CHERNOBYL Ransomware (.chernobyl Files) — How to remove virus?

The Chernobyl virus belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the Restore Your Files.txt text files in every folder with the encrypted files.

What is known about the Chernobylvirus?

☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Chernobyl is “a ransomware infection”.

Chernobyl appends its own .chernobyl extension to the name of every encrypted file. For instance, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.chernobyl”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.chernobyl”, and so forth.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a Restore Your Files.txt text document will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is pretty much the scheme of the crime.

Chernobyl summary:

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Chernobyl looks like. Each filename has the “.chernobyl” extension appended to it.

How did my machine catch Chernobyl ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for tamperers to have the Chernobyl virus working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer networks.

If you open your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a ransomware file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.

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 guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove the Chernobyl virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Chernobyl virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Often tamperers would decode several of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption tool. Since Chernobyl virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decryption tools are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the criminals do the job of encoding someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about malefactors just disappearing after getting the money 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. Obviously, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.

Chernobyl is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. Examples of those are Ooii, Fgui, Rtgf, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Chernobyl are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become encrypted, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in every directory containing encrypted files.

Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decryption code 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. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware infection?

Chernobyl ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from ransomware injection in three easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often shared as an element of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft²

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

🤔 How can I open “.chernobyl” files?Is it possible to open“.chernobyl” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.chernobyl” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.chernobyl” 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. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Chernobyl virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to give those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, 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 computer, a laptop, mobile, external storage, etc.

HINT: You can use data recovery utilities⁴ to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, 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.

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