A blog post, created in order to help you if your files have been encrypted by Dharma ransomware using the .write file extension by showing how to remove it from your computer and how you can recover those files.

New variant of the notorious Dharma ransomware virus has been released, following the older .java file extension variant of the virus. The malware has the one and only purpose to encrypt the files on your infected computer and to add the .write file suffix to them. After this, Dharma’s .write variant drops behind a ransom note with instructions for the victims on how to pay a hefty ransom fee in order to make the cyber-criminals decrypt their files. Dharma is one of the latest malware variants with highest rate of infections, so attacks are about to rise. If your computer has been infected with the latest .write variant of the malware, we recommenced that you read this blog post as it contains instructions on how to successfully remove this variant of Dharma and how to try and recover as many files as you can without paying the ransom in BitCoin.

What Type of Malware Is the .write Files Virus Ransomware

Ransomware in general has been a growing trend with infection and particularly effective. It prays primarily on those users who do not have a backup of their important files. The .write Files Virus Ransomware encrypts your important documents, music, videos, pictures, archives and other data, making them no longer effective. The files cannot be opened after they have been attacked by the .write Files Virus Ransomware and they have a custom extension added after their file name – a random A-Z 0-9 letters.

In fact, the infections with ransomware, just like .write Files Virus have become so massive that you can be sure that at the moment somebody somewhere in the world is either opening a suspicious spammed e-mail attachment, believing it is legit or clicking on a malicious web link.

But the ransomware can also be spread completely automatically, similar to the previous Dharma virus which was spread via e-mail spam infection, causing the data of thousands of computers computers to be encrypted. The creators of ransomware who are involved in this act as if they have nothing to lose and do not mess around. They have invested a lot in their attacks and organized them so that as many inexperienced users as possible become victims.

The Dharma virus has been spotted in a new variant, this time using the .write file extension, completely unrelated to the previous .dharma and .wallet ones. The new Dharma ransomware also communicates via email through which it sends a decryptor after the ransom has been paid. In case you are a victim of the new Dharma ransomware using the .write file extension, we advise you to read this article and learn how to remove the virus files and try to decode .write encrypted objects.

.write Ransom Virus – What Does It Do

Being a variant of the CrySiS ransomware family, which exists in hundreds of variants, many of which are decryptable, Dharma .ARENA ransomware has been reported to drop one or more executable files in the %AppData% Windows directory.

After doing so, the virus may modify the Windows registry entries, more specifically the Shell sub-key with the following location:

• HKLM/Software/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/Shell

Then, the virus may also modify the Run registry key to run the executable file(s) in the %AppData% directory. The key is with the following path:

• HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/

This may result in the virus file booting alongside the Windows start-up process.

The Dharma ransomware also drops a ransom note file with a ransom message and places it somewhere easy to locate. Then, Dharma ransomware virus may attack files with the following file types to encrypt them:

After Dharma encrypts the files, the virus leaves the files no longer able to be opened and appends the file extension .id-{victimID}.[e-mail].write to each encrypted file.

After the encryption process of Dharma ransomware has completed, the virus may also delete the VSS (shadow copies) on the infected computer in order to prevent victims from restoring their files via these backups.

Dharma .write Ransomware – How Did I Get Infected

The infection process of Dharma ransomware is conducted primarily via spammed e-mails that have deceptive messages embedded within them. Such messages may pretend to be sent from services such as PayPal, USPS, FedEx and others. They may contain attachments that pretend to be invoices and other fake type of files. Other social engineering techniques include:

• Fake buttons and pictures as if the e-mails are sent from a social media site, like LinkedIn.
• Fraudulent PayPal links.
• Links to GoogleDrive and fake e-mails that look the same as if they are sent from Google.

Other infection tools may also include the usage of torrent websites and other third-party sites to upload fake updates, fake installers as well as other fraudulent executables.

Remove Dharma .write Ransomware and Get Encrypted Files Back

For the removal of the .write variant of Dharma ransomware, recommendations are to focus on following the removal instructions below and boot your computer in Safe Mode. In case manual removal in the instructions below do not work for you, security professionals recommend downloading a powerful anti-malware tool that will quickly remove Dharma .ARENA ransomware and protect your computer in the future as well. If you want to restore files encrypted by Dharma, we have offered several suggestions below that may be able to assist with this issue.

Booting in Safe Mode

For Windows:
1) Hold Windows Key and R
2) A run Window will appear, in it type “msconfig” and hit Enter
3) After the Window appears go to the Boot tab and select Safe Boot

Cut out .write Files Virus in Task Manager

1) Press CTRL+ESC+SHIFT at the same time.
2) Locate the “Processes” tab.
3) Locate the malicious process of .write Files Virus, and end it’s task by right-clicking on it and clicking on “End Process”

Eliminate .write Files Virus‘s Malicious Registries

For most Windows variants:
1) Hold Windows Button and R.
2) In the “Run” box type “Regedit” and hit “Enter”.
3) Hold CTRL+F keys and type .write Files Virus or the file name of the malicious executable of the virus which is usually located in %AppData%, %Temp%, %Local%, %Roaming% or %SystemDrive%.
4) After having located malicious registry objects, some of which are usually in the Run and RunOnce subkeys delete them ermanently and restart your computer. Here is how to find and delete keys for different versions.
For Windows 7: Open the Start Menu and in the search type and type regedit –> Open it. –> Hold CTRL + F buttons –> Type .write Files Virus Virus in the search field.
Win 8/10 users: Start Button –> Choose Run –> type regedit –> Hit Enter -> Press CTRL + F buttons. Type .write Files Virus in the search field.

Automatic Removal of .write Files Virus

DOWNLOAD REMOVAL TOOL FOR .write Files VirusThe free version of SpyHunter will only scan your computer to detect any possible threats. To remove them permanently from your computer, purchase its full version. Spy Hunter malware removal tool additional information/SpyHunter Uninstall Instructions

How to Recover Files, Encrypted by .write Files Virus Ransomware.

Method 1: Using Shadow Explorer. In case you have enabled File history on your Windows Machine one thing you can do is to use Shadow Explorer to get your files back. Unfortunately some ransomware viruses may delete those shadow volume copies with an administrative command to prevent you from doing just that.

Method 2: If you try to decrypt your files using third-party decryption tools. There are many antivirus providers who have decrypted multiple ransomware viruses the last couple of years and posted decryptors for them. Chances are if your ransomware virus uses the same encryption code used by a decryptable virus, you may get the files back. However, this is also not a guarantee, so you might want to try this method with copies of the original encrypted files, because if a third-party program tampers with their encrypted structure, they may be damaged permanently. Here are the vendors to look for:

• Kaspersky.
• Emsisoft.
• TrendMicro.

Method 3: Using Data Recovery tools. This method is suggested by multiple experts in the field. It can be used to scan your hard drive’s sectors and hence scramble the encrypted files anew as if they were deleted. Most ransomware viruses usually delete a file and create an encrypted copy to prevent such programs for restoring the files, but not all are this sophisticated. So you may have a chance of restoring some of your files with this method. Here are several data recovery programs which you can try and restore at least some of your files: