Sage 2.0 ransomware / virus (Updated Guide) - Recovery Instructions Included

What is Sage 2.0 ransomware virus?

The dangerous features of Sage 2.0 ransomware:

Sage 2.0 virus is a descendant of the Sage ransomware virus which has initially evolved from the CryLocker virus family. Like in most ransomware ^[1], possibly the worst of Sage malware functionalities is its ability to encrypt system files. It does that immediately after stealthily infiltrating the system. For the data encryption ^[2], the virus uses a sophisticated encryption algorithm. The virus is under analysis at the moment, but it seem that unlike the majority of viruses, it doesn’t use AES for the encryption procedure. Of course, the experts often find ways to bypass even the most complex encryption as long as they manage to find some cracks in the program’s source code ^[3]. Unfortunately, Sage is currently undecryptable, and it might take some time until a decryption tool is invented. However, the virus cannot simply continue to roam the computer unattended, because the malicious code may encrypt the newly created documents or infect external storage devices, such as thumb drives and hard drives. Thus, we do not recommend wasting any more time waiting around for a miracle and start taking steps towards Sage 2.0 removal as soon as possible. You should scan your device with FortectIntego of similar anti-malware to achieve the best results.

In this picture, our expert demonstrates the personal payment website that Sage 2.0 virus creates for each victim. It is highly recommended NOT to pay the ransom that cyber criminals demand from you!

When it comes to the program itself, we should point out that its features are very similar to other ransomware that are currently being created by the malware developers around the world. Sage 2.0 is not a typical modern crypto-parasite, though. It still uses Word macros ^[4] script to activate the virus download. The same infiltration technique has been used by Locky and Cerber viruses when the ransomware was still making its climb to the peak of malware prevalence during the previous couple of years. Nevertheless, it seems that this method of system infiltration is still effective and a lot of users get tricked into downloading and opening the infected Word documents on their computers, regardless of the expert warnings.Sage 2.0 malware spreads via mail spam that involves malicious email attachments called EMAIL_[random set of numbers]_recipient.zip. All these spam messages are sent with high importance. This malicious .zip attachment commonly contains either a JavaScript file or a Word document, and both of them carry a dangerous code that downloads the ransomware from a remote server using victim’s Internet connection. It must be mentioned that malicious email attachments containing Word files typically ask the victim to enable Macros – stay away from such files! If you enable this function, the malicious code gets activated and downloads the virus to your PC.

However, the victim doesn’t notice anything suspicious at first. This ransomware doesn’t start the encryption procedure right away; it silently stays in the system, and after some time it copies itself to a different folder – C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming. The virus saves the copy of Sage 2.0 under the name of 8 random characters and executes it, which prompts the User Account Control pop-up to appear. If the victim allows the program to make changes on the computer, it starts scanning the system for files that have extensions from its target list and successfully encrypts them.

During this process, the virus adds .sage file extensions to encrypted files and also drops a ransom note called ! Recovery_ .html on the desktop and other folders that contain encrypted files, archives, images or other data. The .html document explains that files on the computer were successfully crypted, and provides a link to a personal ransom payment website. The payment website reveals how the victim can restore the encrypted data – one needs to pay $2000 in under 7 days to the hacker’s Bitcoin wallet account ^[5] ; otherwise, the sum will double. The virus also deletes Volume Shadow Copies at the same time, making this data recovery method unavailable. Whether such claims are true or not, there is always the risk that even if you pay the demanded ransom in time, the hackers may not provide you with the software to decrypt your documents. They may vanish with your money, leaving your device with a malicious software and hundreds of files marked with .sage extensions. Do not give the extortionist to profit in such an unlawful way and remove Sage 2.0 from your computer without following their orders. If you have problems eliminating the virus manually, please check out the manual elimination instructions at the end of the article.

What makes the ransomware infiltration possible?

Structurally, Sage 2.0 virus does not differ from most ransomware viruses. And its creators do not seem to make any novel adjustments to its distribution either. The parasite spreads via spam emails and their malicious attachments; it might as well be distributed as a software update and arrive into your computer as a repacked software installer. Thus, we may generalize that what makes the Sage 2.0 infiltration possible is the careless web browsing, careless software installation, and inadequate system protection. If you are not infected with ransomware yet, we suggest taking some more care of your computer, paying attention to your own habits and keeping backup copies of your files in some secure locations.

How should you implement the Sage 2.0 removal?

Sage 2.0 virus poses the same problem as most ransomware viruses do — it fights to remain on the infected computers for as long as possible. To do that, the virus may block the anti-virus software from running system scans, ensuring that there is no chance to carry out Sage 2.0 removal. Luckily, just below this article, our experts have prepared a few tricks that might help to lessen the virus functionality and enable the computer scan. After you go through the indicated steps, you can then remove Sage 2.0 from your PC without difficulty.