The R0n virus falls under the Dharma ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the FILES ENCRYPTED.txt files in every directory which contains the encrypted files.
What is known about the R0nvirus?
☝️ A strictly accurate description for the R0n is “a Dharma family ransomware malicious agent”.
The renaming will be executed by this scheme: id-xxxxxxx.[contact_email].r0n. During the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.id-9ECFA84E.[ronvest@tutanota.de].r0n”.
In each folder containing the encrypted files, a FILES ENCRYPTED.txt text file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on 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 racketeers. You can get this tool after contacting ronvest@tutanota.de through email. That is how they do it.
R0n summary:
| Name | R0n Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Dharma ransomware |
| Extension | .r0n |
| Ransomware note | FILES ENCRYPTED.txt |
| Contact | ronvest@tutanota.de |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .r0n extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by R0n virus |
The FILES ENCRYPTED.txt document coming in package with the R0n malware provides the following frustrating information:
You want to return? write email ronvest@tutanota.de or jerd@420blaze.it or ronrivest@airmail.cc or vestroni@tuta.io
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the R0n looks like. Each filename has the “.r0n” extension appended to it.
That is how encrypted “.r0n” files look.
How did my computer get infected with R0n ransomware?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited ways for hackers to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you access your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a harmful item enclosed in them. Thus it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse scheme2. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. As the update package can have any title 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 trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer networks like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the R0n virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the R0n virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often racketeers would decrypt some of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. As R0n virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the tamperers succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of criminals simply vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external disk. Surely, that might be not enough. Your most crucial thing could be that one you were working upon when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides R0n, that work similarly. For instance, Bpsm, Poqw, Znsm, and some others. The two major differences between them and the R0n are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avert ransomware infection?
R0n ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour your computer from ransomware injection taking several easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A hoax email will always contain a mistake.
- Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often distributed as an element of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect 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 PC for R0n 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 finished, 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 “.r0n” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.r0n” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
If the “.r0n” 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.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the R0n malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Of course not. Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual threats. The virus that has infiltrated your PC is most likely still active and it scans your system every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the R0n malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your computer after some time.
🤔 What actions should I take if the R0n ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or brought into your computer. To suppress 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 blocked files might still be within your reach
- If you sent or received your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, phone, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery utilities5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can see 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 anti-malware program.
Also, you can contact the following governmental 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 R0N Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: R0N Virus
Description: R0N Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .r0n 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.
