How to remove Colony Ransomware and decrypt .colony96 files

What is Colony Ransomware

Colony Ransomware is a type of malware designed to encrypt data on the victim’s computer and demand a ransom for its decryption. It first surfaced on VirusTotal, where researchers discovered its modus operandi. Once infiltrated, the malware encrypts files and appends a unique file extension, such as including the attackers’ email address and a variable string, most commonly seen as .colony96. For instance, a file initially named photo.jpg may be renamed to photo.jpg.[support2022@cock.li].colony96. These extensions can vary based on the specific variant of the ransomware. Upon completing the encryption process, Colony Ransomware creates and displays ransom notes through various visible means: a full-screen message preceding the user login screen, desktop wallpaper, and a text file labeled #Read-for-recovery.txt. These notes urge the victim to contact the attackers for decryption instructions, laying out specific communication steps to avoid their message getting lost.

Since Colony Ransomware employs highly advanced encryption techniques, typically reliant on robust cryptographic algorithms, decrypting the files without the attackers’ assistance proves challenging. Unfortunately, there are currently no publicly available decryption tools explicitly tailored for Colony Ransomware. The malicious actors do not guarantee the decryption tool even after receiving payment, leading to strong advisories against ransom payment. To decrypt .colony96 files, victims are often left with minimal options, predominantly reliant on the attackers themselves. The best recovery method remains preventive, emphasizing regular backups in multiple locations to ensure data retrievability regardless of ransomware incidents. If your system gets infected, the primary step should be isolation and removal of the ransomware, followed by attempts to recover data through external, unaffected backups.

How Colony Ransomware infects computers

Colony Ransomware typically infects computers through sophisticated social engineering tactics and phishing campaigns. Cybercriminals often disguise malicious attachments or links as legitimate content in emails, enticing users to open them. Once the attachment is executed or the link is clicked, the ransomware silently installs itself on the system, initiating the encryption process. Other common infection vectors include drive-by downloads from compromised websites, malicious ads, and unauthorized software downloads from unreliable sources. Additionally, some variants of Colony Ransomware can propagate through unsecured local networks and removable storage devices, making it imperative to maintain robust cybersecurity practices and vigilant browsing habits.

1. Download Colony Ransomware Removal Tool
2. Get decryption tool for .colony96 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 Colony Ransomware

Colony Ransomware files:


#Read-for-recovery.txt
{randomname}.exe


Colony Ransomware registry keys:

no information

How to decrypt and restore .colony96 files

Use automated decryptors

Download Kaspersky RakhniDecryptor

Use the following tool from Kaspersky called Rakhni Decryptor, that can decrypt .colony96 files. Download it here:

Download RakhniDecryptor

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 .colony96 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 Colony 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 .colony96 files

1. Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
2. Click Recover Data button.
3. Select the type of files you want to restore and click Next button.
4. Choose the 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.

Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional

Using Windows Previous Versions option:

1. Right-click on infected file and choose Properties.
2. Select Previous Versions tab.
3. Choose a 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 are no items in the list, choose an alternative method.

Using Shadow Explorer:

1. Download Shadow Explorer program.
2. Run it, and you will see a 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 an 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 Colony Ransomware, in future

1. Get special anti-ransomware software

Use ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

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.

Download ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

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. Colony 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.

Download MailWasher Pro