GNIK Virus 🔐 (.GNIK Files) — How to Remove?

The Gnik virus falls under the Dharma ransomware family. Malware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, creating the info.txt text files in every folder with the encrypted files.

What is known about the Gnikvirus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Gnik would be “a Dharma family ransomware-type malicious agent”.

The renaming will be executed according to the following pattern: id-xxxxxx.[contact_email].gnik. In the course of encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id-9ECFA84E.[[email protected]].gnik”.

In each directory with the encrypted files, a info.txt file will be created. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can obtain this decoding tool after contacting [email protected] by email. That is pretty much the scheme of the crime.

Gnik summary:

The info.txt document coming in package with the Gnik ransomware states the following:

all your data has been locked us
You want to return?
write email [email protected] or [email protected]

In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Gnik looks like. Each filename has the “.gnik” extension appended to it.

How did Gnik ransomware end up on my PC?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

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

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

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the danger 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 a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.

How do I get rid of the Gnik virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your files, the Gnik virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware³ can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often criminals would decode some of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. Since Gnik virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decryption instruments are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the hackers do the job of encoding someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about racketeers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The best safety measure against 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 drive. Of course, that might be not enough. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Gnik, that work similarly. For instance, Mmvb, Mmdt, Oopu, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Gnik are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: files become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware infection?

Gnik ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can protect yourself from its injection in several easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email carefully. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
• Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to tell from reliable ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.

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

🤔 Is it possible to open “.gnik” files?

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

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

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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 What should I do if the Gnik malware 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 at your disposal

• If you exchanged 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 give those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, cellphone, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery programs⁶ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate the ransomware itself 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.

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