The Darky lock virus belongs to the Babuk ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the Restore-My-Files.txt files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is known about the Darky lockvirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Darky lock is “a Babuk family ransomware-type infection”.
Darky lock adds its own .darky extension to the name of each encrypted file. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.darky”. Just like the Excel sheet with the name “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.darky”, and so forth.
In every directory with the encrypted files, a Restore-My-Files.txt file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is it.
Darky lock summary:
| Name | Darky lock Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Babuk ransomware |
| Extension | .darky |
| Ransomware note | Restore-My-Files.txt |
| Detection | Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PBZ!MTB, Ransom.BitRansomware, Trojan:Win32/RacoonStealer.RPC!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .darky extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Darky lock virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Darky lock looks like. Each filename has the “.darky” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.darky” files look.
How did Darky lock ransomware end up on my PC?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for tamperers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection 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, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a viral item enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus scheme2. A Trojan is an object that gets into your PC disguised as something else. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that encrypts your data. As the update wizard can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer networks like torrents 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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How do I get rid of the Darky lock virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Darky lock virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware3 can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often racketeers would decode several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. As Darky lock virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the malefactors succeed in encrypting someone’s essential data, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of malefactors just disappearing after getting the money without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure 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. Surely, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.
Darky lock 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, Bbyy, Bbzz, Hkgt, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Darky lock are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encrypted files.
Some lucky victims were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption code to the victims 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 bandits’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware injection?
Darky lock ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your system from ransomware injection in several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown 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 likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax email will surely contain mistakes.
- Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program 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 Darky lock 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 “.darky” files?Is it possible to open“.darky” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.darky” files are decrypted.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
If the “.darky” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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 Darky lock virus?
Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete the viruses from your PC. The malware that has infiltrated your system is most likely still active and launching checks every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has already been said, the Darky lock virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What should I do if the Darky lock virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
In such a case, you need to have a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your system. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs 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 important files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to post those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them 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 computer, a notebook, cellphone, flash memory, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery utilities6 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.
Also, you can contact the following governmental 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 DARKY LOCK Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: DARKY LOCK Virus
Description: DARKY LOCK Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .darky 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 Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
