CALUM Ransomware 🔐 (.CALUM File) — Removal Guide

The Calum virus falls within the Phobos ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the info.txt text files in every folder with the encrypted files.

Calum virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A strictly correct designation for the Calum would be “a Phobos family ransomware malicious agent”.

The renaming will be done according to the following scheme: id[xxxxxxx].[contact_email].Calum. After the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be altered to “report.docx.id[1E857D00-2473].[[email protected]].Calum”.

In every folder with the encrypted files, a info.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money note. 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 ransomware developers. You can get this tool after contacting [email protected] through email. That is it.

Calum abstract:

The info.txt file coming in package with the Calum ransomware states the following:

!!!All of your files are encrypted!!!
To decrypt them send e-mail to this address: [email protected].
If we don\'t answer in 24h., send e-mail to this address: [email protected] 

In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Calum looks like. Each filename has the “.Calum” extension added to it.

How did my computer get infected with Calum ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most exploited methods for hackers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction 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, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful file attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.

As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the danger 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 resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove the Calum virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your files, the Calum virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware³ can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes criminals would decode few of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. Since Calum virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently updated, so the solution may soon be available.

Sure thing, if the criminals succeed in encrypting victim’s essential data, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. However, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about malefactors simply disappearing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

The best 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 storage. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.

Calum 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, Mmvb, Eewt, Oflg, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Calum are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested 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 readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware injection?

Calum ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can protect your computer from its injection within three easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown senders 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 participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious letter carefully. A fake letter will always contain mistakes.
• Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often distributed as an element of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft⁴

Download Removal Tool.

Run the setup file.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

Click on “Clean Now”.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Can I somehow access “.Calum” files?

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

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

🤔 What to do if the Calum ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal

• If you exchanged your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to give those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing 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 PC, a notebook, phone, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery utilities⁶ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you can do it only after you kill 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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