The Escanor virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the HELP_DECRYPT_YOUR_FILES.txt text files in every directory with the encrypted files.
What is known about the Escanorvirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Escanor is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Escanor adds its own .ESCANOR extension to the title of every encoded file. For example, an image named “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.ESCANOR”. Likewise, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.ESCANOR”, and so on.
In every directory that contains the encoded files, a HELP_DECRYPT_YOUR_FILES.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is pretty much the scheme of the felony.
Escanor overview:
| Name | Escanor Virus |
| Extension | .ESCANOR |
| Ransomware note | HELP_DECRYPT_YOUR_FILES.txt |
| Detection | BScope.TrojanDownloader.Deyma, Mal/Kryptik-BX, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.ST!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .ESCANOR extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Escanor virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Escanor looks like. Each filename has the “.ESCANOR” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .ESCANOR files.
How did my machine catch Escanor ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited ways for evil-doers to have ransomware planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you open your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a harmful file attached to them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file scheme1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer disguised as something different. For instance, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some software. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that encrypts your data. Since the update file can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the danger 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Escanor virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Escanor virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes tamperers would unblock several of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. As Escanor virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decryption tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Of course, if the evildoers do the job of encoding someone’s critical data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about hackers just disappearing after getting the money without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Escanor, that work similarly. For instance, Ofww, Towz, Adlg, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Escanor are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware infiltration?
Escanor ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can defend your system from its attack in several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A hoax email will surely have mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best way is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect defense 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 computer.
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 system for Escanor 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 “.ESCANOR” files?Is it possible to open“.ESCANOR” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.ESCANOR” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.ESCANOR” files ASAP. How can I do that?
If the “.ESCANOR” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. All other solutions require time.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Escanor malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with real viruses. The malware that has infiltrated your system is most likely still active and running scans from time to time to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the Escanor virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What to do if the Escanor ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your system. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the blocked files can be found elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery programs4 to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks 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 won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus 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 ESCANOR Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: ESCANOR Virus
Description: ESCANOR Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .ESCANOR 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 are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
