Rote Ransomware

What is Rote Ransomware?

If your personal files cannot be read, and the “.rote” extension is added to their names, you can blame Rote Ransomware for that. This clandestine infection slithers in and wreaks havoc on your personal files before you can figure out what is going on. Once files are fully encrypted, the infection uses a text file to introduced victims to a ransom demand, according to which files can be restored only if the victim pays $980 for a decryption tool provided by the attackers. If you know anything about cybercriminals, you must know that they often cheat and tell lies to reach their goals. In this case, their goal is to make money, and they are clearly willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Unfortunately, files are not restored when victims delete Rote Ransomware, and that is what might push them into a corner. Hopefully, you can find an alternative way to regain access to your personal files, and you can remove the threat without hesitation.

How does Rote Ransomware work?

Rote Ransomware is most likely to spread using bundled downloaders and spam emails. It also could enter using remote access vulnerabilities or be dropped by other active threats. Basically, the threat does not invade operating systems in a transparent manner. Unfortunately, it seems that the attackers behind this threat already have experience distributing malware because they appear to be related to Msop Ransomware, Zobm Ransomware, Grod Ransomware, and all other infections from the STOP Ransomware family. In some cases, even the email addresses represented via the ransom note are the same, and so it is very likely that we are dealing with the same attackers. When Rote Ransomware is executed, a pop-up suggesting an upcoming Windows update shows up, and that might distract you from the attack. In the meantime, the infection disables the Task Manager, creates a unique task, and also silently drops files to the %HOMEDRIVE% and %LOCALAPPDATA% directories. All of these components must be removed, but, at first, you might get distracted by the message delivered using the “_readme.txt” file.

The .TXT file created by Rote Ransomware is meant to inform that files were encrypted and also to reassure you that they can be recovered. According to the ransom note, you have to contact the attackers (via datarestorehelp@firemail.cc and datahelp@iran.ir) and also pay the ransom of $490 (after three days, the ransom is $980) in return for a unique decryptor. Even if this tool actually exists, how do you know if you will get it by paying the ransom? Are you choosing to trust the promises of cybercriminals? Hopefully, you know better than to trust cyber crooks. When Anti-Spyware-101.com research team analyzed Rote Ransomware, the free STOP Decryptor – which was created by malware researchers, not cybercriminals – could not yet decrypt the files corrupted by this malware. Perhaps, it will be capable of doing that in the future. Therefore, at the time of research, the only thing that could help the victims of this malware were copies of personal files. Do you have copies stored on external drives or online? If you do have backups, you can easily replace the encrypted files. Of course, we suggest doing that after you remove the infection.

How to delete Rote Ransomware

If you are worried that you cannot restore the files corrupted by Rote Ransomware, think about the copies that might exist online or on external drives, and try employing legitimate, free decryptors. If all fails, you might have to choose between doing nothing at all and communicating with cybercriminals. Although the latter option might seem hopeful, we do not want you to get your hopes up. Once files are encrypted, you are unlikely to get them back by paying the ransom. Cybercriminals want your money, and if you give that to them, they are likely to disappear until the next scam. Note that if you contact them to get more details about the ransom payment, they can record your email address and use it in other scams. The prospect of facing new scams and new threats is real, and that is why you need to secure your operating system. Why not do it now? Install a legitimate anti-malware tool, and have it protect your system and also automatically remove Rote Ransomware. If you want to get rid of the threat manually, we have a guide for you, but note that you will need to find the executable file that launched the threat yourself.

Removal Instructions

1. Right-click the .exe file that launched the threat and choose Delete.
2. Launch Windows Explorer by tapping Win+E keys.
3. Enter %WINDIR%\System32\Tasks\ into the field at the top.
4. Right-click the task named Time Trigger Task and choose Delete.
5. Enter %HOMEDRIVE% into the field at the top.
6. Right-click the ransom file named _readme.txt and choose Delete.
7. Right-click the folder named SystemID and choose Delete.
8. Enter %LOCALAPPDATA% into the field at the top (enter %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\ if you are on Windows XP).
9. Right-click the file named script.ps1 and then choose Delete.
10. Right-click and Delete two folders with random names. One of them should contain a malicious .exe file, while the other one should contain updatewin.exe and updatewin2.exe files.
11. Launch Run by tapping Win+R keys and enter regedit into the dialog box to access Registry Editor.
12. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
13. Delete a value named SysHelper if the value data points to the malicious .exe file.
14. Exit Registry Editor and Windows Explorer and then Empty Recycle Bin.
15. Run a full system scan to check for leftovers that might still require removal. Download Removal Tool100% FREE spyware scan and
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