A1TFT Ransomware (.a1tft Files) — How to remove virus?

The A1tft virus falls under the Hive ransomware family. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, leaving the ihr6_HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt text files in every directory containing 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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What is A1tft virus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the A1tft would be “a Hive family ransomware malicious agent”.

The pattern of renaming is this: [random string].a1tft. In the process of encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.237cboyqOCVY17808cgf671fw3bbcG.a1tft”.

In every folder containing the encrypted files, a ihr6_HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.

A1tft abstract:

In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the A1tft looks like. Each filename has the “.[random string].a1tft” extension added to it.

That is how encrypted “.[random string].a1tft” files look.

How did A1tft ransomware end up on my PC?

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

There are currently three most exploited ways for evil-doers to have ransomware working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer networks.

If you open your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a viral item attached to them. Thus it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme². A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something legal. For instance, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some program. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that encodes your data. As the installation wizard can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to trust the software developers’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the A1tft virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the A1tft virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware³ can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes racketeers would decode several of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. Since A1tft virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon be available.

Understandably, if the evildoers do the job of encoding someone’s critical data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud storage or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be insufficient. 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 PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system restoration.

A1tft is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. Examples of those are Eucy, Rtgf, Ccps, and some others. The two major differences between them and the A1tft are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in each directory containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding code to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware infection?

A1tft ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can defend your PC from ransomware attack within several easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable email carefully. A hoax letter will always have a mistake.
• Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.
• And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect armor for your system.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft⁴

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft⁵.

Download Removal Tool.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your computer.

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your system for A1tft infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has completed, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Can I somehow access “.[random string].a1tft” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.[random string].a1tft” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.[random string].a1tft” files ASAP. How can I do that?

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. All other solutions require time.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the A1tft malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your system off the actual viruses. The malware that has infected your device is must be still active and launching checks every so often to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been said above, the A1tft malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your system in the future.

🤔 What to do if the A1tft malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your computer. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to give those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, mobile, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery programs⁶ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following governmental fraud and scam sites to report this attack:

• In the United States: On Guard Online;
• In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
• In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
• In Australia: SCAMwatch;
• In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
• In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
• In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
• In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;

To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.

How to Remove A1TFT Ransomware & Recover PC

Name: A1TFT Virus

Description: A1TFT Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .[random string].a1tft extension. So, you can't use them at all.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Virus

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