How to remove Samas ransomware

Samas ransomware analysis

Samas virus (also known as Samas DR ransomware) is one of the most persistent ransomware infections out there ^[1]. This parasite has been around since 2014 and over the past year has swindled at least 450,000 USD from the unsuspecting victims in North America and Europe ^[2]. Of course, the program had to come a long way to get to where it is at the moment and, looking from the technical perspective, this journey was interesting to follow. It gave the experts more insight about how the ransomware works and develops. In this article, we are going to overview the main stages of Samas ransomware evolution and give useful suggestions on how to prevent this virus from showing up on your computer. If you have come across this article while looking for Samas removal suggestions, you will not be disappointed either. At the end of the article, you will find expert recommendations for a safe virus extermination. Keep in mind that these recommendations are only meant to facilitate the virus removal, but the process itself should be carried out only using the specialized antivirus software, such as Reimage.

Most of you probably already know what a ransomware ^[3] is, but for those of you don’t, we can briefly say that ransomware is a computer virus that blocks access to the user’s personal data either by initiating a lock screen or by encrypting certain types of files using some sophisticated algorithm. Samas belongs to the latter, crypto-ransomware group. To be precise, it locks files by applying the RSA-2048 military-grade encryption ^[4] and then appends encrypted.RSA extension to the endings of the filenames. Later virus versions which also use some other extensions including .iloveworld; .helpmeencedfile; .whereisyourfiles; weareyourfriends, .theworldisyours, .encryptedyourfiles and .whereisyourfiles to render the victim’s personal data useless. The newest, Samas 2017, version relies on .weencedufiles file extension. Once the files are encrypted, the malicious payload drops a ransom note called PLEASE_READ_FOR_DECRYPT_FILES_{victim’s ID}, 001-READ-FOR-DECRYPT-FILES.html or READ-READ-READ.html on the victim’s computer, demanding to pay the ransom in exchange for the decryption key. It is then up to the victim to decide whether it is worth paying or not, but the experts strongly suggest to remove Samas instead.

Talking about Samas virus versions, we should point out that although Samas origins go back to 2014, this virus did not begin taking a more defined form up until March 2016 ^[5]. Nevertheless, the experts now count around 60 different virus versions, most of which were created to attack specific institutions or campaigns. Indeed, Samas is not a typical ransomware in a sense that it specifically targets individual victims instead of infecting random home users computers. The hackers are well aware that public institutions including healthcare or law enforcement are more vulnerable to ransomware attacks and more willing to pay because they often have extensive amounts of documentation and client information to protect. Of course, such attacks are not always successful since most modern institutions these days backup their important data and store it somewhere safe, out of the reach of hackers. Nevertheless, the hackers have everything settled in case the victims decide to make the payment. They set up a Bitcoin account to which they can anonymously receive the ransom and place its address on the infected computers along with the ransom note. So far, there are around 19 different Bitcoin wallet addresses associated with Samas and an unknown number of still undisclosed ones.

How do hackers deliver this ransomware on the targeted computers?

Samas ransomware is a complex cyber infection because it is ever changing and gets modified and adapted to each individual attack. The ransomware developers regularly switch its working directory, dropper files and think of new ways that would help the malware infiltrate computers more easily. Currently, the virus exploits pen-testing functionality in order to locate vulnerable networks and hack them with the help of reGeorg tunnelling tool. Besides, other virus versions may also employ data-stealing malware, use it to collect login credentials, gain administrative privileges and finally deploy the malicious payload on the computer. Such brute-force attacks are highly unpredictable. Therefore they are so successful in catching their victims off guard. Luckily, the risk of such attacks can be diminished quite significantly by implementing two-factor login authentication, keeping software up-to-date, disabling the macros function in all Microsoft Office programs and learning how to recognize email spoofing and phishing emails.

Samas removal: less panic and more action

While it is possible to remove Samas virus manually, it is an extremely risky and long procedure. Besides, the virus usually obfuscates itself and scatters its components throughout the infected computer, so it is likely that some of the malicious items will remain on the computer even if the base infection is removed from the device. Thus, Samas removal should be trusted to some professional anti-malware which will scan the entire system and eliminate components that endanger your files automatically.