DZEN Ransomware 🔐 (.DZEN File) — Removal Guide

The Dzen virus falls under the Phobos ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, leaving the info.txt files in each folder containing encrypted files.

What is known about the Dzen virus?

☝️ Dzen is a Phobos family ransomware-type virus.

The renaming will be executed according to the following pattern: .dzen. After the encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id[9ECFA84E-3536].[[email protected]].dzen”.

In every directory containing the encoded files, a info.txt file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this tool after contacting [email protected] through email. That is it.

Dzen Summary:

The info.txt document coming in package with the Dzen ransomware states the following:

Your data is encrypted and downloaded!

Unlocking your data is possible only with our software.
Important! An attempt to decrypt it yourself or decrypt it with third-party software will result in the loss of your data forever.
Contacting intermediary companies, recovery companies will create the risk of losing your data forever or being deceived by these companies.
Being deceived is your responsibility! Learn the experience on the forums.

Downloaded data of your company.

Data leakage is a serious violation of the law. Don\'t worry, the incident will remain a secret, the data is protected.
After the transaction is completed, all data downloaded from you will be deleted from our resources. Government agencies, competitors, contractors and local media
not aware of the incident.
Also, we guarantee that your company\'s personal data will not be sold on DArkWeb resources and will not be used to attack your company, employees
and counterparties in the future.
If you have not contacted within 2 days from the moment of the incident, we will consider the transaction not completed.
Your data will be sent to all interested parties. This is your responsibility.

Contact us.

Write us to the e-mail:[email protected]
In case of no answer in 24 hours write us to this e-mail:[email protected]
Write this ID in the title of your message: -
If you have not contacted within 2 days from the moment of the incident, we will consider the transaction not completed.
Your data will be sent to all interested parties. This is your responsibility.


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.

In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Dzen looks like. Each filename has the “.dzen” extension appended to it.

How did Dzen ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for evil-doers to have the Dzen virus settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.

• Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme. A Trojan is a program that gets into your machine disguised as something different. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that compromises your data. As the installation package can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.
• As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove ransomware?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Dzen virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your computer to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

How сan I avoid ransomware infiltration?

Dzen ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from its injection taking several easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A hoax email will always contain a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such software.

FAQ

🤔 Is it possible to open “.dzen” files?

There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.dzen” files are decrypted.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.dzen” files ASAP. How can I do that?

If the “.dzen” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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.

🤔 What to do if the Dzen malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Many of the encoded files might still be within your reach

• If you exchanged your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to post those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, cellphone, external storage, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities² to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus with an antivirus program.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2024.