Virus analyst Tomas Meskauskas was the one who, for the first time, recognized the Aros virus, which belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Harmful software of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, leaving the How_to_decrypt_files.txt text files in each folder containing encrypted files.
What is Aros virus?
☝️ A scientifically correct description for the Aros is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
The renaming will be done according to the following scheme: .ARS. In the course of encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.[5d3e178db8].[luckyguys@tutanota.com].ARS”.
In every directory that contains the encrypted files, a How_to_decrypt_files.txt text file will be found. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this decryptor after contacting luckyguys@tutanota.com, luckyguys@msgsafe.io via email. That is how they do it.
Aros abstract:
| Name | Aros Virus |
| Extension | .ARS |
| Ransomware note | How_to_decrypt_files.txt |
| Contact | luckyguys@tutanota.com, luckyguys@msgsafe.io |
| Detection | Win32/Injector.CHWA, Trojan.Win32.Packed, Trojan:Win32/Downloader.DA!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .ARS extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Aros virus |
The How_to_decrypt_files.txt file coming in package with the Aros malware states the following:
ALL YOUR FILES ENCRYPTED BY AROS RANSOMWARE -- YOUR FILES ARE SAFE! WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND you NOT to use any \"Decryption Tools\". These tools can damage your data, making recover IMPOSSIBLE. Also we recommend you not to contact data recovery companies. They will just contact us, buy the key and sell it to you at a higher price. If you want to decrypt your files, you have to get RSA private key. -- To get RSA private key you have to contact us via TOX chat. TOX download site: >> hxxps://tox.chat/ << Our ID: >> 77A904360EA7D74268E7A4F316865F170 3D2D7A6AF28C9ECFACED69CD09C8610FF2C728E6A33 << -- If you have any problems with TOX Chat, email us: >> luckyguys@tutanota.com or luckyguys@msgsafe.io << and send us your tell your MachineID: >> - - << -- HOW to understand that we are NOT scammers? You can ask SUPPORT for the TEST-decryption for ONE file! -- If I don’t want to pay bad people like you? If you will not cooperate with our service - for us, its does not matter. But you will lose your time and data, cause only we have the private key. In practice - time is much more valuable than money. -- Please contact us before paying. After the successful payment and decrypting your files, we will give you FULL instructions HOW to IMPROVE your security system. We ready to answer all your questions! --
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Aros looks like. Each filename has the ".ARS" extension added to it.
That is how encrypted ".ARS" files look.
How did Aros ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most popular methods for tamperers to have the Aros virus planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer file transfer.
If you access your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious item attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse scheme1. A Trojan is a program that gets into your PC pretending to be something different. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful agent that encrypts your data. Since the update package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you're downloading. The optimal way is to use the software developers' official websites.
As for the peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you'd better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Aros virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Aros virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your logins and passwords from your browser's auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes criminals would unblock several of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. As Aros virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the criminals do the job of encoding someone's essential files, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you're getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of ransomware developers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best solution against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Aros, that work similarly. For instance, Tury, Adlg, Tuow, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Aros are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes are created in every folder containing encoded files.
Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals' instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avoid ransomware infiltration?
Aros ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from its attack within several easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious email with caution. A fake email will surely contain a mistake.
- Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from reliable ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such programs at all.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect shield for your system.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft2
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft3.
Download Removal Tool.
You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:
Run the setup file.
When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your computer.
An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
Press "Install" button.
Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.
Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your system for Aros infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.
Click on "Clean Now".
When the scan has completed, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.
FAQ
🤔 Can I somehow access ".ARS" files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the ".ARS" files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.ARS” files ASAP. How can I do that?
It's good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. In case you haven't, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Aros malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with real threats. The ransomware that has attacked your PC is must be still active and it scans your system every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been said above, the Aros ransomware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Aros malware has blocked my PC and I can't get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or imported into your system. To stop this process - use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the blocked data can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, mobile, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery utilities4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: you can do it only after you remove the virus with an anti-malware program.
Also, you can contact the following official fraud and scam sites to report this attack:
- In the United States: On Guard Online;
- In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
- In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
- In Australia: SCAMwatch;
- In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
- In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
- In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
- In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;
To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove AROS Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: AROS Virus
Description: AROS Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .ARS extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here's the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
