Remove Todar Ransomware (.todar Decryption)

In this era of widespread and continuous reproduction of dangerous ransomware, user’s precious data are largely being threatened to be under the authority of crypto-virus makers and hold them as hostage. Using the term “hostage” is appropriate on this instance because ransomware creators literally deny user’s access to infected files and demand ransom money as compensation for the recovery application.

One similar virus that is currently under the radar of malware researchers is Todar. According to these experts, Todar is a re-publish version from STOP ransomware clan. In fact, there are already hundreds variants from this group and no indication of slowing down due to new edition they releases on almost every single day. Before Todar, we have reported previous adaptation, which includes Darus, Tocue, Gusau, and many more.

Actually, there is no distinctive change among these variants and only noticeable adjustment is the appended extension that bears .Todar. Obviously, the ransomware name was derived from the given extension, which becomes the file suffix after the encryption. As an example, a clean file word.doc will transform into word.doc.todar after the infection.

Do not be misguided that inaccessibility of the files is the outcome of the renaming carried out by Todar ransomware. All files with .Todar extension are locked and remain inoperable because attackers sealed them with a complex algorithmic encryption technique. Renaming back the infected file to original form is not the solution and unfortunately, this unsuitable course of action can lead to permanent damage due to mess-up file structure.

To regain access, handlers of Todar are offering a solution but it does not come cheap. A unique private key and decryption tool that are essential in recovering files can only be handed to victims upon the payment of $980 ransom money. Below is the screenshot of the ransom note.

How to Remove Todar Ransomware

Ransomware files are placed deeply into the system and on various locations, thus, thorough scanning is vital to totally remove Todar virus. Aside from our suggested tool, you may also run your own security program.

Though affected files may be impossible to decrypt due to complexity of the encryption, you can still try recovery method like alternative tool, Shadow Explorer or Previous Version as described below.

Stage 1: Scan the Computer with Anti-Malware Tool

1. Download free anti-malware scanner called MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Download Link (this will open a new window)

2. After downloading, install the program. It may run automatically or you have to double-click on the downloaded file MBSetup.exe.

3. Carry out the installation with default setup process.

4. After the installation process, click the Get Started button to launch the program.

5. Continue with the prompts until the main program opens.

6. On the main console, click on Scan to run most complete detection method to find hidden objects associated to Todar ransomware.

7. Scanning may take a while. Please wait until the anti-malware tool is done with the checking.

8. Once the scan has completed, the tool will display the list of detected threats. Remove all identified malicious items and restart the computer if necessary.

Stage 2: Double-check for Todar’s leftover with Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool

1. Download the free scanner called Malicious Software Removal Tool.
Malicious Software Removal Tool Download Link (this will open a new window)

2. The tool automatically checks the operating system and suggest appropriate download version. Click on Download button to begin. Save the file to a convenient location, preferably on Desktop.

3. After downloading the file, Windows will prompt that download has completed. Click Run to start scanning for Todar ransomware. Another option is to browse the location folder and double click on the file to run.

4. The tool will display Welcome screen, click Next. Please note the message “This tool is not a replacement for an antivirus product.” You must understand that this program is made specifically to find and remove malware, viruses, Trojans, and other harmful elements on the computer. It was not designed to protect the computer.

5. Next, you will see Scan Type. Please choose Full Scan to ensure that all Todar ransom virus entities and other harmful files left on the computer will be found and removed. For advanced computer user, you can opt for Customized Scan, if there are other drives or folders you wanted to include in this scan.

6. Full scan may take a while, please wait for Malicious Software Removal Tool to complete the tasks. However, you may cancel the scan anytime by clicking on the Cancel button.

7. After scanning, the tool will reveal all identified threats. There may be other threats that our first scan fails to detect. Please remove/delete all detected items.

8. When removal procedure is complete, you may now close Malicious Software Removal Tool. We hope that Todar ransomware have been completely deleted from the computer. Please restart Windows to proceed with the normal operation.

Stage 3 : Unlocking files with Todar Decryption Tool

So far, this Todar decryption tool works only for files that were encrypted using offline keys. This happens sometimes if the virus is unable to communicate to remote server to obtain unique keys; instead, it will use offline keys when encrypting files. However, there is a little chance of recovering files using this tool due to limited available offline keys that were integrated with this decryption tool.

For additional information (download link, supported versions, instructions) about StopDecrypter, please proceed to ransomware decryption tool archive page.

If you received a message stating that “No keys were found for the following IDs (.todar)”, please copy and submit the information to the official download page to include your information (log file) and have it archive in case decryption software becomes available.

We will update this section once the full decryption tool is on hand. In the meantime, please try other options below.

Option 1: Windows Previous Version Tool

Windows Vista and Windows 7 have a feature called Previous Versions. However, this tool is only usable if restore point was made prior to Todar ransomware infection. To use this tool and recover files affected by the virus, please follow these steps:

1. Open My Computer or Windows Explorer.

2. Right-click on the affected files or folders. From the drop-down list, please click on Restore previous versions.

3. New window will open display all backup copy of files and folders you wanted to recover. Choose the appropriate file and click on Open, Copy, or Restore. Restoring selected files overwrites the current encrypted files on the computer.

Option 2: Use ShadowExplorer to restore files encrypted by Todar Ransomware

Just like Previous Version tool, ShadowExplorer is taking advantage of shadow copy created by Windows. This tool allows you to retrieve older version of files before it was encrypted by Todar ransomware.

1. Download ShadowExplorer from the official web site.

2. Install the program with the default settings.

3. The program should run automatically after installation. If not, double-click on ShadowExplorer icon.

4. You can see the drop-down list on top of the console. Please select proper drive and the most recent point-in-time shadow copies of files you wish to restore prior to Todar ransomware infection.

5. Right-click on the Drive, Folder, or File you wish to restore and click Export…

6. Lastly, ShadowExplorer will prompt for location where you want to save the copy of recovered files.