The Hip1 virus belongs under the VoidCrypt ransomware family. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the Read_Me!_.txt files in each folder containing encrypted files.
What is known about the Hip1virus?
☝️ A scientifically correct designation for the Hip1 would be “a VoidCrypt family ransomware-type malicious agent”.
The renaming will be executed by the following pattern: [ID=XXXX-Mail=%contact_email%].HIP1. After the encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.[[email protected]].HIP1”.
In each folder containing the encoded files, a Read_Me!_.txt file will be found. 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. You can get this decrypting software after contacting [email protected] via email. That is pretty much the scheme of the crime.
Hip1 overview:
| Name | Hip1 Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | VoidCrypt ransomware |
| Extension | .HIP1 |
| Ransomware note | Read_Me!_.txt |
| Contact | [email protected] |
| Detection | Troj/GandCrab-A, Trojan:Win32/Glupteba.NI!MTB, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.SLH!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .HIP1 extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Hip1 virus |
The Read_Me!_.txt document accompanying the Hip1 ransomware provides the following discouraging information:
All Your Files Encrypted And Sensitive Data Downloaded (Financial Documents,Contracts,Invoices etc.. ). To Get Decryption Tools You Should Buy Our Decrption Tools And Then We Will Send You Decryption Tools And Delete Your Sensitive Data From Our Servers. If Payment Is Not Made We have to Publish Your Sensitive Data If Necessary Sell Them And Send Them To Your Competitors And After A While Our Servers Will Remove Your Decrypion Keys From Servers. Your Files Encrypted With Strongest Encryption Algorithm So Without Our Decryption Tools Nobody Can\'t Help You So Do Not Waste Your Time In Vain! Your ID: - Email Address: [email protected] In Case Of Problem With First Email Write Us E-mail At : [email protected] Send Your ID In Email And Check Spam Folder. This Is Just Business To Get Benefits, If Do Not Contact Us After 48 Hours Decryption Price Will x2. What Guarantee Do We Give You ? You Should Send Some Encrypted Files To Us For Decryption Test. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Attention! Do Not Edit Or Rename Encrypted Files. Do Not Try To Decrypt Files By Third-Party Or Data Recovery Softwares It May Damage Files. In Case Of Trying To Decrypt Files With Third-Party Sofwares,This May Make The Decryption Harder So Prices Will Be Rise. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Buy Bitcoin : Buy Bitcoin Instructions At LocalBitcoins : hxxps://localbitcoins.com/guides/how-to-buy-bitcoins Buy Bitcoin Instructions At Coindesk And Get More Info By Searching At Google : hxxps://www.coindesk.com/learn/how-can-i-buy-bitcoin/
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Hip1 looks like. Each filename has the “.HIP1” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .HIP1 files.
How did my computer get infected with Hip1 ransomware?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for hackers to have the Hip1 virus working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer networks.
If you open 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 “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful file enclosed in them. Thus it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
As for the 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 guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using 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 complete.
How do I get rid of the Hip1 virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Hip1 virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often tamperers would decrypt several of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption tool. As Hip1 virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Understandably, if the malefactors succeed in encrypting victim’s essential files, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of hackers just vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
The best solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external disk. Obviously, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.
Hip1 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, Qqkk, Ccew, Qqmt, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Hip1 are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: files become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in every folder containing encoded files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How do I avert ransomware injection?
Hip1 ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can armour your PC from ransomware injection in several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails 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 lottery without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A fake email will always have a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, 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 optimal way is not to use such programs at all.
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”.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Is it possible to open “.HIP1” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.HIP1” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?
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. All other solutions require time.
🤔 What should I do if the Hip1 ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encoded files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file 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 recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill 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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