3AM Ransomware 🔐 (.THREEAMTIME File) — Removal Guide

The 3am virus falls under the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the RECOVER-FILES.txt files in each directory with the encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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3am virus: what is known so far?

3am adds its extra .threeamtime extension to the title of each encrypted file. For example, an image named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.threeamtime”. In the same manner, the Excel sheet with the name “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.threeamtime”, and so forth.

In every folder containing the encrypted files, a RECOVER-FILES.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can obtain this tool after contacting Tor website. That is it.

3am Overview:

The RECOVER-FILES.txt file coming in package with the 3am malware states the following:

Hello. \"3 am\" The time of mysticism, isn\'t it?

All your files are mysteriously encrypted, and the systems \"show no signs of life\", the backups disappeared. But we can correct this very quickly and return all your files and operation of the systems to original state.

All your attempts to restore data by himself will definitely lead to their damage and the impossibility of recovery. We are not recommended to you to do it on our own!!! (or do at your own peril and risk).

There is another important point: we stole a fairly large amount of sensitive data from your local network: financial documents; personal information of your employees, customers, partners; work documentation, postal correspondence and much more.

We prefer to keep it secret, we have no goal to destroy your business. Therefore can be no leakage on our part.

We propose to reach an agreement and conclude a deal.

Otherwise, your data will be sold to DarkNet/DarkWeb. One can only guess how they will be used.

Please contact us as soon as possible, using Tor-browser:

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Access key:

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In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the 3am looks like. Each filename has the “.threeamtime” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .threeamtime files.

How did 3am ransomware end up on my PC?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for evil-doers to have the 3am virus acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer file transfer.

• If you access your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a ransomware file enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse model. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your computer disguised as something else. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful program that encodes your data. As the installation package can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the 3am virus will most likely deploy Vidar Stealer on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Remove 3am with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common Ransomware as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove 3am as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Trojan Killer for “3am” removal on locked PC

In situations where it becomes impossible to download antivirus applications directly onto the infected computer due to malware blocking access to websites, an alternative solution is to utilize the Trojan Killer application.

There is a really little number of security tools that are able to be set up on the USB drives, and antiviruses that can do so in most cases require to obtain quite an expensive license. For this instance, I can recommend you to use another solution of GridinSoft - Trojan Killer Portable. It has a 14-days cost-free trial mode that offers the entire features of the paid version. This term will definitely be 100% enough to wipe malware out.

Trojan Killer is a valuable tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, helping you to effectively remove malware from infected computers. Now, we will walk you through the process of using Trojan Killer from a USB flash drive to scan and remove malware on an infected PC. Remember, always obtain permission to scan and remove malware from a computer that you do not own.

Step 1: Download & Install Trojan Killer on a Clean Computer:

1. Go to the official GridinSoft website (gridinsoft.com) and download Trojan Killer to a computer that is not infected.

2. Insert a USB flash drive into this computer.

3. Install Trojan Killer to the "removable drive" following the on-screen instructions.

4. Once the installation is complete, launch Trojan Killer.

Step 2: Update Signature Databases:

5. After launching Trojan Killer, ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

6. Click "Update" icon to download the latest signature databases, which will ensure the tool can detect the most recent threats.

Step 3: Scan the Infected PC:

7. Safely eject the USB flash drive from the clean computer.

8. Boot the infected computer to the Safe Mode.

9. Insert the USB flash drive.

10. Run tk.exe

11. Once the program is open, click on "Full Scan" to begin the malware scanning process.

Step 4: Remove Found Threats:

12. After the scan is complete, Trojan Killer will display a list of detected threats.

13. Click on "Cure PC!" to remove the identified malware from the infected PC.

14. Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the removal process.

Step 5: Restart Your Computer:

15. Once the threats are removed, click on "Restart PC" to reboot your computer.

16. Remove the USB flash drive from the infected computer.

Congratulations on effectively removing 3am and the concealed threats from your computer! You can now have peace of mind, knowing that they won't resurface again. Thanks to Gridinsoft's capabilities and commitment to cybersecurity, your system is now protected.

Often tamperers would unblock several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. As 3am virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the malefactors do the job of encrypting someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about criminals simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Surely, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

There are other ransomware products, besides 3am, that work similarly. For instance, Oopl, Ooza, Anontsugumi, and some others. The two major differences between them and the 3am are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate users were able to decode the arrested files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware attack?

3am ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can armour your computer from its attack within three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the dubious letter carefully. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
• Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful defense for your personal computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.threeamtime” files?Are the “.threeamtime” files accessible?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.threeamtime” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.threeamtime” files ASAP. How can I do that?

Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. In case you haven’t, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the 3am malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual viruses. The malware that has infiltrated your computer is probably still active and it scans your system from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been said above, the 3am malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your computer in the future.

🤔 What should I do if the 3am malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

If that happened, you need to have a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your PC. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the blocked files can be found elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to post those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, cellphone, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can use file recovery programs¹ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you eradicate the virus with an anti-malware program.

1. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.