DXEN Virus [[email protected]].DXEN File Ransomware

The Dxen virus falls within the Phobos ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extension to every file, leaving the info.hta text files in every directory which contains the encrypted files.

What is Dxen virus?

☝️ Dxen is a Phobos family ransomware-type infection.

The renaming will be done by this pattern: .dxen. After the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.id[9ECFA84E-3536].[[email protected]].dxen”.

In each folder containing the encrypted files, a info.hta file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the Dxen developers. You can obtain this tool after contacting [email protected], [email protected] by email. That is it.

Dxen Overview:

The info.hta file coming in package with the Dxen ransomware states the following:

All your files have been encrypted!

All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC. If you want to restore them, write us to the e-mail [email protected]
Write this ID in the title of your message -
In case of no answer in 24 hours write us this e-mail:[email protected]
You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins. The price depends on how fast you write to us. After payment, we will send you the tool that will decrypt all your files.

Free decryption as a guarantee
Before paying you can send us up to 5 files for free decryption. The total size of files must be less than 4 MB (nonarchived), and files should not contain valuable information. (databases, backups, large Excel sheets, etc.)


How to obtain Bitcoins
The easiest way to buy bitcoins is the LocalBitcoins site. You have to register, click \'Buy bitcoins\', and select the seller by payment method and price.
hxxps://localbitcoins.com/buy_bitcoins
Also, you can find other places to buy Bitcoins and beginner guides here:
hxxp://www.coindesk.com/information/how-can-i-buy-bitcoins/

Attention!
Do not rename encrypted files.
Do not try to decrypt your data using third-party software, it may cause permanent data loss.
The decryption of your files with the help of third parties may cause an increased price (they add their fee to ours) or you can become a victim of a scam.

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

How did Dxen ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for malefactors to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction, and peer file transfer.

• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse model. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something else. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unboxed reveals itself as a harmful program that corrupts your data. As the installation file can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software developers’ official websites.
• As for the 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. We suggest that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How do I get rid of ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Dxen virus will probably deploy Vidar Stealer on your computer to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling card file.

How do I avert ransomware infiltration?

Dxen ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can protect your system from ransomware injection in several easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the dubious letter. A fake email will surely have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of a “patch” to prevent the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best way is not to use such software.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Can I somehow access “.dxen” files?

There’s no way to do it unless the files “.dxen” files are decrypted.

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

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. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 What should I do if the Dxen ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code?

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal

• If you exchanged your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared images 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 Web, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, phone, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities² to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you eradicate the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2024.