What is Scarab Gold ransomware? And how does it execute its attack?
Scarab Gold ransomware is a newly discovered variant of the infamous Scarab ransomware group. This time, this new Scarab variant makes use of a “.gold” extension when it marks the files it encrypts. It also seems to target Russian-speaking users based on its ransom note which is written in the Russian language.
When it comes to its attack, Scarab Gold ransomware still uses the same pattern as other Scarab ransomware variants. Once its malicious payload is dropped in the system, it starts to implement its attack by using a data gathering module used to obtain information about the system and its user. The harvested data is then used for another module called stealth protection which is used to apply a signature scan that detects any antivirus programs, virtual machine hosts, and sandbox environments and prevents them from interfering with the attack.
Shortly after these modules are implemented, Scarab Gold ransomware will begin encrypting its targeted data that are mostly user-generated like databases, videos, images, documents, etc. and once it finds these files, it encrypts them with a strong encryption algorithm. Once the encryption is done, it attaches the “.gold” extension to every affected file and opens a text file named “Инструкция по расшифровке файлов.TXT” which has the following content:
“Напишите на почту – [email protected]
====================================================================================================
ВАШИ ФАЙЛЫ ЗАШИФРОВАНЫ!
Ваш личный идентификатор
pAQAAAAAAABOnKU8JZTJ4QIlDART+hpSzc9NGZZxDGBL3WK7vg4hxk9taeVq7=xM7vkMK1PKXGNxtaHW6gngnIdKe=Nwga=bMb39
V9afYhtuuNT5MZV1i1f2j=2BOonNeZ8RvreaPR81r7Xb2xZfqvX7Fig=pgOYbXD7+hg=0JkOrc=XVeYAiOhpBQEFzuXLRwj=WZTG
VJBWxBi+FwGTrgKyK2O8LL2bjNdf2M57darMbSmOv3u8+UvB0noDe53Amiv9SWAZPt2oMaD+VNr+RTroia5TmWl5pamjwumm+UPr
fIlIJJxganFhPaEpvl6TGmDYwMsHrxZYQbMr=Y3jebcEUyv+SYP6r=cS5wwG74j7ujKfZyJ6J2w49S4PeKjLG+CpyoEHz=RrbGIj
rhs5D1iZ4MRM46G3gQ7I1W=8tXALspBcgpQhdGQQus5O45n3GRIDkMXxIFWIW=6clGpD0tHH0VmPJF+1XBIrC2EuMM8CWtM=Dfub
vMP53UiWjXmR8KE9=CCEKEW8wHme7omDx6BGyJu7DvEIaq6B0YUMNAL6ZsdPaE9CDEGW=S4k279FJv+T4mWQB5SCkfnl2LcNSiSR
dYDf11ABIjocX5PD44ZRZM=9YoffOPlLDk8Y7ifYm=VCboMsYPjDxznh1SmmKKhH78nRTcdDdiuWP6v5Qu+BQOgFAurAmeg8ZEaS
8mwagoaC+USzSFBCyjdeQY9ASAOF8PN+KxdM=YDa9PdpEvv85WqQyV2X11QAFtvaIEH6IerEaybcO3l2YPhTBFIo7RIG84XZX9nd
c2s8BtGRsXWFtivfCQ5QTexdJbuheDDHoIWPcIONwgUpKJoy
Ваши документы, фотографии, базы данных и другие важные файлы были зашифрованы.
Каждые 24 часа удаляются 24 файла, необходимо прислать свой идентификатор чтоб мы отключили эту функцию.
Каждые 24 часа стоимость расшифровки данных увеличивается на 30% (через 72 часа сумма фиксируется)
Для расшифровки данных:
Напишите на почту – [email protected]
*В письме указать Ваш личный идентификатор
*Прикрепите 2 файла до 1 мб для тестовой расшифровки.
мы их расшифруем, в качестве доказательства, что ТОЛЬКО МЫ можем их расшифровать.
-Чем быстрее вы сообщите нам свой идентификатор, тем быстрее мы выключим произвольное удаление файлов.
-Написав нам на почту вы получите дальнейшие инструкции по оплате.
В ответном письме Вы получите программу для расшифровки.
После запуска программы-дешифровщика все Ваши файлы будут восстановлены.
Мы гарантируем:
100% успешное восстановление всех ваших файлов
100% гарантию соответствия
100% безопасный и надежный сервис
Внимание!
* Не пытайтесь удалить программу или запускать антивирусные средства
* Попытки самостоятельной расшифровки файлов приведут к потере Ваших данных
* Дешифраторы других пользователей несовместимы с Вашими данными, так как у каждого пользователя
уникальный ключ шифрования
====================================================================================================
Ваш личный идентификатор
pAQAAAAAAABOnKU8JZTJ4QIlDART+hpSzc9NGZZxDGBL3WK7vg4hxk9taeVq7=xM7vkMK1PKXGNxtaHW6gngnIdKe=Nwga=bMb39
V9afYhtuuNT5MZV1i1f2j=2BOonNeZ8RvreaPR81r7Xb2xZfqvX7Fig=pgOYbXD7+hg=0JkOrc=XVeYAiOhpBQEFzuXLRwj=WZTG
VJBWxBi+FwGTrgKyK2O8LL2bjNdf2M57darMbSmOv3u8+UvB0noDe53Amiv9SWAZPt2oMaD+VNr+RTroia5TmWl5pamjwumm+UPr
fIlIJJxganFhPaEpvl6TGmDYwMsHrxZYQbMr=Y3jebcEUyv+SYP6r=cS5wwG74j7ujKfZyJ6J2w49S4PeKjLG+CpyoEHz=RrbGIj
rhs5D1iZ4MRM46G3gQ7I1W=8tXALspBcgpQhdGQQus5O45n3GRIDkMXxIFWIW=6clGpD0tHH0VmPJF+1XBIrC2EuMM8CWtM=Dfub
vMP53UiWjXmR8KE9=CCEKEW8wHme7omDx6BGyJu7DvEIaq6B0YUMNAL6ZsdPaE9CDEGW=S4k279FJv+T4mWQB5SCkfnl2LcNSiSR
dYDf11ABIjocX5PD44ZRZM=9YoffOPlLDk8Y7ifYm=VCboMsYPjDxznh1SmmKKhH78nRTcdDdiuWP6v5Qu+BQOgFAurAmeg8ZEaS
8mwagoaC+USzSFBCyjdeQY9ASAOF8PN+KxdM=YDa9PdpEvv85WqQyV2X11QAFtvaIEH6IerEaybcO3l2YPhTBFIo7RIG84XZX9nd
c2s8BtGRsXWFtivfCQ5QTexdJbuheDDHoIWPcIONwgUpKJoy”
How does Scarab Gold ransomware distribute over the web?
As with other Scarab variants, the Scarab Gold ransomware proliferates with the help of spam emails. Cyber criminals attach an obfuscated file to these emails and send them to potential victims which is why you must be extra careful in opening emails – be it from an unknown sender or a well-known one.
Kill Scarab Gold ransomware from your computer with the help of the following steps.
Step_1: Tap the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time to open a menu and then expand the Shutdown options which are right next to the power button.
Step_2: After that, tap and hold the Shift key and then click on Restart.
Step_3: And in the Troubleshoot menu that opens, click on the Advanced options and then go to the Startup settings.
Step_4: Click on Restart and tap F4 to select Safe Mode or tap F5 to select Safe Mode with Networking.
Step_5: After your PC has successfully rebooted, tap Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
Step_6: Go to the Processes tab and look for any suspicious-looking processes that could be related to Scarab Gold ransomware and then end their processes.
Step_7: Exit the Task Manager and open the Programs and Features section under Control Panel by pressing the Windows key + R, then type in “appwiz.cpl” and then click OK or tap Enter.
Step_8: From there, look for any suspicious-looking programs that could be related to Scarab Gold ransomware and then uninstall it.
Step_9: Close the Control Panel and tap Win + E keys to open File Explorer.
Step_10: Now Scarab Goldgate to the following locations and look for the malicious components created by Scarab Gold ransomware like Инструкция по расшифровке файлов.TXT and [random].exe and then make sure to delete them all.
- %APPDATA%
- %TEMP%
- %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\
- %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
- %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Step_11: Close the File Explorer.
Before you proceed to the next steps below, make sure that you are tech-savvy enough to the point where you know exactly how to use and Scarab Goldgate your computer’s Registry. Keep in mind that any changes you make will highly impact your computer. To save you the trouble and time, you can just use Restoro, this system tool is proven to be safe and excellent enough that hackers won’t be able to hack into it. But if you can manage Windows Registry well, then, by all means, go on to the next steps.
Step_12: Tap Win + R to open Run and then type in regedit in the field and tap enter to pull up Windows Registry.
Step_13: Scarab Goldgate to the listed paths below and look for the registry keys and sub-keys created by Scarab Gold ransomware.
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\
- HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop\
- 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
Step_14: Delete the registry keys and sub-keys created by Scarab Gold ransomware.
Step_15: Close the Registry Editor and empty your Recycle Bin.
Try to recover your encrypted files using the Shadow Volume copies
Restoring your encrypted files using Windows Previous Versions feature will only be effective if Scarab Gold 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.
Congratulations, you have just removed Scarab Gold Ransomware in Windows 10 all by yourself. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit fixmypcfree.com daily.
Now that’s how you remove Scarab Gold Ransomware in Windows 10 on a computer. On the other hand, if your computer is going through some system-related issues that have to get fixed, there is a one-click solution known as Restoro you could check out to resolve them.
This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For a complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below
Perform a full system scan using Restoro. To do so, follow the instructions below.
