Remove Serpent Ransomware (README_TO_RESTORE_FILES Files Encrypted)

Serpent is a file-encrypting ransomware, which will encrypt the personal documents found on victim’s computer using RSA-2048 key (AES CBC 256-bit encryption algorithm), appending the .serp extension to encrypted files. The Serpent ransomware then displays a message which offers to decrypt the data if a payment of € 2,047.5, or approximately 1.95 Bitcoins is made.

• 1. How did the Serpent ransomware get on my computer?
• 2. What is Serpent Ransomware?
• 3. Is my computer infected with Serpent malware?
• 4. Is it possible to decrypt files encrypted by Serpent ransomware?
• 5. How to remove the Serpent ransomware (Virus Removal Guide)
• 6. How to prevent your computer from becoming infected by Serpent ransomware

1. How did the Serpent ransomware get on my computer?

The Serpent ransomware is distributed via spam email containing infected attachments or links to malicious websites. Cyber-criminals spam out an email, with forged header information, tricking you into believing that it is from a shipping company like DHL or FedEx. The email tells you that they tried to deliver a package to you, but failed for some reason. Sometimes the emails claim to be notifications of a shipment you have made. Either way, you can’t resist being curious as to what the email is referring to – and open the attached file (or click on a link embedded inside the email). And with that, your computer is infected with the Serpent ransomware.

2. What is Serpent ransomware?

The Serpent ransomware targets all versions of Windows including Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7. This infection is notable due to how it encrypts the user’s files – namely, it uses AES-265 and RSA encryption method – in order to ensure that the affected user has no choice but to purchase the private key.

Serpent ransomware searches for files with certain file extensions to encrypt. The files it encrypts include important productivity documents and files such as .doc, .docx, .xls, .pdf, among others. When these files are detected, this infection will change the extension to .serp, so they are no longer able to be opened.
Serpent changes the name of each encrypted file to the following format: .serp.

Files targeted are those commonly found on most PCs today; a list of file extensions for targeted files include:

.sql, .mp4, .7z, .rar, .m4a, .wma, .avi, .wmv, .csv, .d3dbsp, .zip, .sie, .sum, .ibank, .t13, .t12, .qdf, .gdb, .tax, .pkpass, .bc6, .bc7, .bkp, .qic, .bkf, .sidn, .sidd, .mddata, .itl, .itdb, .icxs, .hvpl, .hplg, .hkdb, .mdbackup, .syncdb, .gho, .cas, .svg, .map, .wmo, .itm, .sb, .fos, .mov, .vdf, .ztmp, .sis, .sid, .ncf, .menu, .layout, .dmp, .blob, .esm, .vcf, .vtf, .dazip, .fpk, .mlx, .kf, .iwd, .vpk, .tor, .psk, .rim, .w3x, .fsh, .ntl, .arch00, .lvl, .snx, .cfr, .ff, .vpp_pc, .lrf, .m2, .mcmeta, .vfs0, .mpqge, .kdb, .db0, .dba, .rofl, .hkx, .bar, .upk, .das, .iwi, .litemod, .asset, .forge, .ltx, .bsa, .apk, .re4, .sav, .lbf, .slm, .bik, .epk, .rgss3a, .pak, .big, wallet, .wotreplay, .xxx, .desc, .py, .m3u, .flv, .js, .css, .rb, .png, .jpeg, .txt, .p7c, .p7b, .p12, .pfx, .pem, .crt, .cer, .der, .x3f, .srw, .pef, .ptx, .r3d, .rw2, .rwl, .raw, .raf, .orf, .nrw, .mrwref, .mef, .erf, .kdc, .dcr, .cr2, .crw, .bay, .sr2, .srf, .arw, .3fr, .dng, .jpe, .jpg, .cdr, .indd, .ai, .eps, .pdf, .pdd, .psd, .dbf, .mdf, .wb2, .rtf, .wpd, .dxg, .xf, .dwg, .pst, .accdb, .mdb, .pptm, .pptx, .ppt, .xlk, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xls, .wps, .docm, .docx, .doc, .odb, .odc, .odm, .odp, .ods, .odt

When the infection has finished scanning your computer it will also delete all of the Shadow Volume Copies that are on the affected computer. It does this so that you cannot use the shadow volume copies to restore your encrypted files.

3. Is my computer infected with Serpent Ransomware?

When Serpent ransowmare infects your computer it will scan all the drive letters for targeted file types, encrypt them, and then append the .serp extension to them. Once these files are encrypted, they will no longer able to be opened by your normal programs. When Serpent ransowmare has finished encrypting the victim’s files, it will also display a README_TO_RESTORE_FILES[random characters].txt ransom note. These README_TO_RESTORE_FILES[random characters].txt ransom notes include instructions on how to connect to the Decrypt Service where you can learn more about what happened to your files and how you can make a payment.
The messages displayed by this ransomware infection can be localized depending on the user’s location, with text written in the appropriate language.
This the message that the README_TO_RESTORE_FILES[random characters].txt ransomware may display:

==== NEED HELP WITH TRANSLATE? USE https://translate.google.com ====
================ PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE CAREFULLY ================

Your documents, photos, videos, databases and other important files have been encrypted!
The files have been encrypted using AES256 and RSA2048 encryption (unbreakable)
To decrypt your files you need to buy the special software ‘Serpent Decrypter’.
You can buy this software on one of the websites below.

If the websites above do not work you can use a special website on the TOR network. Follow the steps below
1. Download the TOR browser https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en#downloads
2. Inside the TOR browser browser navigate to :
3. Follow the instructions to buy ‘Serpent Decrypter’

================ PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE CAREFULLY ================

Your documents, photos, videos, databases and other important files have been encrypted!

To restore your files you can buy special software ‘Serpent Decrypter’
If you pay within 7 days the price is 0.75 bitcoins (~€712.5)
After 7 days the price will rise to 2.25 bitcoins (~€2137.5)
The special price will end in
Purchasing the ‘Serpent Decrypter’ software
The only payment method accept are Bitcoins. Below is an extensive step by step guide for buying bitcoins. If you need any more help contact our support team or search on google.
1. First you will have to create a Bitcoin (BTC) wallet. We recommend the most popular wallet blockchain.info
2. Next you will have to top up your Bitcoin wallet.
Buy 0.75 Bitcoins
We recommend the following trusted websites below to buy bitcoins (not related to us)
localbitcoins.com | Many different business and private seller accepting bank transfer, paypal, western union and more
anycoindirect.eu | Good for EU market sofort, ideal, bancontact, mistercash, sepa, trustpay
litebit.eu | Also good for EU market with many different payment methods
cex.io | wire transfer, debit / credit cards
coinbase.com | international wire transfer, debit / credit cards
You can find many more sellers on google
3. To receive your payment we have created an unique bitcoin address for you. Send 0.75 Bitcoins to the Bitcoin address below
4. Wait for the payment to confirm (this can take up to 30 minutes). Click the refresh payment status button at the end of the page to get the latest status.
5. Once the payment is confirmed you can download “X Decrypter” from this page and decrypt your files. The page will expand and the download url and decryption key will be made visible.

4. Is it possible to decrypt files encrypted by Serpent ransomware?

No, at this time it’s not possible to recover the files encrypted by the Serpent ransomware.

Serpent ransomware is notable due to how it encrypts the user’s files – namely, it uses AES-265 and RSA encryption method – in order to ensure that the affected user has no choice but to purchase the private key. The RSA public key can only be decrypted with its corresponding private key. Since the AES key is hidden using RSA encryption and the RSA private key is not available, decrypting the files is not feasible as of this writing.

Brute forcing the decryption key is not realistic due to the length of time required to break an AES encryption key. Unfortunately, once the Serpent encryption of the data is complete, decryption is not feasible without paying the ransom.
Because the needed private key to unlock the encrypted file is only available through the cyber criminals, victims may be tempted to purchase it and pay the exorbitant fee. However, doing so may encourage these bad guys to continue and even expand their operations. We strongly suggest that you do not send any money to these cyber criminals, and instead address to the law enforcement agency in your country to report this attack.

Restore the files encrypted by Serpent ransomware with recovery software

Option 1: Restore your files encrypted by Serpent ransomware with ShadowExplorer

Serpent ransomware will attempt to delete all shadow copies when you first start any executable on your computer after becoming infected. Thankfully, the infection is not always able to remove the shadow copies, so you should continue to try restoring your files using this method.

1. You can download ShadowExplorer from the below link:
   SHADOW EXPLORER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “ShadowExplorer”)
2. Once you have downloaded and installed ShadowExplorer, you can follow the below video guide on how to restore your files while using this program.
   

Option 2: Restore your files encrypted by Serpent ransomware with File Recovery Software

When Serpent encrypts a file it first makes a copy of it, encrypts the copy, and then deletes the original. Due to this you can use file recovery software such as:

• Recuva
  You can follow the below guide on how to use Recuva:
  
• EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free
• R-Studio

5. How to remove the Serpent ransomware (Virus Removal Guide)

STEP 1: Use Malwarebytes to remove Serpent Ransomware

Malwarebytes is a powerful on-demand scanner which will remove the Serpent Ransomware from your machine. It is important to note that Malwarebytes will run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. You can download download Malwarebytes from the below link.
   MALWAREBYTES DOWNLOAD LINK (This link open a new page from where you can download “Malwarebytes”)
2. When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the “mb3-setup-consumer” file to install Malwarebytes on your computer.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
   
   To install Malwarebytes on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
   
4. Once installed, Malwarebytes will automatically start and update the antivirus database. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes will now start scanning your computer for malicious programs.
   This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
   
6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected.
   To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine Selected” button.
   
7. Malwarebytes will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found.
   To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
   
   When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 2: Double-check for the Serpent ransomware with HitmanPro

HitmanPro finds and removes malware, adware, bots, and other threats that even the best antivirus suite can oftentimes miss. It’s designed to run alongside your antivirus suite, firewall, and other security tools.

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
2. When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on the “hitmanpro” file to install this program on your computer.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Now click on the Next button to continue with the scan process.
   
4. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malware.
   
5. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove malware.
   
6. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   
   When the process is complete, you can close HitmanPro and continue with the rest of the instructions.

How to prevent your computer from becoming infected by Serpent ransomware

To protect your computer from the Serpent ransomware, you should always have an antivirus installed on your computer and always have a backup for your personal documents.