The Angryturkey virus belongs under the Chaos ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, creating the read_it.txt files in each directory which contains the encrypted files.
Angryturkey virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Angryturkey is “a Chaos family ransomware malicious agent”.
Angryturkey adds its own .AnGrYTuRkEy extension to the name of each encrypted file. For example, an image named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.AnGrYTuRkEy”. In the same manner, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.AnGrYTuRkEy”, and so forth.
In every folder containing the encoded files, a read_it.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the Angryturkey developers. That is how they do it.
Angryturkey overview:
| Name | Angryturkey Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Chaos ransomware |
| Extension | .AnGrYTuRkEy |
| Ransomware note | read_it.txt |
| Ransom | $500 |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .AnGrYTuRkEy extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Angryturkey virus |
The read_it.txt file accompanying the Angryturkey malware provides the following frustrating information:
TuRKey_RanSOmWarE All of your files have been encrypted Your computer was infected with a ransomware virus. Your files have been encrypted and you won\'t be able to decrypt them without our help.What can I do to get my files back?You can buy our special decryption software, this software will allow you to recover all of your data and remove the ransomware from your computer.The price for the software is $500. Payment can be made in Bitcoin only. How do I pay, where do I get Bitcoin? Purchasing Bitcoin varies from country to country, you are best advised to do a quick google search yourself to find out how to buy Bitcoin. Many of our customers have reported these sites to be fast and reliable: Coinmama - hxxps://www.coinmama.com Bitpanda - hxxps://www.bitpanda.com Payment informationAmount: 0,022 BTC Bitcoin Address: 17CqMQFeuB3NTzJ2X28tfRmWaPyPQgvoHV
In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Angryturkey looks like. Each filename has the “.AnGrYTuRkEy” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .AnGrYTuRkEy files.
How did my computer get infected with Angryturkey ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most popular ways for evil-doers to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.
If you open your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a viral item attached to them. Thus it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan virus scheme2. A Trojan is a program that gets into your computer disguised as something different. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some program. However, what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful program that encodes your data. Since the installation 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 best thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrent trackers or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess 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 files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.
How to remove the Angryturkey virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Angryturkey virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware3 can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often criminals would decrypt several of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. As Angryturkey virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Understandably, if the malefactors do the job of encrypting victim’s essential data, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. However, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of racketeers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best solution against 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 disk. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.
There are other ransomware products, besides Angryturkey, that work similarly. Examples of those are Mzop, Erqw, Hhmm, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Angryturkey are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: files become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in every directory containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware injection?
Angryturkey ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect your PC from ransomware attack taking several easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious email carefully. A hoax email will surely have mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from reliable ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful shield for your personal computer.
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 Angryturkey 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 “.AnGrYTuRkEy” files?Can I somehow access “.AnGrYTuRkEy” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.AnGrYTuRkEy” files are decrypted.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.AnGrYTuRkEy” 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.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Angryturkey virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The virus that has infected your computer is most likely still active and running scans from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has already been said, the Angryturkey malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What should I do if the Angryturkey virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your PC. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Many of the encrypted files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to give those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got 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 as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, cellphone, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can use data recovery programs6 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you can do it only after you remove the ransomware itself with an antivirus 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove ANGRYTURKEY Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: ANGRYTURKEY Virus
Description: ANGRYTURKEY Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .AnGrYTuRkEy 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.
- You can read more on spyware variants and nature in the respective 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’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
