The Edw virus falls within the Dharma ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (images, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the FILES ENCRYPTED.txt files in each folder containing encrypted files.
What is Edw virus?
☝️ A strictly correct description for the Edw is “a Dharma family ransomware malicious agent”.
The renaming will be executed by this pattern: .edw. In the course of encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.id-9ECFA84E.[[email protected]].edw”.
In each directory with the encoded files, a FILES ENCRYPTED.txt text file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this tool after contacting [email protected] by email. That is basically the scheme of the crime.
Edw summary:
| Name | Edw Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Dharma ransomware |
| Extension | .edw |
| Ransomware note | FILES ENCRYPTED.txt |
| Contact | [email protected] |
| Detection | Win32/GenKryptik.FWOS, Worm:Win32/IRCbot.I, Win32/Packed.VMProtect.E |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .edw extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Edw virus |
The FILES ENCRYPTED.txt file coming in package with the Edw malware states the following:
all your data has been locked us You want to return? write email [email protected] or [email protected]
In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Edw looks like. Each filename has the “.edw” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .edw files.
How did my computer get infected with Edw ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for malefactors to have the Edw virus settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery 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 malware item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.
How to remove the Edw virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Edw virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware3 can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes racketeers would unblock few of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. As Edw virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware instruments are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Of course, if the tamperers succeed in encoding victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about hackers just vanishing 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 critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Surely, 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 antivirus program after the system is rolled back.
Edw 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, Bbyy, Zfdv, Bbzz, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Edw are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: files become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in every folder containing encoded files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.
How do I avoid ransomware infection?
Edw ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from its attack within several easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake email will always have a mistake.
- Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often distributed as an element of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft4
Download Removal Tool.
Run the setup file.
Press “Install” button.
Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.
Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.
Click on “Clean Now”.
FAQ
🤔 Can I somehow access “.edw” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.edw” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 What should I do if the Edw virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal
- If you sent or received 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 family members. Just ask them to send 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 networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, mobile, flash memory, etc.
HINT: You can use data recovery utilities6 to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate 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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