The Ver virus belongs under the Dharma ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, creating the info.txt files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is Ver?
☝️ A strictly correct designation for the Ver is “a Dharma family ransomware-type malicious agent”.
The scheme of renaming is this: id-*******.[email address].ver. As a part of encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.id-137BDF129.[restorefiles@elude.in].ver”.
In every directory with the encrypted files, a info.txt notebook 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 remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.
Ver abstract:
Name | Ver Virus |
Ransomware family1 | Dharma ransomware |
Extension | .id-*******.[email address].ver |
Ransomware note | info.txt |
Detection | Trojan:Win32/Glupteba.MN!MTB, WinGo/Agent.DG, Ransom:MSIL/Thanos.MK!MTB |
Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .id-*******.[email address].ver extension and you can’t open them. |
Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Ver virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Ver looks like. Each filename has the “.id-*******.[email address].ver” extension appended to it.
How did Ver ransomware end up on my PC?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited methods for criminals to have ransomware planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.
If you open your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a ransomware file enclosed in them. So it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme2. A Trojan is a program that gets into your machine pretending to be something else. For example, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encrypts your data. Since the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer networks like BitTorrent 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 reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.
How to remove the Ver virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Ver virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often tamperers would decrypt several of your files so you know that they really have the decryption tool. As Ver virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the tamperers succeed in encrypting victim’s essential files, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to criminals 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 code to the injured party. There were reports of ransomware developers just disappearing after getting the money without even writing back.
The best safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that one 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 OS is rolled back.
Ver 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, Cloud, Time, C1024, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Ver are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encoded files.
Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware infection?
Ver ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can defend yourself from its infiltration within three 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 (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email carefully. A hoax letter will surely have a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as an element of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to tell from reliable ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect defense for your system.
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 computer.
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 computer for Ver 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Are the “.id-*******.[email address].ver” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.id-*******.[email address].ver” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Ver virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with real viruses. The malware that has infiltrated your PC is most likely still active and it scans your system periodically to encrypt any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Ver virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What should I do if the Ver malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.
In such a case, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your computer. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Many of the blocked files might still be at your disposal
- If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to post those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try to do it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, phone, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities5 to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the video 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove VER Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: VER Virus
Description: VER Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .id-*******.[email address].ver 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.