FX Files Ransomware – Remove FX Virus

The Fx virus falls under the Dharma/CrySis ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, creating the FILES ENCRYPTED.txt files in each directory with the encrypted files.

What is Fx virus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Fx is “a Dharma/CrySis family ransomware-type infection”.

The pattern of renaming is the following: %filename%.%id%.%contact email%.fx. During the encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be altered to “report.docx.id-32CB317G1.[[email protected]].fx”.

In each directory that contains the encoded files, a FILES ENCRYPTED.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can obtain this decoding tool after contacting [email protected] through email. That is pretty much the scheme of the crime.

Fx abstract:

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

How did my machine catch Fx ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for malefactors to have ransomware planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious item attached to them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess 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 items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.

How do I get rid of the Fx virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Fx virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware³ can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes tamperers would unblock several of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. Since Fx virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decoding tools are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Sure thing, if the hackers succeed in encrypting someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about racketeers simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The optimal 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 disk. Obviously, that might be insufficient. Your 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 wise to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.

Fx 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 Gtys, Wdlo, Tuid, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Fx are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in every directory containing encoded files.

Some fortunate victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware attack?

Fx ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can armour your PC from ransomware infiltration within several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters 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 lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the dubious letter carefully. A hoax letter will always contain a mistake.
• Never use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft⁴

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”.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Are the “..fx” files accessible?

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

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “..fx” files ASAP. How can I do that?

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. 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.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Fx malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Many of the blocked files might still be at your disposal

• If you exchanged your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, cellphone, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities⁶ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the virus with an antivirus 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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