The R3tr0 virus belongs under the Dharma ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the info.txt files in every directory containing encrypted files.
What is known about the R3tr0virus?
☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the R3tr0 is “a Dharma family ransomware-type infection”.
The renaming will be done by the following pattern: *victimID*.[contact_email].r3tr0. In the process of encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.id-9ECFA84E.[[email protected]].r3tr0”.
In each folder with the encoded files, a info.txt text document will appear. It will also open you the info.hta file. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can obtain this tool after contacting [email protected] via email. That is how they do it.
R3tr0 abstract:
| Name | R3tr0 Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Dharma ransomware |
| Extension | .r3tr0 |
| Ransomware note | info.txt |
| Contact | [email protected] |
| Detection | Ransom:Win32/Cryptolocker.PAL!MTB, UDS:Trojan-Banker.Win32.Bandra, Trojan:MSIL/AgentTesla.EPQ!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .r3tr0 extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by R3tr0 virus |
The info.txt file accompanying the R3tr0 malware states the following:
all your data has been locked us You want to return? write email [email protected] or [email protected]
In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the R3tr0 looks like. Each filename has the “.r3tr0” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .r3tr0 files.
How did my machine catch R3tr0 ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for malefactors to have the R3tr0 virus acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer networks.
If you open your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a ransomware item attached to them. So it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
As for the 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 resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the R3tr0 virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the R3tr0 virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware3 can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes criminals would decode some of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. As R3tr0 virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware tools are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the tamperers succeed in encoding someone’s critical files, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After getting the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of criminals simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.
The optimal solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud storage or at least on an external drive. Of course, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.
R3tr0 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, Bbnm, Sijr, Zpps, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the R3tr0 are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.
Some lucky victims were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How to avert ransomware infiltration?
R3tr0 ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your computer from ransomware attack in three easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how 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 suspicious letter with caution. A hoax email will surely contain mistakes.
- Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often distributed as an element of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, 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
🤔 Are the “.r3tr0” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.r3tr0” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.r3tr0” files ASAP. How can I do that?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. In case you haven’t, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 What to do if the R3tr0 virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to give those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, 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, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery programs6 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: 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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