Sodinokibi Ransomware | Effective Virus Removal Guidelines

Understanding Sodinokibi Ransomware

Researchers call it Sodinokibi ransomware – the official name is yet to be disclosed! It is a newly discovered member of the ransomware family! Also known as Sodin or REvil, this ransomware gained popularity in no time! Just three months old crypto virus, it is now a matter of discussion among cyber security experts.

Alike GandCrab, sodinokibi is also a Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS). Of course more advanced than its predecessor! The ultimate goal of Sodinokibi Ransomware attacks is to lure hefty ransom from the victim users. Once it sneaks in your system, it changes the desktop wallpaper to the ransom-demanding notice. Read below to get the insights of the menace caused by the malicious sodinokibi ransomware.

Threat Summary

Threat Summary

Name	Sodinokibi Ransomware
Type	Ransomware
Category	Malware
Targeted OS	Windows
Symptoms	Documents, Images, Audio-Video files and even Backup files get encrypted. Users are unable to access the files & ransom note appears on the screen.
Damage	Files are made inaccessible to the users after encryption. If you fail to make the payment, you may lose the locked files permanently.
Download Removal	Get Removal Tool

Distribution Techniques of Sodinokibi Ransomware

Not just one, there are many deceptive methods used by developers to propagate Sodinokibi ransomware. Among all, spam campaign is the primary gateway to infect the system. Developers send spam emails with malicious attachments in the form of PDF, word documents or Java script. These emails pretend to be legitimate however, danger lies deep within the content or attachment. Though these emails notify you about an undelivered package, yet you should never trust any email received from suspicious source.

The hackers have strong financial motive behind such infiltration. The ultimate aim is to extort large amount of ransom in order to recover .Sodinokibi files. To fulfill its malign intentions, the crypto virus scans every inch of the targeted system to locate wanted files. Once the files are located, the malicious Sodinokibi Ransomware appends a random extension as suffix to the filenames and makes them unreadable. Additionally, it also generates unique decryption key for every locked file. Hence, without the decryption key, it is a challenging task to decrypt .Sodinokibi files. As a result, with the fear of losing the data permanently, victim users get ready to obey the instructions of these cyber criminals.

Keep in mind that, paying the ransom amount doesn’t guarantee about the decryption key. As per the researches, the cyber criminals tend to ignore the victims once they receive the payment in bitcoins. Hence, instead of funding these crooks, aim to uninstall Sodinokibi file virus. Download Sodinokibi decrypter tool now and protect yourself from ransomware attack.

Threat Behavior of Sodinokibi Ransomware

Ransomware perform the file encryption process using strong algorithm, which generates a private decryption key. As this key is enabled for hefty ransom, hackers use it to blackmail the victim users.

Cyber crooks threaten the victim for permanent loss of their data in following two conditions:

• If they fail to make the payment within specified time.
• If they try to decrypt .Sodinokibi files with some third-party decryption tool.

Hence, with the fear of losing the data, victim users get ready to pay the ransom. Initially, developer of Sodinokibi virus asks for the sum equal to $2500, which victims have to pay within two days. In case, they fail to make the payment within the prescribed time, the ransom amount is doubled to $5000. The ransom amounts in both the cases are required to be transferred in bitcoins – a crypto currency.

However, it is not the end! The ransom is demanded via ‘random-string-HOW-TO-DECRYPT.txt’ notification. The text file is a ransom-demanding message that pop-up on your screen whenever, you try to open locked files. It informs you about sodinokibi encryption in your system.

The cryptographic algorithm used cannot be cracked without the specific key. Hence, getting Sodinokibi decryption tool is of utmost importance! Using a decryption tool is a good idea however it does not work in many cases. Hence, removing it manually is a challenging task! However not impossible! Below are few possible virus removal guidelines to stop Sodinokibi ransomware.

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Removal guidelines for Sodinokibi Ransomware  

STEP A: Reboot your system to Safe Mode

Windows 7/ Vista/ XP

1. Click on Windows icon present in the lower left corner of the computer screen.
2. Select and click  Restart.
3. When the screen goes blank, Keep tapping  F8  Key until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
4. With the help of arrow keys on keyboard, Select Safe Mode with Networking  option from the list and press the Enter Key. The system will then restart to Safe Mode with Networking.

5 Click on the username and enter the password (if any).

Windows 10 / Windows 8

1. Press and hold the Shift Key and simultaneously click on the windows icon present in the lower left corner of your computer screen.
2. While the Shift key is still pressed click on the Power button and then click on Restart.
3. Now select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings.
4. When the Startup Settings screen appears which is the first screen to appear after restart, select and click on Enable Safe Mode with Networking. The system will then restart to Safe Mode with Networking.
5. Click on the username and enter the password.

STEP B: Delete the suspicious file from Configuration Settings

1. Type “Msconfig” in search box / Run Box, select it and press Enter.
2. Click on “Services” Tab and click on “Hide all Microsoft services”.
3. Select Sodinokibi Ransomware from the list of remaining services and disable it by removing the tick mark from the checkbox and click on Apply button.

Windows 7

1. Click on the next tab – “Startup”.
2. Find any blank or suspicious entry or the entry with Sodinokibi Ransomware mentioned and remove the check mark.
3. Click on Apply button and then click on OK.

Windows 10

1. Click on the next tab – “Startup”.
2. Take the mouse cursor to ‘Open task Manager‘ link and click on it.  This opens the Task Manager window.
3. Find any blank or suspicious entry or the entry with Sodinokibi Ransomware mentioned and click on it.
4. Then click on Disable button.

STEP C: Remove malicious file from Command Prompt

Once the system starts, ensure to use an account with administrative privilege to access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

After the user enters admin credentials, Command prompt window is displayed wherein you are entitled to enter the below commands:

1. Type the command “sc delete Sodinokibi Ransomware” in the command prompt and press Enter.
2. Type “exit” to exit the command prompt and restart the system in safe mode with command prompt.

STEP D: Restore the system files & folders

Method 1 using Control Panel

1. Click on the ‘Start’ button on the taskbar. This will open the Start menu.
2. Click on the ‘Control Panel’ button in the Start menu. This will open the control panel window.
3. In the Control Panel window, click on the ‘View by:’ button on the top right. Select the Large Icon option
4. In the control Panel window click on the ‘Recovery Icon’. This will open a window that will ask ‘Restore the computer to an earlier point in time’.
5. Click on the ‘Open system restore’ button. This will open the ‘system restore ’window where you need to click on the Next Button.
6.  Select the restore point that is prior the infiltration of Sodinokibi Ransomware. After doing that, click Next.
7. This will open the ‘Confirm your restore point’ dialog box. Click on Finish button. This will restore your system to a previous restore point before your system was infected by Sodinokibi Ransomware.

OR

Method 2 using Command Prompt

1. Type cmd in the search box and click on the command prompt to open the Command Prompt window. box and clicking on it.
2. Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter.(Ensure that you in the system32 directory of Windows folder in C Drive)
3. Now type rstrui and press Enter again.
4. When a new window shows up, click Next and select your restore point that is prior the infiltration of Sodinokibi Ransomware. After doing that, click Next.
5. This will open the ‘Confirm your restore point’ dialog box. Click on Finish button. This will restore your system to a previous restore point before your system was infected by Sodinokibi Ransomware.

OR

Method 3 : Directly type ‘rstrui’ in the search box

1. Type ‘Rstrui’ in the search box present on the task bar. This will open the System restore dialog box.

Continue to follow steps 4 & 5 of Method 2 to restore the System Files and settings.

Tips to prevent your system from Sodinokibi Ransomware

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Vipre and Hitman Pro so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.