Topic: Have to pay crypto ransome - Need to expedite block synchronization - HELP! (Read 1832 times)

Sorry to hear you got hit with ransomware. If you want to pay the funds quicker you should use multibit instead of bitcoin core. Sync time is much faster.

Thanks Fordee.  The strain that we have been hit with is cryptowall 3.0.  It was identified in January of this year so I would have thought that there would be some info on it but I don't know if there is a decrypt tool.  I am still looking.

I appreciate everyone's comments.  We were doing file level backups and were able to recover most of the data by restoring but we had a particular file share that was not on the same schedule and was only being backed up monthly and, of course, we got nailed about 3 days before the scheduled backup so there was too much data at stake to restore from the previous month.

I have yet to find the source so I am still operating in limited fashion with only mission critical devices on the network.

Thanks again.

News Just Released::;

http://freedomhacker.net/alleged-author-locker-ransomware-apologizes-publishes-decryption-keys-4226/            <--- Announcement

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/577246/locker-ransomware-support-topic/page-32#entry3721545    <---   Tool and screenshots.

Check into this before you send in any of your bitcoins.

Fordee.

Ps.  As you were willing to pay anyway, if you had success in recovery from this post, please consider donating a bit to charity, and saving your bitcoins...  You've stumbled upon one of the most innovative changes in finance in many years... and things are changing fast..    Enjoy the ride!

Hi

  Sorry for your loss of files..    and at the expense of losing coins as well,  I just wanted to have you verify something.

  Is it possible that Cryptolocker is the name of the ransomeware that you were infected with?  I wanted to have you double-check to ensure it wasn't TorrentLocker instead.

   The Original Cryptolocker was taken down by the FBI  (Control of the entire botnet) , and a service was setup to help recover files.

   You can find out more about it at http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/506924/cryptolocker-hijack-program/page-223

   If you indeed have Cryptolocker, then email a sample file to be scanned and decrypted, and you might just be in luck.

   If you have TorrentLocker, which is a copy-cat service, then unfortunately, you may end up paying coins, with no guarantee of results.

   (The original cryptolocker DID unlock when payment was made, although I advise against it simply because you don't know who/what you are funding when you do.)


  Good Luck, and let us know how you make out.

Fordee

The chances are that they wont give back your files. More information on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryptoLocker

more information here: http://www.coindesk.com/98-5-torrentlocker-victims-refuse-pay-bitcoin-ransom/

"There are also 20 pages showing that bitcoins were sent but access to the decryption software wasn’t given because the full amount wasn’t paid."

Bitcoin Core itself isn't a "bad decision".  It's a GREAT wallet, and I use it regularly.  However, it may not have been the best choice for your particular needs.

Be VERY careful about any advice you take from anyone on this forum.  Scammers can create an account here and pretend to be helpful, then they can take advantage of your inexperience and lack of knowledge to try to trick you into turning over control of your bitcoins to them.

Even if you think you are talking with a trusted member of the forum with a good reputation, there are scammers that have created userID's that look VERY similar to a trusted user's ID so that they can impersonate that trusted user and send a PM to trick you.

It would be best to keep conversation in the public thread (and not in Private Messages) so that others can warn you if some advice you are receiving is bad advice.

One of the fastest and easiest wallets to set up quickly ( which also allows you to import a private key ) is the web hosted wallet at blockchain.info.  It isn't the most trusted wallet. They have had issues where browser plugins and other malware have been able to access someone's bitcoins while they are logged in.  They've also had issues with insufficient transaction fees, and failing to save a newly generated bitcoin address at times.  Therefore, if you do choose to use their wallet service, I'd suggest making certain that you are using a computer that you are VERY confident doesn't have any malware on it.  If you don't plan to keep bitcoins on the wallet for longer than it takes you to send the one transaction, then you should be able to set up a blockchain.info wallet in less than 2 minutes, and import a private key within another couple of minutes.  5 Minutes from when you start, you could already have the bitcoins sent.

Please note that there is no guarantee that the attackers will decrypt your files for you after you pay the ransom.  They could just take the bitcoins and disappear.  You'll need to decide for yourself if paying the ransom is worth that risk.

Also note that there depending on how sophisticated the attack is there may be tools that have been created that may be able to recover your files for you without paying the ransom. If you have enough time, you may want to read through this:
http://blogs.cisco.com/security/talos/teslacrypt

If you have any sort of backup of your businesses data, it might be better and safer to just re-format all your drives and recover from the backup.

I'm sorry to hear this, it really makes my blood boil criminals extorting bitcoin / money from people in this way. As advised above all you can do is wait it out I'm afraid.

Can you please let us know as many details as possible about your problem i.e. what its done to your pc or network, what message you're seeing, btc address you've been told to send payment too, how much are they demanding, do the criminals call themselves anything, did the infection come from an infected email attachment or download etc.

On thing to consider in the future is having backups that are done automatically.  e.g. like Time Machine for Mac OS X, so that you don't have to pay in the future.  And don't have to panic.  Perhaps it can be impetus to implement a continual backup strategy.

Your decision to pick Bitcoin Core wasn't bad, just the way things go when rushing. Danny gave you good advice. Good luck.  ;-)

The "bad decision" was made by the criminals who are holding your data hostage. You are the good guy, IMO. We don't like to see bitcoin used this way either, but it's money and money attracts all kinds.

Thank you.  I definitely rushed into it in an effort to get my business back up and running and obviously made a bad decision.  I appreciate your input and am looking into an alternate wallet.  This has been quite an experience.

Thanks again.

The direct download isn't likely to be much faster.  The software that you've chosen to use (Bitcoin Core) is a "Full Node" wallet, meaning that it needs to verify every transaction that has ever occurred in the history of bitcoin since it's inception in 2009.  Even if you download the file, the software will still need to complete the verification.

Generally, with a good connection to good peers on a reasonably modern computer the synchronization shouldn't take more than a day.

If you really don't want to wait for the synchronization to complete (or if you don't have enough disk space available for the entire blockchain (somewhere around 30GB), then you will want to consider a SPV (Simplified Payment Verification) wallet such as MultiBit or Electrum.  It sounds like you rushed into choosing a wallet without taking the time to learn what the features and benefits of each are and then sent bitcoins to your chosen wallet without understanding the limitations of your choice.

You can extract the private key from the Bitcoin Core wallet and import it into another wallet that allows private key importing.  That will give you immediate access to the bitcoins in that new wallet.

Hi all.  I am new to this environment and am in desperate need of some help.  My business has been infected with a crypto virus and we are going to have to pay the ransome.  I have setup a wallet in the Bit Core ap and have transferred coins to it but it appears that there is a synchronization process that is taking forever to complete.  Is there a direct download of this data that would allow me to expedite?  

Looking for any assistance you can offer.