The Bkgwmu virus falls under the Snatch ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, leaving the HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES.TXT text files in each directory with the encrypted files.
What is Bkgwmu?
☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Bkgwmu is “a Snatch family ransomware-type infection”.
Bkgwmu adds its extra .bkgwmu extension to every file’s name. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.bkgwmu”. Just like the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.bkgwmu”, and so forth.
In every folder with the encrypted files, a HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES.TXT file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the Bkgwmu developers. That is how they do it.
Bkgwmu overview:
| Name | Bkgwmu Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Snatch ransomware |
| Extension | .bkgwmu |
| Ransomware note | HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES.TXT |
| Detection | Ransom:Win32/EnignaCrypt.PAA!MTB, Trojan:Win32/Ymacco.AB3E, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PC!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .bkgwmu extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Bkgwmu virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Bkgwmu looks like. Each filename has the “.bkgwmu” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.bkgwmu” files look.
How did my computer get infected with Bkgwmu ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited ways for hackers to have the Bkgwmu virus acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malware file attached to them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme2. A Trojan is an object that gets into your PC disguised as something legal. For instance, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that corrupts your data. As the installation package can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The optimal way is to trust the software developers’ 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 guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How do I get rid of the Bkgwmu virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Bkgwmu virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often racketeers would decode several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. As Bkgwmu virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.
Of course, if the hackers succeed in encrypting victim’s essential files, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. However, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of racketeers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Obviously, that might be not enough. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Bkgwmu, that work similarly. For instance, Qqqw, Maak, Bbbw, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Bkgwmu are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encoded files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware injection?
Bkgwmu ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect your system from ransomware injection in three easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A hoax letter will always have mistakes.
- Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect defense for your PC.
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 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 PC for Bkgwmu 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 “.bkgwmu” files?Can I somehow access “.bkgwmu” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.bkgwmu” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.bkgwmu” 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.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Bkgwmu virus?
Of course not. Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete the infections from your computer. The malware that has infected your device is must be still functional and it scans your system periodically to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has already been said, the Bkgwmu malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What should I do if the Bkgwmu malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to prepare a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or imported into your machine. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Many of the blocked files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, phone, flash memory, etc.
HINT: You can employ file recovery programs5 to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you eradicate 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 BKGWMU Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: BKGWMU Virus
Description: BKGWMU Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .bkgwmu 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 Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
