.HARDITEM Files Encrypted (HARDITEM Virus) — How to Remove?

The Harditem virus belongs under the ransomware type of infection. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, creating the RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt files in every directory containing encrypted files.

Harditem virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A strictly accurate denomination for the Harditem would be “a ransomware infection”.

Harditem appends its specific .harditem extension to every file’s name. For example, a file named “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.harditem”. In the same manner, the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.harditem”, and so on.

In each directory containing the encoded files, a RESTORE_FILES_INFO.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. That is how they do it.

Harditem outline:

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

How did my machine catch Harditem ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most exploited methods for malefactors to have ransomware working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.

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

As for the peer networks like BitTorrent 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 resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the Harditem virus?

It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Harditem virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware² can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes criminals would decrypt few of your files so you know that they do have the decryption program. Since Harditem virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the decoding tools are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Understandably, if the hackers do the job of encoding someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After receiving the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of malefactors simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The best safety measure 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 storage. Obviously, that might be not enough. Your most important 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 drives with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.

There are other ransomware products, besides Harditem, that work similarly. For instance, Zfdv, Bbyy, Bbzz, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Harditem are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become encrypted, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.

Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware infiltration?

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

You can defend your system from ransomware injection 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 expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email carefully. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as an element of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal 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

🤔 How can I open “.harditem” files?Are the “.harditem” files accessible?

There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.harditem” files are decrypted.

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

If the “.harditem” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. In case you haven’t, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 What should I do if the Harditem ransomware 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 by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, mobile, memory stick, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery utilities⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, removing the authentic 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 kill 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.

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