The Cloud virus falls within the Hakbit ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt text files in each folder with the encrypted files.
Cloud virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Cloud is “a Hakbit family ransomware infection”.
Cloud adds its own .CLOUD extension to every file’s title. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.CLOUD”. Likewise, the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.CLOUD”, and so on.
In each directory containing the encoded files, a RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the Cloud developers. That is how they do it.
Cloud overview:
| Name | Cloud Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Hakbit ransomware |
| Extension | .CLOUD |
| Ransomware note | RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt |
| Detection | WinGo/Agent.DG, Ransom:MSIL/Thanos.MK!MTB, Trojan.Upatre.NT |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .CLOUD extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Cloud virus |
The RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt document accompanying the Cloud malware provides the following dispiriting information:
------------------ | What happened? | ------------------ Your network was ATTACKED, your computers and servers were LOCKED, Your private data was DOWNLOADED: - Contracts - Customers data - Finance - HR - Databases - And more other... ---------------------- | What does it mean? | ---------------------- It means that soon mass media, your partners and clients WILL KNOW about your PROBLEM. -------------------------- | How it can be avoided? | -------------------------- In order to avoid this issue, you are to COME IN TOUCH WITH US no later than within 3 DAYS and conclude the data recovery and breach fixing AGREEMENT. ------------------------------------------- | What if I do not contact you in 3 days? | ------------------------------------------- If you do not contact us in the next 3 DAYS we will begin DATA publication. We will post information about hacking of your company on our twitter https://twitter.com/RobinHoodLeaks or tublr https://robinhoodleaks.tumblr.com/ ----------------------------- | I can handle it by myself | ----------------------------- It is your RIGHT, but in this case all your data will be published for public USAGE. ------------------------------- | I do not fear your threats! | ------------------------------- That is not the threat, but the algorithm of our actions. If you have hundreds of millions of UNWANTED dollars, there is nothing to FEAR for you. That is the EXACT AMOUNT of money you will spend for recovery and payouts because of PUBLICATION. You are exposing yourself to huge penalties with lawsuits and government if we both don\'t find an agreement. We have seen it before cases with multi million costs in fines and lawsuits, not to mention the company reputation and losing clients trust and the medias calling non-stop for answers. -------------------------- | You have convinced me! | -------------------------- Then you need to CONTACT US, there is few ways to DO that. ---Secure method--- a) Download a qTOX client: https://tox.chat/download.html B) Install the qTOX client and register account c) Add our qTOX ID: 671263E7BC06103C77146A5ABB802A63F53A42B4C4766329A5F04D2660C99A3611635CC36B3A d) Write us extension of your encrypted files .CLOUD Our LIVE SUPPORT is ready to ASSIST YOU on this chat. ---------------------------------------- | What will I get in case of agreement | ---------------------------------------- You WILL GET full DECRYPTION of your machines in the network, DELETION your data from our servers, RECOMMENDATIONS for securing your network perimeter. And the FULL CONFIDENTIALITY ABOUT INCIDENT. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Cloud looks like. Each filename has the “.CLOUD” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.CLOUD” files look.
How did Cloud ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most popular methods for criminals to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a ransomware file attached to them. So it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse model2. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that corrupts your data. As the installation package can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best way is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never know what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Cloud virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Cloud virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware3 can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often racketeers would decode some of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. Since Cloud virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decryption tools are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the hackers do the job of encrypting victim’s critical files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of hackers simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.
Cloud 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, Hello, Rl, Hudf, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Cloud are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware injection?
Cloud ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour your PC from ransomware injection within several easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A fake letter will surely have a mistake.
- Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best 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 powerful armor for your system.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft4
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft5.
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 Cloud 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
🤔 How can I open “.CLOUD” files?Can I somehow access “.CLOUD” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.CLOUD” files are decrypted.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
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.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Cloud virus?
Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your PC off the actual viruses. The virus that has attacked your computer is must be still functional and it scans your system from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has already been said, the Cloud virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Cloud malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or brought into your PC. To stop 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?
Many of the blocked files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. 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 doing it again.
- Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can use file recovery utilities6 to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, removing the authentic 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 eradicate 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 CLOUD Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: CLOUD Virus
Description: CLOUD Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .CLOUD 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.
- 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.
