FILE Ransomware Virus (.FILE Extension) — Removal Guide

The File virus falls within the Phobos ransomware family. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file.

File virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A strictly correct description for the File would be “a Phobos family ransomware-type malicious agent”.

The scheme of renaming is this: .FILE. After the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id[1E857D00-3145].[[email protected]].FILE”.

The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the File developers. You can obtain this decoding tool after contacting [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] (Jabber), [email protected] (Jabber) via email. That is it.

File overview:

The note accompanying the File ransomware provides the following dispiriting information:

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 to this e-mail:[email protected]
If there is no response from our mail, you can install the Jabber client and write to us in support of [email protected] or [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 guarantee
Before paying you can send us up to 5 files for free decryption. The total size of files must be less than 4Mb (non archived), and files should not contain valuable information. (databases,backups, large excel sheets, etc.)

 

How to obtain Bitcoins
The easiest way to buy bitcoins is 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 beginners guide here:
hxxp://www.coindesk.com/information/how-can-i-buy-bitcoins/


Jabber client installation instructions:


Download the jabber (Pidgin) client from hxxps://pidgin.im/download/windows/
After installation, the Pidgin client will prompt you to create a new account.
Click "Add"
In the "Protocol" field, select XMPP
In "Username" - come up with any name
In the field "domain" - enter any jabber-server, there are a lot of them, for example - exploit.im
Create a password
At the bottom, put a tick "Create account"
Click add
If you selected "domain" - exploit.im, then a new window should appear in which you will need to re-enter your data:
User
password
You will need to follow the link to the captcha (there you will see the characters that you need to enter in the field below)
If you don't understand our Pidgin client installation instructions, you can find many installation tutorials on youtube - hxxps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pidgin+jabber+install


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

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

How did my computer get infected with File ransomware?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most exploited methods for hackers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.

If you access your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a ransomware item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers 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 reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove the File virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the File virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often tamperers would unblock some of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. As File virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware instruments are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Of course, if the criminals do the job of encoding victim’s essential files, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of racketeers simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The optimal solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

File 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 Vvew, Vvwq, Oori, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the File are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: files become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in each folder containing encoded files.

Some lucky victims were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decryption code to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary 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’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware infection?

File ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from ransomware attack in several easy steps:

• Never open any letters 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 more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the dubious email with caution. A hoax email will surely contain mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best way is not to use such software.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

Download Removal Tool.

Run the setup file.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

Click on “Clean Now”.

FAQ

🤔 Are the “.FILE” files accessible?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.FILE” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

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

Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 What actions should I take if the File ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Many of the encoded files might still be within your reach

• If you sent or received your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might 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 got any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, phone, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can employ data recovery programs⁵ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate 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.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
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