How to remove Mordor ransomware virus

Mordor ransomware is the new virtual extortion tool that is based on HiddenTear virus

Mordor virus is a name of yet another ransomware, which is based on open-source HiddenTear ransomware^[1]. Once it gets an opportunity to enter victim’s computer system, it encrypts all files with AES-256 encryption and appends .mordor file extensions to files. Following that, the virus creates a ransom note, entitles it simply as READ_ME.html, and saves it on the desktop. Although this virus is very new, researchers say that it is going to be a disastrous one because it was noticed Blank Slate malspam campaign^[2], which earlier was pushing Cerber ransomware^[3], now is used for the described virus’ distribution. It is also believed that this particular virus is directly related to Karmen RaaS virus^[3], which is being sold as an extortion tool on the dark web.

Once Mordor ransomware encrypts all of the victim’s files, it automatically launches the ransom note, which opens as an “INFO” page in default web browser. The web page shows in a distorted form, but the victim can see a complete version via Tor browser, which can be downloaded through a link provided by the ransom note. Then the victim has to use a special .onion URL to access individual trustmordor[.]pw website created by ransomware authors. This site requires entering victim’s ID in order to log in and allows the victim choose between English, Japan, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese, French and German languages. As any other ransomware, it asks the victim to pay a ransom in order to get the decryption key and a decoder. The page suggests fetching some Bitcoins via LocalBitcoins service, and sending 0.07066407 BTC, which equals to approximately 104 USD to criminals’ Bitcoin wallet. There is also a QR code on the page.

The Mordor ransomware is obviously created by someone who is a fan of the Lord of the Rings movie since the virus is entitled after a Sauron-controlled region from the fictional world. Sauron is the character whose eye is used as a decoration in the payment page. Despite all scary details, we advise victims not to pay the ransom because a decryption tool might be created soon – malware analysts are already working on it. Until then, you might want to remove Mordor ransomware from your computer using helpful malware removal tools such as FortectIntego. Full instructions on how to eliminate this virus can be found below this article.

Mordor Virus mainly distributed via Blank Slate campaign

Mordor ransomware is surprisingly distributed using a powerful malspam campaign known as “Blank Slate.^[4]” The reason why is it surprising is that usually HiddenTear-based viruses are not dispersed using measures used by most prevalent ransomware viruses such as Cerber. Security researchers also noticed that both viruses were sent from the same domain, which means that the new virus is, of course, being distributed by the same criminals responsible for Cerber’s distribution. To protect yourself from such malspam attacks^[5], we suggest you stay away from emails that deliver questionable attachments or URLs. Emails related to this spam campaign usually provide .zip attachments with rich text format files that are typically named as [random digits].doc. These files are designed to exploit the CVE-2017-0199 vulnerability.

Mordor ransomware removal steps

To remove Mordor virus, you should firstly reboot your computer according to instructions provided by our malware analysts. Then you should either download a reputable malware removal software or update the one you already have and perform a thorough (full) system scan. Wait until the scanner finishes its job and then remove all detected malicious files. Mordor removal should become a task of utmost importance because this infection leaves your computer vulnerable to further malware attacks. Besides, you can never know whether this ransomware came alone or with a spying trojan, so the sooner you remove the malware from the system, the better.