The Cryptbit virus falls under the ransomware type of infection. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, creating the CryptBIT-restore-files.txt files in every folder containing encrypted files.
What is Cryptbit virus?
☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Cryptbit is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Cryptbit will append its extra .cryptbit extension to the title of each encoded file. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.cryptbit”. Just like the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.cryptbit”, and so forth.
In every directory with the encrypted files, a CryptBIT-restore-files.txt text document will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.
Cryptbit abstract:
| Name | Cryptbit Virus |
| Extension | .cryptbit |
| Ransomware note | CryptBIT-restore-files.txt |
| Detection | Ransom:Win32/Cryptolocker.PAL!MTB, UDS:Trojan-Banker.Win32.Bandra, Trojan:MSIL/AgentTesla.EPQ!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .cryptbit extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Cryptbit virus |
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Cryptbit looks like. Each filename has the “.cryptbit” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .cryptbit files.
How did my machine catch Cryptbit ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for hackers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you open your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a viral file attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus model1. A Trojan is a program that gets into your computer pretending to be something else. For instance, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. As the update wizard can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use 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 Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable 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 Cryptbit virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Cryptbit virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes criminals would decode few of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption tool. As Cryptbit virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding instruments are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Understandably, if the criminals succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about racketeers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Obviously, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system restoration.
Cryptbit 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 Sijr, Hhjk, Jhdd, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Cryptbit are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: files become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encoded files.
Some lucky victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avoid ransomware infiltration?
Cryptbit ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from its infiltration within several easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A fake email will surely contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect shield for your personal computer.
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 Cryptbit 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 “.cryptbit” files?Are the “.cryptbit” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.cryptbit” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.cryptbit” files ASAP. How can I do that?
If the “.cryptbit” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Cryptbit virus?
No way! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your system off the actual threats. The ransomware that has infected your PC is probably still active and it scans your system periodically to encrypt any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the Cryptbit virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Cryptbit ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system start. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal
- If you sent or received 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. Just ask them to give those images back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can use file recovery utilities4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests 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 be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate the ransomware itself with an anti-malware 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 CRYPTBIT Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: CRYPTBIT Virus
Description: CRYPTBIT Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .cryptbit 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.
- 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.
