The Buddyransome virus belongs with the ransomware type of malicious agent. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, creating the HOW_TO_RECOVERY_FILES.txt text files in every folder with the encrypted files.
What is Buddyransome virus?
☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Buddyransome is “a ransomware-type infection”.
Buddyransome adds its own .buddyransome extension to every file’s name. For example, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.buddyransome”. In the same manner, the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.buddyransome”, and so on.
In every directory that contains the encrypted files, a HOW_TO_RECOVERY_FILES.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.
Buddyransome outline:
| Name | Buddyransome Virus |
| Extension | .buddyransome |
| Ransomware note | HOW_TO_RECOVERY_FILES.txt |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .buddyransome extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Buddyransome virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Buddyransome looks like. Each filename has the “.buddyransome” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .buddyransome files.
How did my machine catch Buddyransome ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for criminals to have the Buddyransome virus planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.
If you access your mailbox 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 strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan virus scheme1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something else. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that compromises your data. As the installation file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be 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-to-peer networks like torrents 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 websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Buddyransome virus?
It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Buddyransome virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware2 can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes tamperers would decode some of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Buddyransome virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the criminals succeed in encoding someone’s critical data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about hackers 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. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.
Buddyransome 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, Bpsm, Poqw, Znsm, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Buddyransome are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avoid ransomware attack?
Buddyransome ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour your computer from ransomware infiltration in several easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A fake letter will surely contain a mistake.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful armor 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 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 Buddyransome 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
🤔 How can I open “.buddyransome” files?Are the “.buddyransome” files accessible?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.buddyransome” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.buddyransome” files ASAP. How can I do that?
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. All other solutions require time.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Buddyransome virus?
Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual viruses. The ransomware that has infected your device is most likely still active and it scans your system periodically to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been said above, the Buddyransome ransomware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Buddyransome ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
In such a case, you need to have a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or imported into your PC. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the blocked files can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your critical 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 images 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 too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, cellphone, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery utilities5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks 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 won’t be able to do it before you kill 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove BUDDYRANSOME Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: BUDDYRANSOME Virus
Description: BUDDYRANSOME Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .buddyransome 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.
- 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’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
