Guide to Remove Dragnea Ransomware from the Computer System.

What is Dragnea Ransomware?

Dragnea Ransomware is a malicious program that infects a user’s system and locks their personal files with a powerful encryption. The ransom note of the Dragnea Ransomware is in Romanian. The ransom note shows the image of the leader of Social Democratic Party of Romania, Mr. Liviu Dragnea as shown below.

Dragnea Ransomware – Threat Behavior

The GUI of the Jigsaw Ransomware is used by Dragnea Ransomware for its specific purposes. The Ransom Note specifies that the user’s files will be destroyed. It has a timer of 72 hours within the ransom note. This clock indicates the amount of time a user has to pay the ransom.

The ransom note looks unfinished when compared to other ransom notes. The ransom note fails to mention a BitCoin address or a contact mail to the hacker. Here is how the ransom note translates for English speaking users on Google translate:

The Dragnea Ransomware doesn’t encrypt the user’s files but it adds a .dragnea file extension to each of the files it targets. As an example, a FileABC.doc will be represented as FileABC.doc.dragnea.

The addition of the file extension to the file format leaves the related software unable to open the file. This detail is missed by users and they feel helpless when the ransom note is displayed to them.

The Dragnea Ransomware does not come with a file encryptor program and just has a code that adds the .dragnea file extension. As it fails to encrypt the files like other Ransomware, it cannot be determined whether Dragnea Ransomware makes changes to the system registry or windows processes in the background.

The Dragnea Ransomware ransom note has a button at the bottom which should provide the decryption key to the user upon clicking. When the user clicks this button only an error message is displayed and no decryption key is provided. Future versions of the Dragnea ransomware might have the full capabilities that a ransomware program has.

Dragnea Ransomware – Methods of Distribution

Dragnea ransomware uses various distribution techniques to spread from one system to another. Given below are its methods of distribution:

Spam email attachments – Spam email attachments can contain the virus payload dropper for the Dragnea ransomware. Once the user opens the attachments it can execute the malicious code to encrypt the system.

Malicious links – Malicious links can be sent to the user through various messages in the browser. These links inject the ransomware into the system when the user clicks on them.

Social media platforms – Social media platforms can be used to distribute the Dragnea ransomware to multiple people at once. Users should be careful about opening messages from unknown sources as these messages can be carrier of the virus payload.

File Sharing Services – Many file sharing services can provide a different link or replace the link with a different file to inject the Dragnea Ransomware into the system.

Threat Summary

Name – Dragnea

Category – Malware, Ransomware

Targeted Operating System – Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.0/8.1, Windows 10

Symptoms – Displays a Ransom note which states that the user’s files will be destroyed, adds the file extension .dragnea to the files on the system.

How to remove Dragnea Ransomware from the System?

Dragnea ransomware is still unfinished as it does not contain the details about the decrypting mechanism.

Removing Dragnea ransomware is an easy process and the users should not panic if their system is infected by this threat. The users can restore their files after the Dragnea ransomware is removed from the system using system backup.

The users should take immediate steps to get rid of this malicious program from their system.

Use the Drangnea Ransomware Removal Instructions mentioned below to get rid of this malicious program.

STEP A – Remove Dragnea Ransomware from the system using MSConfig in safe mode with Networking.

To restart the system to Safe Mode with Networking,  if already switched ON then follow the below steps:

1. Type “Msconfig” in search box / Run Box, select it and press Enter.
2. Click on “Services” Tab and click on “Hide all Microsoft services”.
3. Select Dragnea Ransomware from the list of remaining services and disable it by removing the tick mark from the checkbox and click on Apply button.

STEP B – Remove Dragnea Ransomware from the registry key.

1. Type “Regedit” in search box / Run Box, select it and press Enter.
2. An authorization dialog box will appear, then you just have to click “Yes”. (The dialog box appearance may vary depending on OS used. For Windows 10 the the dialog box looks like the first screenshot and for windows 7 it appears like the second screenshot)
3. In the registry editor, take the backup of the current registry settings before making any changes in case you want to revert to old settings later. For this, Click on File option in the menu and select Export. Save the entry at a known location.
4. From the Menu, Click Edit and Select Find.
5. Enter Dragnea Ransomware and click Ok in the search box.
6. Select and delete suspicious  enteries.

STEP C – Remove the Services installed by Dragnea Ransomware from the system using safe mode with command prompt.

Restart System using Safe mode with Command Prompt

Once the system starts, ensure to use an account with administrative privilege to access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

After the user enters admin credentials, Command prompt window is displayed wherein you are entitled to enter the below commands:

1. Type the command “sc delete Dragnea Ransomware” in the command prompt and press Enter.
2. Type “exit” to exit the command prompt and restart the system in safe mode with command prompt.

STEP D – Restore the system Files And Settings Using System Restore.

Restore your system files and settings

Tips to prevent your computer system from getting infected

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Avira and Hitman Pro so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.

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