How to remove DeathOfShadow Ransomware and decrypt .Death_Of_Shadow files

What is DeathOfShadow Ransomware

DeathOfShadow is a ransomware virus that encodes access to system-stored files (using AES+RSA algorithms) and demands victims to pay money for decryption. During encryption, it also assigns its own .Death_Of_Shadow extension to highlight the blocked data. For instance, a file like 1.pdf will change to 1.pdf.Death_Of_Shadow and become inaccessible. After all targetted files end up restricted, the virus creates a text note called (Malakot@protonmail.com).txt or (malakot@tutanota.com).txt depending on what ransomware version attacked the system. The text note is where cybercriminals outline decryption instructions for their victims.

Overall, it is said victims have to contact extortionists through their e-mail address. Following this, victims will supposedly be given further guidelines on how to pay money and return the files. As a rule, most cybercriminals make demands to pay ransoms in crypto as it is an untrackable and safe way to receive fraudulent earnings. In addition, threat actors offer to test their decryption abilities implying that victims can send a file (non-valuable and up to 10MB) and get it decrypted for free. The text in the ransom note also warns that unless victims establish contact with cybercriminals within 48 hours, the decryption of files will no longer be possible. Such warnings and offers are commonly used by extortionists to urge victims into paying the ransom eventually. However, you should know that meeting the cybercriminals’ demands does not always guarantee you will return your files. Some ransomware developers fool their victims and do not hold their promises regarding the decryption of data. Unfortunately, .Death_Of_Shadow files are less likely to be decrypted without the help of the initial developers. For now, there are no known free third-party decryptors that could brute-force the decryption key and unlock access to files. You can also try general third-party decryption/recovery tools from our guide, however, it is less likely that they will be effective with DeathOfShadow Ransomware files. Thus, the only two viable ways you can return your data at the moment are either to take the risk and pay the attackers or recover files from an available backup. You can also not do anything if the encrypted data was not important and you can afford to lose it. Backups are copies of files stored on external storage (e.g., cloud, USB pen drives, etc.) that were not affected at the time of infection. Using a backup is always a safer and completely free option. Unless you are planning to pay the ransom, deleting ransomware is crucial to not let it encrypt other files at the time of manual recovery. It is also important to remove it after decrypting files with cybercriminals if you decide to. Follow our guide below to do so and get protection against such threats in the future.

How DeathOfShadow Ransomware infected your computer

Ransomware (and other malware) is known to penetrate systems in a variety of ways – e.g., via trojans, malicious e-mail spam letters, fake updates or license cracking tools, infected installers of pirated or cracked software, unprotected RDP configuration, unreliable ads, backdoors, keyloggers, and other dubious channels. As a rule, users get infected with malware when some malicious file is opened or installed. For instance, ransomware can be put into the disguise of a legitimate-looking file (.DOCX, .XLSX, .PDF, .EXE, .ZIP, .RAR, or .JS extensions) and be distributed in spam e-mail letters. Such e-mails tend to impersonate legal companies/entities (e.g., delivery companies, tax authorities, banks, and so forth) and are named in click-bait ways to reflect some “importance”, or “urgency”. If the attached content ends up opened according to cybercriminals’ guidelines, the contained infection will be likely deployed for installation on the targeted system. Thus, you should always examine the letters you receive for senders’ addresses, irrelevant content, suspicious links/attachments, and so forth. A similar infection pattern can be seen in other distribution channels as well, for instance, when users download some pirated or cracked version of the software from a shady web page. While the installation of such software may look completely unsuspicious, the final result can alas be an inadvertent infection of malware. Beware of interacting with dubious download sources, torrent-sharing pages, suspicious ads, potentially malicious attachments/links, and other kinds of risky content. Download software only from official resources to prevent drive-by (stealth) installations of malware. Read our guide below to learn more about establishing protection against threats like ransomware and other malware types in the future.

1. Download DeathOfShadow Ransomware Removal Tool
2. Get decryption tool for .Death_Of_Shadow files
3. Recover encrypted files with Stellar Data Recovery Professional
4. Restore encrypted files with Windows Previous Versions
5. Restore files with Shadow Explorer
6. How to protect from threats like DeathOfShadow Ransomware

DeathOfShadow Ransomware files:


Death_Shadow.exe
Death_Shadow.pdb
(Malakot@protonmail.com).txt
(malakot@tutanota.com).txt
{randomname}.exe


DeathOfShadow Ransomware registry keys:

no information

How to decrypt and restore .Death_Of_Shadow files

Use automated decryptors

Download Kaspersky RakhniDecryptor

Use following tool from Kaspersky called Rakhni Decryptor, that can decrypt .Death_Of_Shadow files. Download it here:

There is no purpose to pay the ransom because there is no guarantee you will receive the key, but you will put your bank credentials at risk.

Dr.Web Rescue Pack

Famous antivirus vendor Dr. Web provides free decryption service for the owners of its products: Dr.Web Security Space or Dr.Web Enterprise Security Suite. Other users can ask for help in the decryption of .Death_Of_Shadow files by uploading samples to Dr. Web Ransomware Decryption Service. Analyzing files will be performed free of charge and if files are decryptable, all you need to do is purchase a 2-year license of Dr.Web Security Space worth $120 or less. Otherwise, you don’t have to pay.

If you are infected with DeathOfShadow Ransomware and removed from your computer you can try to decrypt your files. Antivirus vendors and individuals create free decryptors for some crypto-lockers. To attempt to decrypt them manually you can do the following:

Use Stellar Data Recovery Professional to restore .Death_Of_Shadow files

1. Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
2. Click Recover Data button.
3. Select type of files you want to restore and click Next button.
4. Choose location where you would like to restore files from and click Scan button.
5. Preview found files, choose ones you will restore and click Recover.

Using Windows Previous Versions option:

1. Right-click on infected file and choose Properties.
2. Select Previous Versions tab.
3. Choose particular version of the file and click Copy.
4. To restore the selected file and replace the existing one, click on the Restore button.
5. In case there is no items in the list choose alternative method.

Using Shadow Explorer:

1. Download Shadow Explorer program.
2. Run it and you will see screen listing of all the drives and the dates that shadow copy was created.
3. Select the drive and date that you want to restore from.
4. Right-click on a folder name and select Export.
5. In case there are no other dates in the list, choose alternative method.

If you are using Dropbox:

1. Login to the DropBox website and go to the folder that contains encrypted files.
2. Right-click on the encrypted file and select Previous Versions.
3. Select the version of the file you wish to restore and click on the Restore button.

How to protect computer from viruses, like DeathOfShadow Ransomware , in future

1. Get special anti-ransomware software

Use ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Dashboard

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Alert

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Blocked

Famous antivirus brand ZoneAlarm by Check Point released a comprehensive tool, that will help you with active anti-ransomware protection, as an additional shield to your current protection. The tool provides Zero-Day protection against ransomware and allows you to recover files. ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware is compatible with all other antiviruses, firewalls, and security software except ZoneAlarm Extreme (already shipped with ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware) or Check Point Endpoint products. The killer features of this application are: automatic file recovery, overwrite protection that instantly and automatically recovers any encrypted files, file protection that detects and blocks even unknown encryptors.

2. Back up your files

As an additional way to save your files, we recommend online backup. Local storage, such as hard drives, SSDs, flash drives, or remote network storage can be instantly infected by the virus once plugged in or connected to. DeathOfShadow Ransomware uses some techniques to exploit this. One of the best services and programs for easy automatic online backup is iDrive. It has the most profitable terms and a simple interface. You can read more about iDrive cloud backup and storage here.

3. Do not open spam e-mails and protect your mailbox

Malicious attachments to spam or phishing e-mails are the most popular method of ransomware distribution. Using spam filters and creating anti-spam rules is good practice. One of the world leaders in anti-spam protection is MailWasher Pro. It works with various desktop applications and provides a very high level of anti-spam protection.