The Bitenc virus belongs under the Mallox ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, leaving the FILE RECOVERY.txt text files in each directory which contains the encrypted files.
What is Bitenc virus?
☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the Bitenc is “a Mallox family ransomware infection”.
Bitenc adds its own .bitenc extension to the name of every encoded file. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.bitenc”. Just like the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.bitenc”, and so forth.
In each directory that contains the encoded files, a FILE RECOVERY.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.
Bitenc abstract:
| Name | Bitenc Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Mallox ransomware |
| Extension | .bitenc |
| Ransomware note | FILE RECOVERY.txt |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .bitenc extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Bitenc virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Bitenc looks like. Each filename has the “.bitenc” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .bitenc files.
How did my computer get infected with Bitenc ransomware?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for malefactors to have the Bitenc virus working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.
If you open your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a ransomware item attached to them. Thus 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 scheme2. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something different. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. However, what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encodes your data. Since the update package can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.
As for the 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 know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Bitenc virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Bitenc virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware3 can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often tamperers would decrypt several of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption tool. Since Bitenc virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding instruments are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Of course, if the criminals succeed in encrypting someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of criminals just vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
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 disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working upon when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.
Bitenc 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, Mzop, Znto, Bpsm, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Bitenc are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes are created in every directory containing encoded files.
Some fortunate people were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware attack?
Bitenc ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can defend your PC from its attack in three easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
- Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as an element of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect armor 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 system.
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 Bitenc 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 “.bitenc” files?Are the “.bitenc” files accessible?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.bitenc” files are decrypted.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Bitenc virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with real viruses. The ransomware that has attacked your computer is most likely still active and it scans your system every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Bitenc virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your system in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Bitenc virus has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
If that happened, you need to have a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your computer. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the encrypted files can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your critical 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 Web, you can try downloading them 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, cellphone, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities6 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove BITENC Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: BITENC Virus
Description: BITENC Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .bitenc 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 are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
