The Afrodita virus was originally discovered by virus analyst S!Ri, and belongs to the LockerGoga ransomware family. This ransomware encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc), and creates the __README_RECOVERY_.txt files in every folder which contains encrypted files.
What is “Afrodita”?
Afrodita can be correctly identify as a ransomware-type infection.
__README_RECOVERY_.txt file, which can be found in every folder that contains the encrypted files, is a ransom note. Inside of it, you can find information about ways of contacting Afrodita ransomware developers, and instruction saying about purchasing the decryption tool. This decryption tool is created by ransomware developers, and can be obtained through the email, contacting [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
Here is a summary for the Afrodita:
| Ransomware family1 | LockerGoga ransomware |
| Ransomware note | __README_RECOVERY_.txt |
| Contact | [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] |
| Detection | Trojan:Script/Casur.A!cl, TrojanDownloader:O97M/Obfuse.JX!MTB, Trojan.Injuke |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Afrodita virus |
The __README_RECOVERY_.txt file by the Afrodita ransomware states the following frustrating information:
~~~ Greetings ~~~ [+] What has happened? [+] Your files are encrypted, and currently unavailable. You are free to check. Every file is recoverable by following our instructions below. Encryption algorithms used: AES256(CBC) + RSA2048 (military/government grade). [+] Guarantees? [+] This is our daily job. We are not here to lie to you - as you are 1 of 10000's. Our only interest is in us getting payed and you getting your files back. If we were not able to decrypt the data, other people in same situation as you wouldn't trust us and that would be bad for our buissness -- So it's not in our interest. To prove our ability to decrypt your data you have 1 file free decryption. If you don't want to pay the fee for bringing files back that's okey, but remeber that you will lose a lot of time - and time is money. Don't waste your time and money trying to recover files using some file recovery "experts", we have your private key - only we can get the files back. With our service you can go back to original state in less then 30 minutes. [+] Service [+] If you decided to use our service please follow instructions below. Contact us: Install Telegram(available for Windows,Android,iOS) and contact us on chat: Telegram contact: https://t.me/RecoverySupport Also available at email [email protected] cc: [email protected] Make sure you are talking with us and not impostor by requiring free 1 file decryption to make sure we CAN decrypt!!
How did I get Afrodita ransomware on my computer?
That was a huge number of different ways of ransomware injection.
However, nowadays there are only two ways of Afrodita injection – email spam and trojans. You may see a lot of messages on your email, stating that you need to pay different bills or to get your parcel from the local FedEx department. But all such messages are sent from unknown email addresses, not from familiar official emails of these companies. All such letters contain the attached file, which is used as a ransomware carrier. If you open this file – your system will get infected by Afrodita.
In case of trojans presence, you will be offered to download and install ransomware on your PC under the guise of something legit, like a Chrome update, or update for the software you are storing on your computer. Sometimes, trojan viruses can be masked as legit programs, and ransomware will be offered for download as an important update, or a big pack of extensions which are essential for proper program functioning.
There is also the third way of ransomware injection, however, it becomes less and less popular day-to-day. I am talking about peering networks, such as torrents or eMule. No one can control which files are packed in the seeding, so you can discover a huge pack of different malware after downloading. If circumstances force you to download something from peering networks – scan every downloaded folder or archive with antivirus software.
How to remove Afrodita virus?
In addition to encode a victim’s files, the Afrodita infection has also started to install the Azorult Spyware on computer to steal account credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, desktop files, and more.
To ensure the user that ransomware distributors really have the decryption tool, they may offer to decrypt several encrypted files. And they are the single owners of this decryption program: Afrodita ransomware is a completely new type, so there is no legit program from anti-malware vendors, which can decrypt your files. But such a situation is in momentum: decryption tools are updating every month.
However, paying the ransom is a bad decision, too. There is no guarantee that Afrodita ransomware developers will send you the decryption tool and a proper decryption key. And there are a lot of cases when ransomware distributors deceived their victims, sending the wrong key or even nothing. In the majority of cases, there is a way to recover your files for free. Search for available backups, and restore your system using it. Of course, there is a chance that the backup you found is too old, and does not contain a lot of files you need. But, at least you will be sure that there is no malware in your system. However, to ensure that there are no malicious programs in your system after the backup, you need to scan your PC with anti-malware software.
Afrodita ransomware is not unique. There are more ransomware of this type: Curator, Maze, Bang. These examples of ransomware act in a similar way: encrypting your files, and leaving a great number of ransom money notes in every folder. But there are two things which make difference between these ransomware – cryptography algorithm, which is used for file encryption, and ransom amount. In some cases, victims are able to decrypt their files without any payments, just using free solutions produced by several anti-malware vendors, or even with the decryption tool which is offered by ransomware creators. The last scenario is possible when ransomware distributors have typed your decryption key inside of a ransom money note. However, as you can already guess, such luck is a very rare thing. Ransomware is created for money gaining, not for jokes or scaring.
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Download Removal Tool.
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Click on “Clean Now”.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What can I do right now?|=|
You can try to find a copy of an original file that was encrypted:
- Files you downloaded from the Internet that were encrypted and you can download again to get the original.
- Pictures that you shared with family and friends that they can just send back to you.
- Photos that you uploaded on social media or cloud services like Carbonite, OneDrive, iDrive, Google Drive, etc)
- Attachments in emails you sent or received and saved.
- Files on an older computer, flash drive, external drive, camera memory card, or iPhone where you transferred data to the infected computer.
Also, you can contact the following government 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.
[/faq]How сan I avoid ransomware attack?
Afrodita ransomware doesn’t have a superpower.
You can easily protect yourself from its injection in several easy steps :
- Ignore all emails from unknown mailboxes with a strange unknown address, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check carefully all elements of the suspicious letter. A fake email will surely contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such programs.
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