B-PANTHER Ransomware 🔐 (.B-PANTHER File) — Removal Guide

The B-panther virus falls within the Xorist ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt files in each 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 known about the B-panther virus?

☝️ B-panther is a Xorist family ransomware-type virus.

B-panther will append its specific .B-Panther extension to every file’s name. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.B-Panther”. Just like the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.B-Panther”, and so forth.

In every folder that contains the encrypted files, a HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt text file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.

B-panther Summary:

In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the B-panther looks like. Each filename has the “.B-Panther” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .B-Panther files.

How did B-panther ransomware end up on my PC?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for tamperers to have ransomware acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.

• If you access your inbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malware item attached to them. Thus it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your machine pretending to be something else. For example, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some service. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful program that corrupts your data. Since the update package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger 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 files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the B-panther virus will most likely deploy Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Remove B-panther with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common Ransomware as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove B-panther as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Trojan Killer for “B-panther” removal on locked PC

In situations where it becomes impossible to download antivirus applications directly onto the infected computer due to malware blocking access to websites, an alternative solution is to utilize the Trojan Killer application.

There is a really little number of security tools that are able to be set up on the USB drives, and antiviruses that can do so in most cases require to obtain quite an expensive license. For this instance, I can recommend you to use another solution of GridinSoft - Trojan Killer Portable. It has a 14-days cost-free trial mode that offers the entire features of the paid version. This term will definitely be 100% enough to wipe malware out.

Trojan Killer is a valuable tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, helping you to effectively remove malware from infected computers. Now, we will walk you through the process of using Trojan Killer from a USB flash drive to scan and remove malware on an infected PC. Remember, always obtain permission to scan and remove malware from a computer that you do not own.

Step 1: Download & Install Trojan Killer on a Clean Computer:

1. Go to the official GridinSoft website (gridinsoft.com) and download Trojan Killer to a computer that is not infected.

2. Insert a USB flash drive into this computer.

3. Install Trojan Killer to the "removable drive" following the on-screen instructions.

4. Once the installation is complete, launch Trojan Killer.

Step 2: Update Signature Databases:

5. After launching Trojan Killer, ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

6. Click "Update" icon to download the latest signature databases, which will ensure the tool can detect the most recent threats.

Step 3: Scan the Infected PC:

7. Safely eject the USB flash drive from the clean computer.

8. Boot the infected computer to the Safe Mode.

9. Insert the USB flash drive.

10. Run tk.exe

11. Once the program is open, click on "Full Scan" to begin the malware scanning process.

Step 4: Remove Found Threats:

12. After the scan is complete, Trojan Killer will display a list of detected threats.

13. Click on "Cure PC!" to remove the identified malware from the infected PC.

14. Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the removal process.

Step 5: Restart Your Computer:

15. Once the threats are removed, click on "Restart PC" to reboot your computer.

16. Remove the USB flash drive from the infected computer.

Congratulations on effectively removing B-panther and the concealed threats from your computer! You can now have peace of mind, knowing that they won't resurface again. Thanks to Gridinsoft's capabilities and commitment to cybersecurity, your system is now protected.

Sometimes tamperers would decode few of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption program. Since B-panther virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decoding tools are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the hackers succeed in encoding someone’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of hackers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that one you were working on 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.

B-panther is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Nnll, Wwhu, Wwpl, and some others. The two major differences between them and the B-panther are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: files become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate users were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption code to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware infiltration?

B-panther ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can protect yourself from ransomware injection taking three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the suspicious email carefully. A hoax email will surely have mistakes.
• Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful shield for your personal computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.B-Panther” files?Can I somehow access “.B-Panther” files?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.B-Panther” 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. The rest of the methods require patience.

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

Absolutely not! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your PC off the actual threats. The virus that has attacked your system is most likely still active and launching checks from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the B-panther malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.

🤔 What to do if the B-panther ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

If that happened, you need to have a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your PC. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications 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 located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, 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 laptop, mobile, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery utilities² to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus with an antivirus program.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.