The Again virus belongs to the Babuk ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the How To Restore Your Files.txt files in every folder with the encrypted files.
What is Again virus?
☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the Again would be “a Babuk family ransomware infection”.
Again will append its own .again extension to the name of every encoded file. For example, an image named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.again”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.again”, and so on.
In every directory that contains the encrypted files, a How To Restore Your Files.txt file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.
Again abstract:
| Name | Again Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Babuk ransomware |
| Extension | .again |
| Ransomware note | How To Restore Your Files.txt |
| Detection | Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PBZ!MTB, Ransom.BitRansomware, Trojan:Win32/RacoonStealer.RPC!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .again extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Again virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Again looks like. Each filename has the “.again” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.again” files look.
How did Again ransomware end up on my PC?
There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most popular methods for hackers to have the Again virus settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer networks.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file model2. A Trojan is a program that gets into your machine pretending to be something different. For instance, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. As the update package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents 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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How do I get rid of the Again virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Again virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes racketeers would decrypt several of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption tool. As Again virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the criminals do the job of encrypting someone’s critical files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of ransomware developers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The optimal solution against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Again, that work similarly. For instance, Bbyy, Bbzz, Hkgt, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Again are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encoded files.
Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decoding code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avert ransomware injection?
Again ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour your computer from its infiltration within three easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
- Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful shield for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft3
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft4.
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 PC.
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 PC for Again 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.
FAQ
🤔 How can I open “.again” files?Can I somehow access “.again” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.again” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.again” 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.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Again virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
No way! 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 viruses. The ransomware that has infected your system is probably still functional and running scans from time to time to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been said above, the Again ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Again malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To stop 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 can I do right now?
Some of the blocked files can be located elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try to do it again.
- Your messengers, social media 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, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can use data recovery programs5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you can do it only after you kill the virus with an antivirus 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove AGAIN Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: AGAIN Virus
Description: AGAIN Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .again extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
