ADMON Ransomware 🔐 (.ADMON File) — Removal Guide

The Admon virus belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, creating the RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt text files in every folder which contains 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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What is Admon virus?

☝️ A strictly accurate designation for the Admon is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.

Admon adds its specific .ADMON extension to every file’s name. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.ADMON”. Likewise, the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.ADMON”, and so forth.

In each directory that contains the encrypted files, a RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt text document will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.

Admon summary:

In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Admon looks like. Each filename has the “.ADMON” extension appended to it.

An example of encrypted .ADMON files.

How did Admon ransomware end up on my PC?

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

Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for hackers to have the Admon virus planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.

If you access your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a viral item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse model. A Trojan is an object that gets into your machine disguised as something different. For instance, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. Since the update wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software companies’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove the Admon virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Admon virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your computer to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive 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 Admon virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Sure thing, if the tamperers succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of criminals just vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be not enough. Your most crucial 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 anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Admon, that work similarly. Examples of those are Coty, Foza, Coza, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Admon are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky users were able to decode the arrested files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware injection?

Admon ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from its infiltration 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 (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful defense for your PC.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft¹

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft².

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 Admon 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

🤔 How can I open “.ADMON” files?Is it possible to open“.ADMON” files?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.ADMON” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. 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. All other solutions require time.

🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Admon virus?

Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual threats. The ransomware that has infiltrated your computer is most likely still active and it scans your system periodically to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Admon malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your PC after some time.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Admon malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

In such a case, you need to prepare a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches 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 start. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal

• If you sent or received your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to give those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, mobile, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery programs³ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: you can do it only after you remove the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following official 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.

1. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
2. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
3. Here are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.