This week, cyber threat analysts has received reports of yet another ransomware named Klope ransomware. This virus spreads via spam emails and malware files and appends .klope file extension to encrypted files.
Once started, the .Klope ransomware virus will scan the machine for some file types and encrypt them. It will encrypt almost of files, including:
.ybk, .mpqge, .itm, .xx, .m3u, .wpt, .xar, .raw, .r3d, .mdf, .rgss3a, .dng, .xdb, .wn, .m4a, .arw, .iwd, .w3x, .map, .wpb, .x3f, .bay, .rofl, .ptx, .2bp, .jpg, .desc, .dmp, .re4, .kdc, .wmo, .doc, .ws, .rtf, .sr2, .wm, .wma, .xlsb, .wmf, .qic, .erf, .rar, .wps, .syncdb, .xlk, .tax, .1, .ods, .ncf, .wpg, .wp4, .mdbackup, .cfr, .xlgc, .tor, .jpeg, .srw, .sidd, .xlsm, .pak, .das, .wmv, .wpa, .wotreplay, .der, .hvpl, .xmmap, .fsh, .bc7, .pdd, .pdf, .mrwref, .pst, .litemod, .xxx, .wp7, .srf, .xls, .yal, .png, .mcmeta, .xmind, .fpk, .yml, .hkdb, .psk, .xf, .xbplate, .zdb, .wire, .csv, .xlsm, .sis, wallet, .wma, .wpl, .mddata, .wbmp, .zip, .xbdoc, .pef, .bkp, .odb, .wp6, .mdb, .sql, .dbf, .big, .sidn, .ntl, .lbf, .pfx, .dba, .odp, .odt, .xml, .svg, .d3dbsp, .wmd, .pkpass, .wsd, .zip, .wav, .wpe, .dwg, .dcr, .eps, .wpd, .webp, .sav, .x3d, .icxs, .accdb, .txt, .wgz, .mov, .raf, .avi, .wbk, .upk, .odc, .rwl, .xls, .slm, .gdb, .xwp, .ysp, .xpm, .rw2, .xlsx, .rb, .crt, .pem, .wp5, .x, .ibank, .xy3, .wdp, .wp, .vpk, .mef, .xyp, .ai, .db0, .pptx, .wdb, .bsa, .p7c, .ltx, .xlsx, .wpd, .3ds, .asset, .mp4, .ff, .cer, .sb, .zif, .docm, .t12, .docx, .1st, .esm, .mlx, .itl, .fos, .wps, .wpw, .ztmp, .dxg, .forge, .bar, .nrw, .wsc, .crw, .lrf, .arch00, .odm, .js, .zi, .wbm, .psd, .m2, .xyw, .vcf, .bc6, .kdb, .y, .cas, .3fr, .vpp_pc
When encrypting a file it will append the .klope extension to every encrypted file name to identify that the file has been encrypted. For example, a file called sample.doc
would be encrypted and renamed to sample.doc.klope
. Once the process is finished, it will create a file named ‘_readme.txt’ with ransom demanding message. It includes instructions on how to purchase a private key to decrypt all photos, documents and music. An example of the ransom note is:
ATTENTION! Don't worry my friend, you can return all your files! All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key. The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you. This software will decrypt all your encrypted files. What guarantees you have? You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free. But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information. You can get and look video overview decrypt tool: https://we.tl/t-T9WE5uiVT6 Price of private key and decrypt software is $980. Discount 50% available if you contact us first 72 hours, that's price for you is $490. Please note that you'll never restore your data without payment. Check your e-mail "Spam" folder if you don't get answer more than 6 hours. To get this software you need write on our e-mail: blower@india.com Reserve e-mail address to contact us: blower@firemail.cc Your personal ID:
Use the step-by-step guidance below to remove Klope ransomware and try to restore (decrypt) encrypted files for free.
Table of contents
- How to remove .Klope ransomware virus
- How to decrypt .klope files
- Use STOPDecrypter to decrypt .klope files
- How to restore .klope files
- How to protect your PC system from .Klope ransomware virus?
- Finish words
How to remove .Klope ransomware virus
There are not many good free antimalware programs with high detection ratio. The effectiveness of malware removal tools depends on various factors, mostly on how often their virus/malware signatures DB are updated in order to effectively detect modern malware, adware software, ransomwares and other PUPs. We suggest to use several applications, not just one. These programs which listed below will help you delete all components of the .Klope ransomware from your disk and Windows registry.
Automatically remove .Klope ransomware with Zemana Anti-malware
Zemana Anti-malware highly recommended, because it can detect security threats such .Klope ransomware virus, trojans, worms and other malware which most ‘classic’ antivirus apps fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any .Klope ransomware removal problems which cannot be fixed by this utility automatically, then Zemana Anti-malware provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.
- Installing the Zemana Anti-Malware is simple. First you’ll need to download Zemana Anti Malware on your MS Windows Desktop from the following link.
Zemana AntiMalware
164032 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- When downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is finished, click the “Scan” button to detect .Klope ransomware virus and other kinds of potential threats. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the utility is checking, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned.
- After Zemana Anti-Malware has completed scanning, you may check all threats detected on your system. All found threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Next”. After disinfection is finished, you can be prompted to restart your PC system.
Remove Klope ransomware virus with MalwareBytes AntiMalware
We suggest using the MalwareBytes Free. You may download and install MalwareBytes Free to scan for and delete Klope ransomware virus from your PC. When installed and updated, this free malware remover automatically finds and removes all threats present on the computer.
Installing the MalwareBytes Free is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) by clicking on the link below.
326385 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When the download is done, close all programs and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the install file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install MalwareBytes on your system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is finished successfully, click Finish button. MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen like below.
Now click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Free tool will begin scanning the whole PC system to find out Klope ransomware virus related files, folders and registry keys. During the scan MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will scan for threats present on your machine.
After the scanning is complete, the results are displayed in the scan report. When you’re ready, click “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes will remove Klope ransomware and other malware and move threats to the program’s quarantine. After disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware to remove adware, browser hijacker and other malicious software.
Remove .Klope ransomware virus with KVRT
If MalwareBytes anti malware or Zemana antimalware cannot get rid of this ransomware virus, then we recommends to run the KVRT. KVRT is a free removal utility for ransomware, trojans, worms and other malicious software.
Download Kaspersky virus removal tool (KVRT) on your PC system from the link below.
129056 downloads
Author: Kaspersky® lab
Category: Security tools
Update: March 5, 2018
After downloading is finished, double-click on the Kaspersky virus removal tool icon. Once initialization process is complete, you will see the Kaspersky virus removal tool screen as shown on the screen below.
Click Change Parameters and set a check near all your drives. Click OK to close the Parameters window. Next click Start scan button for scanning your PC system for the .Klope ransomware virus and other known infections. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the KVRT tool is checking, you may see how many objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software.
After the scan get completed, a list of all threats found is created as shown below.
Next, you need to press on Continue to start a cleaning task.
How to decrypt .klope files
The .Klope ransomware uses very strong hybrid encryption with a large key. What does it mean to decrypt the files is impossible without the private key. Use a “brute forcing” is also not a method because of the big length of the key. Therefore, unfortunately, the only payment to the authors of the Klope ransomware virus entire amount requested – the only method to try to get the decryption key and decrypt all your files.
There is absolutely no guarantee that after pay a ransom to the creators of the .Klope ransomware virus, they will provide the necessary key to decrypt your files. In addition, you must understand that paying money to the cyber criminals, you are encouraging them to create a new ransomware virus.
With some variants of Klope Ransomware, it is possible to decrypt or restore encrypted files using free tools such as STOPDecrypter, ShadowExplorer and PhotoRec.
Use STOPDecrypter to decrypt .klope files
Michael Gillespie (@) released a free decryption tool named STOPDecrypter (download from download.bleepingcomputer.com/demonslay335/STOPDecrypter.zip).
STOPDecrypter has been updated to include decryption support for the following .djvu* variants (.djvu, .djvuu, .udjvu, .djvuq, .djvur, .djvut, .pdff, .tro, .tfude, .tfudeq, .tfudet, .rumba, .adobe, .adobee, .blower, .promos. STOPDecrypter will work for any extension of the Djvu* variants including new extensions (.klope).
Please check the twitter post for more info.
How to restore .klope files
In some cases, you can recover files encrypted by .Klope ransomware virus. Try both methods. Important to understand that we cannot guarantee that you will be able to restore all encrypted photos, documents and music.
Recover .klope files with ShadowExplorer
A free utility named ShadowExplorer is a simple way to use the ‘Previous Versions’ feature of MS Windows 10 (8, 7 , Vista). You can recover .klope personal files encrypted by the .Klope ransomware from Shadow Copies for free.
Click the link below to download the latest version of ShadowExplorer for MS Windows. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
438669 downloads
Author: ShadowExplorer.com
Category: Security tools
Update: September 15, 2019
Once the downloading process is complete, extract the downloaded file to a directory on your personal computer. This will create the necessary files as shown on the screen below.
Start the ShadowExplorerPortable program. Now choose the date (2) that you wish to restore from and the drive (1) you want to restore files (folders) from as displayed on the image below.
On right panel navigate to the file (folder) you want to recover. Right-click to the file or folder and press the Export button as shown below.
And finally, specify a directory (your Desktop) to save the shadow copy of encrypted file and click ‘OK’ button.
Use PhotoRec to restore .klope files
Before a file is encrypted, the .Klope ransomware makes a copy of this file, encrypts it, and then deletes the original file. This can allow you to restore your photos, documents and music using file recover applications like PhotoRec.
Download PhotoRec by clicking on the following link. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
When the downloading process is complete, open a directory in which you saved it. Right click to testdisk-7.0.win and choose Extract all. Follow the prompts. Next please open the testdisk-7.0 folder as on the image below.
Double click on qphotorec_win to run PhotoRec for Microsoft Windows. It will show a screen as displayed in the figure below.
Select a drive to recover as displayed below.
You will see a list of available partitions. Select a partition that holds encrypted documents, photos and music like below.
Press File Formats button and select file types to restore. You can to enable or disable the restore of certain file types. When this is complete, press OK button.
Next, press Browse button to select where recovered personal files should be written, then press Search.
Count of recovered files is updated in real time. All restored personal files are written in a folder that you have chosen on the previous step. You can to access the files even if the restore process is not finished.
When the recovery is finished, click on Quit button. Next, open the directory where restored files are stored. You will see a contents as on the image below.
All recovered documents, photos and music are written in recup_dir.1, recup_dir.2 … sub-directories. If you are looking for a specific file, then you can to sort your restored files by extension and/or date/time.
How to protect your PC system from .Klope ransomware virus?
Most antivirus applications already have built-in protection system against the ransomware. Therefore, if your PC system does not have an antivirus application, make sure you install it. As an extra protection, run the HitmanPro.Alert.
Run HitmanPro.Alert to protect your machine from .Klope ransomware virus
HitmanPro.Alert is a small security utility. It can check the system integrity and alerts you when critical system functions are affected by malware. HitmanPro.Alert can detect, remove, and reverse ransomware effects.
HitmanPro Alert can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.
After downloading is done, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the HitmanPro Alert desktop icon. Once the tool is launched, you will be displayed a window where you can select a level of protection, as shown below.
Now click the Install button to activate the protection.
Finish words
Now your PC system should be clean of the .Klope ransomware. Delete MalwareBytes and Kaspersky virus removal tool. We suggest that you keep Zemana Free (to periodically scan your system for new malware). Moreover, to prevent ransomware virus, please stay clear of unknown and third party software, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to block or detect ransomware.
If you need more help with .Klope ransomware related issues, go to here.