This article aims to help you remove the newest variant of the Gryphon BTCWare ransomware, using the .crypton file extension and also aims to show you how to restore files that have been encrypted with the added .crypton file extension as their suffix.

New version of the notorious Gryphon ransomware has popped out in the wild, going by the file extension .crypton. The virus is known as an evolved variant of BTCWare ransomware and it’s primary purpose is to render the files on your computer encrypted so that you can panic and pay a hefty ransom to the cyber-criminals behind this virus after which restore files that have been encrypted by this virus. If you are one of the victims of the .CRYPTON file ransomware, you should read this article to remove .CRYPTON and restore your encrypted files.

Negotiating and paying the cyber crooks is not advised if you have been attacked by this virus or any other ransomware. Instead, read the article below to see how to remove it and then try to recover some of your files back.

How Is Gryphon Delivered into Your PC?

Gryphon is distributed via malicious executable attached in phishing emails which resemble a legitimate company, person, institution, organization, etc. to trick the victim into opening it.

The malicious executable may also be an Exploit Kit or JavaScript file masked as a legitimate .pdf ot Microsoft Office document so that many users would never recognize it as a trap.

Gryphon Ransowmare – Further Information

Discovered recently by reverse engineers and cyber-sec researchers, Gryphon ransomware is most likely a variant of another ransomware virus. One symptom that gives the malware away is the design of the desktop screen which the malware changes after infection.

If you translate the message, it is understandable that the virus gives several hours deadline and threatens to delete the decryption key used to unlock the encrypted files if the ransom demands are not met.

When the infections with this ransomware begin to occur, it may provide an e-mail for contact or a BitCoin wallet along with detailed instructions on how to pay the ransom. For the moment, the ransomware may still be on sale in the DeepWeb markets, meaning infection rate with it are expected to rise soon.

After it attacks the victim computer, the Gryphon virus attacks the following types of files:

xls, .xlsm, .xlsx,.jpg, , .docx, ..pdf, .doc, .docm

After it attacks the encrypted files, Gryphon employs an AES-256 cipher on their source code, rendering the files no longer usable. The icon of the files is removed and the file extension .rip is added. An encrypted file by Gryphon may look no longer the same.

Remove Gryphon Ransomware and Try to Get The Files back

In order to get rid of KillerLocker, malware researchers often advise that the best method is via scanning your computer with an advanced anti-malware software, since it automatically scans for KillerLocker’s files and objects it has created and deletes them so you won’t have to spend the time doing it.

Furthermore, the virus is also focused on creating registry objects and defensive tools that may make it prevent you from accessing your computers, such as setting up a Gryphon. This is why it is strongly advisable to enter in Safe Mode while scanning your computer with an advanced anti-malware tool for safest and thorough removal as well.

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 Gryphon in Task Manager

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

Eliminate Gryphon‘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 Gryphon 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 Gryphon Virus in the search field.
Win 8/10 users: Start Button –> Choose Run –> type regedit –> Hit Enter -> Press CTRL + F buttons. Type Gryphon in the search field.

Automatic Removal of Gryphon

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Recover files encrypted by the Gryphon 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: