BabyDuck Virus 🔐 .BABYDUCK File Ransomware

The Babyduck virus belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, creating the ATTENTION!!!.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 Babyduck virus?

☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the Babyduck is “a ransomware infection”.

Babyduck appends its own .babyduck extension to the name of each encoded file. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.babyduck”. Likewise, the Excel sheet with the name “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.babyduck”, and so forth.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a ATTENTION!!!.txt text 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 usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is it.

Babyduck overview:

The ATTENTION!!!.txt file accompanying the Babyduck malware provides the following discouraging information:

  ___        _             _____              _
 |  _ \      | |           |  __ \           | |
 | |_) | __ _| |__  _   _  | |  | |_   _  ___| | __
 |  _ < / _` | \'_ \\| | | | | |  | | | | |/ __| |/ /       o<
 | |_) | (_| | |_) | |_| |_| |__| | |_| | (__|   =
 |____/ \__,_|_.__/ \__, (_)_____/ \__,_|\___|_|\_\
                     __/ |                             _
                    |___/ |                           | |
   __ _ _   _  __ _  ___| | __   __ _ _   _  __ _  ___| | __
  / _` | | | |/ _` |/ __| |/ /  / _` | | | |/ _` |/ __| |/ /
 | (_| | |_| | (_| | (__|   <  | (_| | |_| | (_| | (__|   <
  \__, |\__,_|\__,_|\___|_|\_\  \__, |\__,_|\__,_|\___|_|\_\
     | |                           | |
     |_|                           |_|

Ducky has got your files encrypted!

This happened because you were not paying attention to your security.

Ducky will give you your files back if you pay him a bit of crypto.

1000 XMR to address

41oKF4szxFGVDPsYD9WKa28uJVLJgU9zRUr2uv6cSfy 8JzifqFJvBgo8QHkFxD8qWz2J4WjiNzv833j8udDJ4sr16q3Q72J

*****************************************************
DUCKY WILL MAKE YOUR DATA PUBLIC IF U DON\'T BEHAVE!!!
*****************************************************

Use TOR browser (hxxps://www.torproject.org/download/) and follow this link, to get the proof of your data is really f*cked up

babydfa6yzdx6otdqjgvk53kpqove5cuhpnr7rjigu5rujo25itdnyyd.onion
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

If you want beg for mercy or negotiate the price, download TOX chat client, and find Ducky there

39D7A4B1E29EEA250523ABFBDB604289DE8513BB71566CDB43E95A73A618957B11820AC343E7

AGAIN, READ UP HERE!!! YOU’VE GOT 72 HOURS

1000 XMR to address

41oKF4szxFGVDPsYD9WKa28uJVLJgU9zRUr2uv6cSfy 8JzifqFJvBgo8QHkFxD8qWz2J4WjiNzv833j8udDJ4sr16q3Q72J

Don't worry, if you behave and pay - you\'ll get your files back;)

Or you’re gonna be f*cked up. Quack-quack…

YOUR KEY IS
RWRxmbgCt+0wPvdZ0alM7J46oqsOBTtud3E8zRznnCT0q0u7X971eWUN

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Babyduck looks like. Each filename has the ".babyduck" extension appended to it.

That is how encrypted ".babyduck" files look.

How did my machine catch Babyduck ransomware?

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

Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for tamperers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.

If you access your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose "from" field is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a harmful item enclosed in them. So it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something else. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that compromises your data. As the installation package can have any name and any icon, you'd better be sure that you can trust the resource of the files you're downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software developers' official websites.

As for the peer networks like torrents 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. So you'd better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove the Babyduck virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Babyduck virus will most likely deploy Vidar Stealer on your machine to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can extract your logins and passwords from your browser's auto-filling data.

Sometimes racketeers would decode some of your files to prove that they do have the decryption tool. Since Babyduck virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.

Of course, if the hackers succeed in encoding someone's essential data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you're getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about criminals simply disappearing after getting the money without even writing back.

The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all started. But at least 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 Babyduck, that work similarly. For instance, Tgvv, Tgpo, Tghz, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Babyduck are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky users were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a bandits' technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware attack?

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

You can protect your system from its infiltration in several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email with caution. A hoax letter will surely contain mistakes.
• Never use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
• And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect shield for your personal computer.

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 Babyduck 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 finished, 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 ".babyduck" files?Can I somehow access ".babyduck" files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the ".babyduck" files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.babyduck” files ASAP. How can I do that?

If the “.babyduck” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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.

🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Babyduck virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?

No way! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete actual infections from your system. The ransomware that has attacked your computer is must be still functional and launching checks from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Babyduck ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your system after some time.

🤔 What should I do if the Babyduck malware has blocked my PC and I can't get the activation code.

If that happened, you need to have a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To stop this function - use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system start. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the blocked data can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, phone, memory stick, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery utilities³ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: you won't be able to do it before 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.

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's the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.