RAZER Virus (.razer Files of Ransomware) [email protected]

Security expert Tomas Meskauskas was the one who, for the first time, detected the Razer virus, which belongs under the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the readme-warning.txt files in each directory containing encrypted files.

What is known about the Razervirus?

☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Razer would be “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.

The scheme of renaming is this: razer. In the process of encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.[42990E91].[[email protected]].razer”.

In each directory that contains the encoded files, a readme-warning.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this decrypting software after contacting [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] through email. That is basically the scheme of the felony.

Razer abstract:

The readme-warning.txt document coming in package with the Razer malware states the following:

::: Greetings :::


Little FAQ:
.1.
Q: Whats Happen?
A: Your files have been encrypted and now have the "razer" extension. The file structure was not damaged, we did everything possible so that this could not happen.

.2.
Q: How to recover files?
A: If you wish to decrypt your files you will need to pay in bitcoins.

.3.
Q: What about guarantees?
A: Its just a business. We absolutely do not care about you and your deals, except getting benefits. If we do not do our work and liabilities - nobody will cooperate with us. Its not in our interests.
To check the ability of returning files, you can send to us any 2 files with SIMPLE extensions(jpg,xls,doc, etc... not databases!) and low sizes(max 1 mb), we will decrypt them and send back to you. That is our guarantee.

.4.
Q: How to contact with you?
A: You can write us to our mailbox: [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]

.5.
Q: How will the decryption process proceed after payment?
A: After payment we will send to you our scanner-decoder program and detailed instructions for use. With this program you will be able to decrypt all your encrypted files.

.6.
Q: If I don’t want to pay bad people like you?
A: If you will not cooperate with our service - for us, its does not matter. But you will lose your time and data, cause only we have the private key. In practice - time is much more valuable than money.

:::BEWARE:::
DON'T try to change encrypted files by yourself!
If you will try to use any third party software for restoring your data or antivirus solutions - please make a backup for all encrypted files!
Any changes in encrypted files may entail damage of the private key and, as result, the loss all data.

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

How did Razer ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most exploited ways for tamperers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a harmful item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

As for the peer-to-peer networks 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. Our suggestion is that you use 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 done.

How to remove the Razer virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Razer virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware² can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often criminals would decode several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. As Razer virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.

Of course, if the hackers succeed in encrypting someone’s essential data, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system restoration.

Razer is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. Examples of those are Rigj, Mljx, Mljx, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Razer are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes are created in each directory containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate people were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware infection?

Razer ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from its attack in several easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (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 questionable letter carefully. A fake email will always contain mistakes.
• Never use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try searching for 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 GridinSoft³

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 “.razer” files accessible?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.razer” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

If the “.razer” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

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

🤔 And what should I do now?

Some of the blocked data can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, mobile, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can use data recovery programs⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the ransomware itself 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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