BTC (AZADI) Virus 🔐 (.BTC Files) — How to Remove?

The BTC (Azadi) virus falls within the ransomware type of malicious agent. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the How To Restore Files.txt text files in each directory with 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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Btc (Azadi) virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Btc (Azadi) would be “a ransomware-type infection”.

The renaming will be done by this scheme: .BTC. During the encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.EMAIL=[azadi33@smime.ninja]ID=[4FC6718E700859F4].BTC”.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a How To Restore Files.txt text document will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this decoding tool after contacting azadi33@smime.ninja by email. That is how they do it.

BTC (Azadi) abstract:

The How To Restore Files.txt document coming in package with the BTC (Azadi) ransomware states the following:

ATTENTION!
At the moment, your system is not protected.
We can fix itand restore files.
To get started, send a file to decrypt trial.
You can trust us after opening the test file.
To restore the system write to both : azadi33@smime.ninja and azadi33@keemail.me
Your Decryption ID: -

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the BTC (Azadi) looks like. Each filename has the “.BTC” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .BTC files.

How did my machine catch BTC (Azadi) ransomware?

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

Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for evil-doers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your inbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malware item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file model¹. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something different. For instance, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some service. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful agent that compromises your data. Since the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The optimal way is to trust the software companies’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer networks 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How do I get rid of the BTC (Azadi) virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your files, the BTC (Azadi) virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Sometimes tamperers would decrypt some of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption tool. Since BTC (Azadi) virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the tamperers do the job of encoding victim’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of malefactors 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 storage or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be not enough. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

BTC (Azadi) 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, Bpws, Bpsm, and some others. The two major differences between them and the BTC (Azadi) are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encoded files.

Some lucky users were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware injection?

BTC (Azadi) ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can armour your system from its injection taking several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (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 expecting, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email with caution. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful defense for your system.

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 BTC (Azadi) 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

🤔 Is it possible to open “.BTC” files?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.BTC” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.BTC” 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.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the BTC (Azadi) malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

No way! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete the malware from your system. The virus that has attacked your system is probably still functional and launching checks periodically to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been said above, the BTC (Azadi) ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your system in the future.

🤔 What to do if the BTC (Azadi) virus has blocked my computer 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 do the cleaning. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs 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 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 PC, a notebook, phone, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can employ data recovery utilities⁴ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks 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 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 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.

1. You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
2. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
3. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
4. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.