The Bomber virus belongs to the Amnesia ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES.TXT files in every folder with the encrypted files.
What is known about the Bombervirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Bomber is “a Amnesia family ransomware malicious agent”.
The scheme of renaming is the following: %random_string%.Bomber. As a part of encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “4ft2d91ycb2vio.Bomber”.
In each folder containing the encoded files, a HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES.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 remarks. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.
Bomber abstract:
| Name | Bomber Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Amnesia ransomware |
| Extension | .Bomber |
| Ransomware note | HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES.TXT |
| Detection | Troj/GandCrab-A, Trojan:Win32/Glupteba.NI!MTB, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.SLH!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) are renamed to a random name, have a .Bomber extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Bomber virus |
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Bomber looks like. Each filename has the “.Bomber” extension appended to it.
The example of files encrypted by Bomber ransomware
How did Bomber ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for malefactors to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.
If you open your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file scheme2. A Trojan is a program that gets into your machine disguised as something different. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. However, what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful program that compromises your data. As the installation wizard 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 use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat 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. Our suggestion is that you use 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 do I get rid of the Bomber virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Bomber virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes racketeers would unblock few of your files to prove that they do have the decryption tool. Since Bomber virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. However, the decoding instruments are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the evildoers do the job of encoding someone’s critical data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After receiving the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about ransomware developers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The optimal solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external drive. Of course, 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 anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
Bomber 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, Qqkk, Ccew, Qqmt, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Bomber are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in every folder containing encoded files.
Some lucky users were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption code to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware injection?
Bomber ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can defend yourself from its attack in three easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A fake letter will always contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to tell from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect defense for your system.
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 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 PC for Bomber 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
🤔 Are the “.Bomber” files accessible?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.Bomber” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. 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.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Bomber virus?
Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will remove the infections from your system. The virus that has attacked your device is must be still active and launching checks every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has already been said, the Bomber malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Bomber virus has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such a case, 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 starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the encrypted files can be found elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it 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 PC, a portable device, cellphone, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery utilities5 to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but be advised: you can do it only after you remove the virus with an antivirus program.
Also, you can contact the following official 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 BOMBER Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: BOMBER Virus
Description: BOMBER Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .Bomber 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’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
