The Bom virus falls within the ransomware type of malicious agent. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the 矜細ä files in every directory with the encrypted files.
What is Bom?
☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Bom would be “a ransomware-type infection”.
The renaming will be done by the following scheme: [email].[idxxxxxx].bom. In the process of encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.[[email protected]][MJ-KB3756421908].bom”.
In every directory with the encoded files, a 矜細ä file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can obtain this tool after contacting [email protected] by email. That is pretty much the scheme of the felony.
Bom abstract:
| Name | Bom Virus |
| Extension | .[email].[idxxxxxx].bom |
| Ransomware note | 矜細ä |
| Contact | [email protected] |
| Detection | Trojan.Upatre.NT, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PK!MTB, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PJ!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .[email].[idxxxxxx].bom extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Bom virus |
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Bom looks like. Each filename has the “.[email].[idxxxxxx].bom” extension added to it.
![Bom Virus - encrypted .[email].[idxxxxxx].bom files](https://howtofix.guide/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Bom-files-virus.jpg)
An example of encrypted .[email].[idxxxxxx].bom files.
How did my computer get infected with Bom ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for tamperers to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you access your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a ransomware item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse model1. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something different. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that encodes your data. As the installation package 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 trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the 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 resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.
How to remove the Bom virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Bom virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes racketeers would decrypt few of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. Since Bom virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.
Of course, if the evildoers succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. However, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Obviously, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.
There are other ransomware products, besides Bom, that work similarly. Examples of those are White, Unlock, Rsfdd, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Bom are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in each directory containing encoded files.
Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How do I avert ransomware attack?
Bom ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can armour your system from its injection within three easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake email will surely have a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way 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 powerful defense for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft2
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft3.
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 PC.
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 Bom 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Is it possible to open “.[email].[idxxxxxx].bom” files?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.[email].[idxxxxxx].bom” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.[email].[idxxxxxx].bom” files ASAP. How can I do that?
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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Bom virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
No way! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual viruses. The ransomware that has infiltrated your system is most likely still active and it scans your system from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been said above, the Bom malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your computer after some time.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Bom virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
If that happened, you need to prepare a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your system. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. 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 downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, phone, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery programs4 to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: 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 BOM Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: BOM Virus
Description: BOM Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .[email].[idxxxxxx].bom extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- 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’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
