The Hello xd virus belongs under the ransomware type of malicious agent. Harmful software of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, creating the Hello.txt text files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is Hello xd?
☝️ A scientifically correct description for the Hello xd is “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Hello xd will add its specific .hello extension to every file’s title. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.hello”. Just like the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.hello”, and so on.
In each folder containing the encrypted files, a Hello.txt notebook file will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.
Hello xd summary:
| Name | Hello xd Virus |
| Extension | .hello |
| Ransomware note | Hello.txt |
| Detection | Trojan.Upatre.NT, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PK!MTB, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PJ!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .hello extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Hello xd virus |
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Hello xd looks like. Each filename has the “.hello” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .hello files.
How did my machine catch Hello xd ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for criminals to have the Hello xd virus working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, 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 enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme1. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something different. For instance, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encrypts your data. As the update file can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to use the software companies’ 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 websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Hello xd virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Hello xd virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes tamperers would unblock some of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption tool. As Hello xd virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware developers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Of course, if the tamperers succeed in encoding victim’s essential data, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of criminals just disappearing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
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 storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.
Hello xd 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 Unlock, Rsfdd, Doyuk, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Hello xd are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in every folder containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption code to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How to avert ransomware attack?
Hello xd ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can defend your PC from its attack in three easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
- Never use cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are very hard to tell from reliable ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect defense for your system.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft2
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft3.
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 system.
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 computer for Hello xd 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
🤔 How can I open “.hello” files?Is it possible to open“.hello” files?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.hello” files you will not be able to access 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. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Hello xd malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
No way! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual threats. The virus that has attacked your computer is must be still functional and running scans every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the Hello xd ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Hello xd ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or imported into your machine. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Some of the blocked files can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities4 to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you can do it only after you remove the ransomware itself 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove HELLO XD Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: HELLO XD Virus
Description: HELLO XD Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .hello extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated 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 Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
