advised that automatic removal is the recommended way to go according to security professionals. It includes the usage of an advanced anti-malware software. Such program will scan your computer for malicious files and objects related to XeroWare ransomware and then make sure that they are gone.

If you want to restore files, encrypted by this variant of XeroWare ransomware virus, we recommend that you try the alternative methods for file recovery underneath in step “2. Restore files, encrypted by XeroWare”. They have been made to help you restore as many encrypted files as possible, but they come with no guarantee to be able to restore all of your encoded data.

Note! Your computer system may be affected by XeroWare 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 XeroWare.
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 XeroWare follow these steps:

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

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 XeroWare on your PC

Find files created by XeroWare

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 XeroWare with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for XeroWare and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove XeroWare. 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.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

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 .

SOS Online Backup

4. Try to Restore files encrypted by XeroWare

Try to Restore Files Encrypted by XeroWare

Ransomware infections and XeroWare 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:

• 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

Method 3: Using Shadow Explorer

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:

• Shadow Explorer

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:

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

Vencislav Krustev

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.

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Vencislav Krustev

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.

More Posts - Website