.NEWWARE Files Encrypted (NEWWARE Virus) — How to Remove?

The Newware virus falls within the MedusaLocker ransomware family. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the HOW_TO_RECOVER_DATA.html text files in each folder with the encrypted files.

What is known about the Newwarevirus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Newware is “a MedusaLocker family ransomware-type malicious agent”.

Newware adds its own .newware extension to every file’s name. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.newware”. In the same manner, the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.newware”, and so on.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a HOW_TO_RECOVER_DATA.html text document will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the Newware developers. That is pretty much the scheme of the malefaction.

Newware abstract:

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

How did Newware ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for criminals to have the Newware virus acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer file transfer.

If you open your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a harmful item enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How do I get rid of the Newware virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Newware virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware³ can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Often criminals would decode several of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. As Newware virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decoding tools are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.

Sure thing, if the malefactors succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of ransomware developers simply 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 drive. Obviously, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.

Newware 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, Zfdv, Bbyy, Bbzz, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Newware are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each directory containing encoded files.

Some fortunate people were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How to avert ransomware injection?

Newware ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can defend your PC from its injection in three easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A hoax email will always contain a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often distributed as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal 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”.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.newware” files?Is it possible to open“.newware” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.newware” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?

If the “.newware” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. All other solutions require time.

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

🤔 What can I do right now?

Many of the blocked files might still be at your disposal

• If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• 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 Internet, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, mobile, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities⁶ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself 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.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
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