Remove CTRM Ransomware + restore encrypted files

Proper guide to delete CTRM Ransomware

CTRM Ransomware is a file encrypting virus that belongs to the Matrix ransomware family. This perilous computer virus has been created and distributed by hackers to earn money by encrypting data. As soon as it enters into your computer, it encrypts every single data found on your desktop such as videos, databases, documents and many others. After that, it renames all files by replacing their filenames with [email protected] email address, a string of random characters and by adding “.CTRM” as the file extension.

After its successful encryption, it creates a ransom note CTRM_INFO.rtf and placed in all folders that contain encrypted files as well as data. The created ransom note contain ransom demanding message which states victims that all their files are encrypted using AES and RSA encryption algorithms and can only be accessed by using decryption key that can be purchased from developers of CTRM Ransomware. Victims are instructed to write them an email to the provided email address and wait for further details.

In order to contact them, victims are provided 48 hours and once the given time has passed developers will start publishing files on darknet. It will also warn users not to rename encrypted files or try to decrypt them using third party tools otherwise it may lead to permanent data loss. In short, users of the CTRM Ransomware attack are informed that the only way to recover files is to access them with key that can be provided by the people who designed this ransomware.

Short summary

Name: CTRM Ransomware

Type: Ransomware, Crypto Virus, Files locker

Encrypted Files Extension: .CTRM

Symptoms: All your important files as well as data are locked and cannot be opened without using a private key or tool.

Ransom demanding note: CTRM_INFO.rtf

Distribution methods: Infected email attachments (macros), torrent websites, malicious ads, bundled freeware programs and many more.

Damage: causes permanent data loss and can also drops other pernicious infections on to the compromised computer.

Removal: Manual and automatic guidelines as provided under this article.

Should victims pay money?

Now the question arises what you should do when your files are encrypted if you don’t have any backup or don’t want to pay money to hackers. It is clear that if you are thinking to pay money to cyber criminals then it is very bad idea because paying money to them does not provide any positive results. So, if you want to restore files then we strongly recommend you to remove CTRM Ransomware soon from the computer and then restore all your encrypted files using data recovery software.

Intrusion tactics of CTRM Ransomware:

Mainly, cyber criminals trick people to install ransomware and other malware through unofficial updating tools, Trojans, spam campaigns, questionable software download sources and many more. It is common that cyber criminals spread malware by sending emails that contain malicious attachments or download links for those malicious files. Their main aim is to trick user into opening those files and once opened those files install malware. The dubious files that can be used to cause installation of malware are PDF documents, exe file, word file or JavaScript file. After intrusion, it will also disable your antivirus and firewall security to make your PC vulnerable. So, users are advised not to use any of these methods since these are the main sources of ransomware or malware intrusion.

Remove CTRM Ransomware

Manual removal threat might be lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. If you have much knowledge about this than you can go through manual removal process. Despite this, you can use professional automatic malware removal tool such as Spyhunter that can remove CTRM Ransomware completely and safely from the machine.

Text in the “CTRM_INFO.rtf” text file:

Our congratulations. You become a victim of ransomware attack.

First оf аll wе hаvе tо infоrm уоu thаt уоur dаtа is nоt соrruptеd аnd саn bе rеstоrеd quiсklу аnd sаfеlу. Dоn’t wоrrу аbоut it. оur sоftwаrе wоrks pеrfесtlу.

Аs уоu саn sее аll уоur filеs wеrе еnсrуptеd аnd rеnаmеd. уоur dаtа is еnсrуptеd with а strоng сrуptо аlgоrithm АЕS+RSА. Уоu саn rеаd аbоut thеsе аlgоrithms in Gооglе. Уоur uniquе dесrуptiоn kеу is sесurеlу stоrеd оn оur sеrvеr аnd nо wау tо rеstоrе уоur dаtа withоut оur hеlp.

Аlsо аll intеrеsting vаluаblе аnd соnfidеntiаl dаtа wаs uplоаdеd tо оur sеrvеrs.
If уоu will nоt stаrt diаlоg with us in 48 hоurs wе will stаrt publishing уоur соnfidеntiаl dаtа in thе Dаrknеt. Аftеr 96 hоurs stоlеn pаrtnеrs аnd сliеnts соntасts will bе usеd fоr nеw rаnsоmwаrе аttасks. Аlsо, If pоssiblе, wе will sеll уоur dаtаbаsеs tо intеrеstеd pаrtiеs.

Plеаsе nоtе thаt уоu аrе nоt а rаndоm tаrgеt. Wе knоw thаt уоu аrе аblе tо pау аnd wе will dо оur bеst tо соmplеtе this аttасk with pауing а rаnsоm pауmеnt frоm уоur pаrt. If уоu dоn’t gеt in tоuсh, wе will lаunсh а DDоs аttасk оn уоur sitе аnd IT infrаstruсturе.

If уоu rеаllу wаnt tо sоlvе this situаtiоn уоu hаvе tо writе tо оur 3 еmаil аdrеssеs:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
In subjеct linе please writе уоur ID: –

Уоu саn аttасh up tо 3 smаll еnсrуptеd filеs fоr frее tеst dесrуptiоn. Wе will dесrуpt thеsе filеs fоr frее аnd sеnd thеm tо уоu. This will bе prооf fоr уоu thаt wе саn dесrуpt аll уоur dаtа. Plеаsе nоtе thаt filеs must nоt соntаin vаluаblе infоrmаtiоn.

Important!
* Wе аsking tо sеnd уоur mеssаgе tо аll оf оur 3 еmаil аdrеssеs bесаusе fоr vаriоus rеаsоns, уоur еmаil mау nоt bе dеlivеrеd.
* Оur mеssаgе mау bе rесоgnizеd аs spаm, sо bе surе tо сhесk thе spаm fоldеr.
* If wе dо nоt rеspоnd tо уоu within 24 hоurs, writе tо us frоm аnоthеr еmаil аddrеss. Usе Gmаil, уаhоо, Hоtmаil, оr аnу оthеr wеll-knоwn еmаil sеrviсе.

Important!
Plеаsе dоn’t wаstе thе timе, it will rеsult оnlу аdditinаl dаmаgе tо уоur соmpаnу!
Dоn’t trу tо fооl us, it will оnlу inсrеаsе thе priсе!
Wе аrе prоfеssiоnаls аnd just dоing оur jоb!
Wе аrе аlwауs оpеnеd fоr diаlоguе аnd rеаdу tо hеlp!

Antimalware Details And User Guide

Click Here For Windows

Click Here For Mac

Step 1: Remove CTRM Ransomware through “Safe Mode with Networking”

Step 2: Delete CTRM Ransomware using “System Restore”

Step 1: Remove CTRM Ransomware through “Safe Mode with Networking”

For Windows XP and Windows 7 users: Boot the PC in “Safe Mode”. Click on “Start” option and continuously press on F8 during the start process until the “Windows Advanced Option” menu appears on the screen. Choose “Safe Mode with Networking” from the list.

Now, a windows homescreen appears on the desktop and work-station is now working on “Safe mode with networking”.

For Windows 8 Users: Go to the “Start Screen”. In the search results select settings, type “Advanced”. In the “General PC Settings” option, choose “Advanced startup” option. Again, click on the “Restart Now” option. The work-station boots to “Advanced Startup Option Menu”. Press on “Troubleshoot” and then “Advanced options” button.  In the “Advanced Option Screen”, press on “Startup Settings”. Again, click on “Restart” button. The work-station will now restart in to the “Startup Setting” screen. Next is to press F5 to boot in Safe Mode in Networking.

For Windows 10 Users: Press on Windows logo and on the “Power” icon. In the newly opened menu, choose “Restart” while continuously holding “Shift” button on the keyboard. In the new open “Choose an option” window, click on “Troubleshoot” and then on the “Advanced Options”. Select “Startup Settings” and press on “Restart”. In the next window, click on “F5” button on the key-board.

Step 2: Delete CTRM Ransomware using “System Restore”

Log-in to the account infected with CTRM Ransomware. Open the browser and download a legitimate anti-malware tool. Do a full System scanning. Remove all the malicious detected entries.

In case if you cannot start the PC in “Safe Mode with Networking”, Try using “System Restore”

• During the “Startup”, continuously press on F8 key until the “Advanced Option” menu appears. From the list, choose “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” and then press “Enter”

• In the new opened command prompt, enter “cd restore” and then press “Enter”.

• Type: rstrui.exe and Press “ENTER”

• Click “Next” on the new windows

• Choose any of the “Restore Points” and click on “Next”. (This step will restore the work-station to its earlier time and date prior to CTRM Ransomware infiltration in the PC.

• In the newly opened windows, press on “Yes”.

Once your PC gets restored to its previous date and time, download the recommended anti-malware tool and perform a deep scanning in order to remove CTRM Ransomware files if they left in the work-station.

In order to restore the each (separate) file by this ransomware, use “Windows Previous Version” feature. This method is effective when “System Restore Function” is enabled in the work-station.

Important Note: Some variants of CTRM Ransomware delete the “Shadow Volume Copies” as well hence this feature may not work all the time and is applicable for selective computers only.

How to Restore Individual Encrypted File:

In order to restore a single file, right click on it and go to “Properties”. Select “Previous Version” tab. Select a “Restore Point” and click on “Restore” option.

In order to access the files encrypted by CTRM Ransomware, you can also try using “Shadow Explorer”. In order to get more information on this application, press here.

Important: Data Encryption Ransomware are highly dangerous and it is always better that you take precautions to avoid its attack on your work-station. It is advised to use a powerful anti-malware tool in order to get protection in real-time. With this help of “SpyHunter”, “group policy objects” are implanted in the registries in order to block harmful infections like CTRM Ransomware.

Also, In Windows 10, you get a very unique feature called “Fall Creators Update” that offer “Controlled Folder Access” feature in order to block any kind of encryption to the files. With the help of this feature, any files stored in the locations such as “Documents”, “Pictures”, “Music”, “Videos”, “Favorites” and “Desktop” folders are safe by default.

It is very important that you install this “Windows 10 Fall Creators Update” in your PC to protect your important files and data from ransomware encryption. The more information on how to get this update and add an additional protection form rnasomware attack has been discussed here.

How to Recover the Files Encrypted by CTRM Ransomware?

Till now, you would have understood that what had happed to your personal files that got encrypted and how you can remove the scripts and payloads associated with CTRM Ransomware in order to protect your personal files that has not been damaged or encrypted until now. In order to retrieve the locked files, the depth information related to “System Restore” and “Shadow Volume Copies” has already been discussed earlier. However, in case if you are still unable to access the encrypted files then you can try using a data recovery tool.

Use of Data Recovery Tool

This step is for all those victims who have already tries all the above mentioned process but didn’t find any solution. Also it is important that you are able to access the PC and can install any software. The data recovery tool works on the basis of System scanning and recovery algorithm. It searches the System partitions in order to locate the original files which were deleted, corrupted or damaged by the malware. Remember that you must not re-install the Windows OS otherwise the “previous” copies will get deleted permanently. You have to clean the work-station at first and remove CTRM Ransomware infection. Leave the locked files as it is and follow the steps mentioned below.

Step1: Download the software in the work-station by clicking on the “Download” button below.

Step2: Execute the installer by clicking on downloaded files.

Step3: A license agreement page appears on the screen. Click on “Accept” to agree with its terms and use. Follow the on-screen instruction as mentioned and click on “Finish” button.

Step4: Once the installation gets completed, the program gets executed automatically. In the newly opened interface, select the file types that you want to recover and click on “Next”.

Step5: You can select the “Drives” on which you want the software to run and execute the recovery process. Next is to click on the “Scan” button.

Step6: Based on drive you select for scanning, the restore process begins. The whole process may take time depending on the volume of the selected drive and number of files. Once the process gets completed, a data explorer appears on the screen with preview of that data that is to be recovered. Select the files that you want to restore.

Step7. Next is to locate the location where you want to saver the recovered files.