How to remove FirstKill Ransomware and decrypt .FirstKill files

What is FirstKill Ransomware

FirstKill is a ransomware infection designed to encrypt users’ data and blackmail victims into paying financial ransom for its recovery. It uses AES and RSA military-grade algorithms to run strong encryption and prevent victims from re-accessing their files. During this process, FirstKill also renames all targeted files with the .FirstKill extension and resets their original icons to blank. For instance, a previously untouched file like 1.pdf will change to 1.pdf.FirstKill and become no longer accessible. Following this, the virus creates a text note called CO_SIĘ_STAŁO.html which contains instructions for decrypting the data.

Based on the content presented inside, it is clear that the cybercriminals behind this ransomware originate from Poland. If translated, the text says decryption without a unique private key is impossible. Unfortunately, no further clarification is given by the attackers – for instance, there is no contact information that many developers normally leave to let victims establish communication with them and negotiate on paying the ransom. The lack of such guidelines may mean that cybercriminals are testing their malware before releasing the full-fledged version of it. As a rule, files encrypted by ransomware are hard, if not even impossible, to decrypt without the help of extortionists. The best way you can return control to your files is to recover them using backup copies (from some physical or cloud storage). It is also possible to try third-party decryption/restoration tools, however, it may be that their capacity will not be enough to revert the damage. No matter how good or reputable a third-party tool is, ransomware developers make everything sure their algorithms and ciphers are immune to third-party interference. We have decided to include some high-quality instruments in our guide, which you can attempt in case there are no backups to use. Note that prior to trying any recovery means, it is first important to delete the infection from your computer. You can do it in our tutorial below.

How FirstKill Ransomware infected your computer

A variety of distribution channels are engaged each day to proliferate file-encryptors. Trojans, malicious e-mail spam letters, deceptive third-party downloads, fake software updates/installers, backdoors, keyloggers, botnets, system exploits, and other such vectors can become a gateway for delivering ransomware straight to your system. The one to tease out of this list is e-mail spam letters. Many cybercriminals send letters that look either similar or almost identical to if they were sent from legitimate companies. Phishing e-mail messages tend to impersonate names of popular firms (such as DHL, DPD, or FedEx), banks, tax authorities, and so forth. If the message is fake, it will contain forged information that calls you to do something – for instance, open some link or file attachment. Victims infected through e-mail spam have seen files like Word, Excel, PDF, EXE, JS, and others attached to such messages. Although they are originally legitimate, many threat actors use their technical properties to set up macros for executing the installation of malware with few steps required by users. To avoid it, you should be more careful with what you view, click, and download from the web. Read our guide below to explore what can be done in order to protect your system from such threats in the future. There is plenty of useful material that you can capitalize on.

1. Download FirstKill Ransomware Removal Tool
2. Get decryption tool for .FirstKill 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 FirstKill Ransomware

FirstKill Ransomware files:


CO_SIĘ_STAŁO.html
{randomname}.exe


FirstKill Ransomware registry keys:

no information

How to decrypt and restore .FirstKill files

Use automated decryptors

Download Kaspersky RakhniDecryptor

Use following tool from Kaspersky called Rakhni Decryptor, that can decrypt .FirstKill 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 .FirstKill 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 FirstKill 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 .FirstKill 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.

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 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 FirstKill 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. FirstKill 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