The Dr ransomware virus belongs under the Dharma ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the info.txt text files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
Dr ransomware virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically correct description for the Dr ransomware would be “a Dharma family ransomware infection”.
The renaming will be executed by this scheme: id********.[email_address].dr. After the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.id-124709BF00.[dr.decrypt@aol.com].dr”.
In every directory with the encoded files, a info.txt file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can obtain this decoding tool after contacting dr.decrypt@aol.com via email. That is it.
Dr ransomware abstract:
| Name | Dr ransomware Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Dharma ransomware |
| Extension | .id********.[email_address].dr |
| Ransomware note | info.txt |
| Contact | dr.decrypt@aol.com |
| Detection | Adware.NeoBar.Generic, Trojan:Win32/Tnega.PKD!MTB, Win32/TrojanDownloader.Agent.DGM |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .id********.[email_address].dr extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Dr ransomware virus |
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Dr ransomware looks like. Each filename has the “.id********.[email_address].dr” extension added to it.
![Dr ransomware Virus - encrypted .id********.[email_address].dr files](https://howtofix.guide/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-ransomware-files-virus.jpg)
An example of encrypted .id********.[email_address].dr files.
How did my machine catch Dr ransomware ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most popular methods for tamperers to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer networks.
If you open your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful file enclosed in them. Thus it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model2. A Trojan is a program that gets into your PC pretending to be something legal. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. Since the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never know what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Dr ransomware virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Dr ransomware virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often racketeers would decrypt several of your files so you know that they really have the decryption tool. Since Dr ransomware virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decoding tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.
Of course, if the malefactors do the job of encrypting someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After receiving the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of racketeers simply disappearing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.
Dr ransomware is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Nnqp, Mljx, Hudf, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Dr ransomware are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in every directory containing encoded files.
Some lucky people were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware infection?
Dr ransomware ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can armour your system from its injection taking three easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email with caution. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try searching for information on 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 files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful armor for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft3
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft4.
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 PC.
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 computer for Dr ransomware 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Are the “.id********.[email_address].dr” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.id********.[email_address].dr” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Dr ransomware virus?
Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete active infections from your computer. The virus that has infiltrated your PC is probably still functional and it scans your system from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has already been said, the Dr ransomware virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What should I do if the Dr ransomware 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 procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or brought into your system. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to send those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery programs5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the virus with an antivirus 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 DR RANSOMWARE Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: DR RANSOMWARE Virus
Description: DR RANSOMWARE Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .id********.[email_address].dr extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
- 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 are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
