The Hbm virus belongs to the Dharma ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (images, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the info.txt files in every folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is known about the Hbmvirus?
☝️ A strictly accurate denomination for the Hbm would be “a Dharma family ransomware infection”.
The pattern of renaming is the following: id-xxxxx.[contact_email].HBM. After the encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id-1E857D00.[hebem@cock.li].HBM”.
In each folder that contains the encoded files, a info.txt text file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this decrypting software after contacting hebem@cock.li via email. That is it.
Hbm abstract:
| Name | Hbm Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Dharma ransomware |
| Extension | .HBM |
| Ransomware note | info.txt |
| Contact | hebem@cock.li |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .HBM extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Hbm virus |
The info.txt file accompanying the Hbm malware provides the following frustrating information:
all your data has been locked us You want to return? write email hebem@cock.li or hebem@tuta.io
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Hbm looks like. Each filename has the “.HBM” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .HBM files.
How did my computer get infected with Hbm ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for hackers to have the Hbm virus working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.
If you access your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file model2. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something legal. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that encrypts your data. Since the installation file can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never know 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 do I get rid of the Hbm virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Hbm virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware3 can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often tamperers would decode some of your files so you know that they do have the decryption program. Since Hbm virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the criminals do the job of encoding victim’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of racketeers simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.
Hbm 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, Zatp, Bowd, Tcvp, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Hbm are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encrypted files.
Some lucky victims were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How do I avoid ransomware injection?
Hbm ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect your computer from its infiltration taking three easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailers 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 even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email carefully. A fake email will surely have mistakes.
- Never use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often distributed as an element of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, 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 solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful armor for your system.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft4
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft5.
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 PC for Hbm 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Are the “.HBM” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.HBM” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.HBM” files ASAP. How can I do that?
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 Hbm malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual threats. The virus that has infiltrated your computer is probably still active and running scans periodically to encrypt any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Hbm malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What to do if the Hbm virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to have a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or brought into your PC. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Many of the encrypted files might still be within your reach
- 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. Just ask them to give those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try to do it again.
- Your messengers, social media 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, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery utilities6 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove HBM Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: HBM Virus
Description: HBM Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .HBM extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- You can read more on spyware variants and nature in the respective section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
