How to Remove Scarab Ransomware

What is Scarab ransomware?

Scarab ransomware is another ransomware-type encryption Trojan that was discovered on sometime on June 13, 2017. The name Scarab, is the popular symbol of Ancient Egypt that refers to another ransomware named in the same topic. Our researchers suspected that the creators of Scarab ransomware might also be the one who created the other lethal virus, Ramsey ransomware. This ransomware is also another variant of the HiddenTear open source platform. Although it only uses a weak encryption algorithm, the Base64, you should not take this ransomware for granted and do everything you can to get rid of it. Scarab, once it gets in your computer, will scan your computer for certain file types. Once it finds its targeted files, it starts to append its files extension, .scarab to the original files’ names. After the encryption process, it leaves many ransom notes entitled, IF YOU WANT TO GET ALL YOUR FILES BACK, PLEASE READ THIS.txt. The ransom note contains the following message:

“*** IF YOU WANT TO GET ALL YOUR FILES BACK, PLEASE READ THIS ***
Your files are now encrypted!
—–BEGIN PERSONAL IDENTIFIER—–
**************************************
—–END PERSONAL IDENTIFIER—–
All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC.
Now you should send us email with your personal identifier.
This email will be as confirmation you are ready to pay for decryption key.
You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins. The price depends on how fast you write to us.
After payment we will send you the decryption tool that will decrypt all your files.
Contact us using this email address: [email protected]
Free decryption as guarantee!
Before paying you can send us up to 3 files for free decryption.
The total size of files must be less than 5Mb (non archived), and files should not contain valuable information (databases, backups, large excel sheets, etc)..
How to obtain Bitcoins?
* The easiest way to buy bitcoins is LocalBitcoins site. You have to register, click
‘Buy bitcoins’, and select the seller by payment method and price:
https://localbitcoins.com/buy_bitcoins
* Also you can find other places to buy Bitcoins and beginners guide here:
Attention!
* Do not rename encrypted files.
* Do not try to decrypt your data using third party software, it may cause permanent data loss.
* Decryption of your files with the help of third parties may cause increased price (they add their fee to our) or you can become a victim of a scam.”

The crooks behind Scarab ransomware did not indicate the amount of ransom you need to pay to recover your files but rather urge you to contact them the soonest possible to recover your encrypted files. Ransom is transmitted through Bitcoins. It follows the manner of the Locky ransomware as it provides additional links for more information about the payment. However, no matter how desperate you are, you should not resort to giving these crooks what they want for it would only encourage them to create more viruses. Instead, look for alternative solutions to remove Scarab ransomware. No need to worry though, this article got it all for you. We have provided complete removal instructions to get rid of Scarab ransomware.

How is Scarab ransomware distributed?

According to our researchers, this ransomware is distributed through spam emails containing its infected attachment. Most of these spam emails use the names of well-known companies. These spam email may be camouflaged as an important message to trick users into opening and downloading the infected attachment. That’s why it is a must for you to be cautious and be wary of unknown senders and be sure to double check them before you open any message from them.

To remove Scarab ransomware, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Open Windows Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time.

Step 2: Go to the Processes tab and look for any suspicious processes and then kill them.

Step 3: Open Control Panel by pressing the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.

Step 4: Look for Scarab ransomware or any suspicious program and then Uninstall.

Step 5: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.

Step 6: Go to the directories listed below and delete everything in it. Or other directories you might have saved the file related to Scarab ransomware.

%APPDATA%
%TEMP%
%USERPROFILE%\desktop
%USERPROFILE%\downloads

Step 7: Look for any malicious executable file that could be related to Scarab ransomware.
Step 8: Right-click on it and click Delete.
Step 9: Go to %USERPROFILE% and right-click a text document named “IF YOU WANT TO GET ALL YOUR FILES BACK, PLEASE READ THIS.txt” and select Delete.
Step 10: Empty the Recycle Bin.

Step 11: Try to recover your encrypted files.

Restoring your encrypted files using Windows’ Previous Versions feature will only be effective if the Scarab ransomware hasn’t deleted the shadow copies of your files. But still, this is one of the best and free methods there is, so it’s definitely worth a shot.

To restore the encrypted file, right-click on it and select Properties, a new window will pop-up, then proceed to Previous Versions. It will load the file’s previous version before it was modified. After it loads, select any of the previous versions displayed on the list like the one in the illustration below. And then click the Restore button.

Follow the continued advanced steps below to ensure the removal of the Scarab ransomware:

Perform a full system scan using SpyRemover Pro.

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot it.

After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit Enter.

Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.

Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.

Type in explorer http://www.fixmypcfree.com/install/spyremoverpro

A single space must be in between explorer and http. Click OK.

A dialog box will be displayed by Internet Explorer. Click Run to begin downloading SpyRemover Pro. Installation will start automatically once download is done.