The Root virus belongs under the Chaos ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the read_it.txt files in each directory containing encrypted files.
What is known about the Rootvirus?
☝️ A strictly correct description for the Root would be “a Chaos family ransomware-type infection”.
Root adds its own .Root extension to the name of each encoded file. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.Root”. In the same manner, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.Root”, and so forth.
In every directory that contains the encoded files, a read_it.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains 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. That is it.
Root overview:
| Name | Root Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Chaos ransomware |
| Extension | .Root |
| Ransomware note | read_it.txt |
| Detection | Win32/TrojanDownloader.Small.OCD, TrojanDropper:Win32/Vundo.AB, Trojan:MSIL/Tiny.AC!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .Root extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Root virus |
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Root looks like. Each filename has the “.Root” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.Root” files look.
How did my machine catch Root ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for tamperers to have the Root virus planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-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 addresser is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malware file attached to them. So it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model2. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something else. For example, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some service. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encrypts your data. Since the installation file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrent trackers or eMule, the danger 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 folder containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Root virus?
It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Root virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes racketeers would decrypt some of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. As Root virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Understandably, if the malefactors succeed in encoding victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external drive. Of course, that might be not enough. Your most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.
There are other ransomware products, besides Root, that work similarly. Examples of those are Oori, Ooxa, Ggew, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Root are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become encrypted, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in every directory containing encrypted files.
Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware infection?
Root ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your system from its injection within several easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
- Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, scan them with 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 system for Root 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 completed, 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
🤔 How can I open “.Root” files?Can I somehow access “.Root” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.Root” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.Root” files ASAP. How can I do that?
If the “.Root” 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. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Root virus?
Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete actual threats from your system. The malware that has attacked your PC is must be still active and running scans from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Root virus does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Root ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your machine. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encrypted 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. Just ask them to give 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 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, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery programs5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove ROOT Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: ROOT Virus
Description: ROOT Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .Root 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’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
