GILFILLAN Ransomware (.GILFILLAN files) — Removal Guide

The Gilfillan virus falls within the VoidCrypt ransomware family. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the Decryption-Guide.txt files in every folder containing encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is known about the Gilfillanvirus?

☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Gilfillan is “a VoidCrypt family ransomware-type infection”.

The renaming will be executed according to the following scheme: id-*******.[email address].Gilfillan. After the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.id-38CB9FLN10.[[email protected]].Gilfillan”.

In every folder with the encoded files, a Decryption-Guide.txt text document will appear. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can obtain this decryptor after contacting [email protected] via email. That is basically the scheme of the felony.

Gilfillan outline:

In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Gilfillan looks like. Each filename has the “.id-*******.[email address].Gilfillan” extension appended to it.

That is how encrypted “.id-*******.[email address].Gilfillan” files look.

How did my computer get infected with Gilfillan ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for tamperers to have ransomware acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer file transfer.

If you access your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a viral file attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file model². A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer disguised as something else. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encodes your data. Since the installation package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best way is to use the software developers’ official websites.

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 Web. You can never know what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove the Gilfillan virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Gilfillan virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Often tamperers would unblock several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. Since Gilfillan virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Understandably, if the malefactors succeed in encoding someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about hackers simply vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

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. Obviously, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

Gilfillan 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, Wdlo, Kqgs, Udla, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Gilfillan are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: files become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in each directory containing encrypted files.

Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How to avert ransomware attack?

Gilfillan ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can protect yourself from its infiltration within three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious letter with caution. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” preventing the license check. But dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect armor for your PC.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft⁴.

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 Gilfillan 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.

FAQ

🤔 Are the “.id-*******.[email address].Gilfillan” files accessible?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.id-*******.[email address].Gilfillan” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?

Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. 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 Gilfillan malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your system off the actual viruses. The ransomware that has infected your system is must be still active and launching checks every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been said above, the Gilfillan malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.

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

In such a case, you need to have a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or imported into your machine. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the blocked files might still be within your reach

• If you exchanged your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to post 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 disks might have all those files too.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, phone, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery programs⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the virus with an anti-malware 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.

How to Remove GILFILLAN Ransomware & Recover PC

Name: GILFILLAN Virus

Description: GILFILLAN Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .id-*******.[email address].Gilfillan extension. So, you can't use them at all.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Virus

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