The Hoffmx virus belongs with the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, creating the leia_isso text files in each directory containing encrypted files.
What is known about the Hoffmxvirus?
☝️ A strictly correct description for the Hoffmx is “a ransomware malicious agent”.
Hoffmx adds its specific hoffmx to every file’s name. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.hoffmx”. In the same manner, the Excel sheet with the name “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.hoffmx”, and so on.
In each directory with the encrypted files, a leia_isso file will be created. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about 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 ransomware developers. You can get this decryptor after contacting @yourfilesagainbot Telegram via email. That is it.
outline:
| Name | Hoffmx Virus |
| Extension | .hoffmx |
| Ransomware note | leia_isso |
| Ransom | 0,450 ETH (~$200) |
| Contact | @yourfilesagainbot Telegram |
| Detection | NSIS/Injector.RU, Python/Spy.KeyLogger.RT, MSIL/Flooder.Agent.DM |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .hoffmx extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Hoffmx virus |
The leia_isso document coming in package with the Hoffmx ransomware states the following:
olá, desculpe informá-lo, mas você foi pwned e seus arquivos foram criptografados não tente desligar o seu computador ou seus arquivos serão queimados para recuperar o acesso a eles você deve fazer uma pequena contribuição de 0,450 ETH para a carteira bitcoin dentro de 12 horas ou seus arquivos serão corrompidos para sempre. TELEGRAM DE APOIO https://t.me/yourfilesagainhot CARTEIRA PARA PAGAMENTO: OxidbB0d0F3b6Fae76b93baf9d0A4D6837a919F651 Quando o pagamento for feito, envie sua chave para o bot @yourfilesagainbot do telegram para que possa receber sua senha de recuperação, informando aqui que você pode ficar tranquilo que se tudo correr conforme o planejado, seus arquivos logo estarão de volta em seu mãos sem problemas. você pode criar sua carteira e comprar moedas ETH aqui: https://metamask.me/ se você já pagou, entre em contato com o bot no telegram e execute / key + seu id de transação
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Hoffmx looks like. Each filename has the “.hoffmx” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .hoffmx files.
How did my machine catch Hoffmx ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for tamperers to have the Hoffmx virus settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a viral file attached to them. Thus it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something legal. For instance, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. Since the update file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Hoffmx virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Hoffmx virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes racketeers would decode some of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Hoffmx virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decoding tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Of course, if the tamperers do the job of encrypting someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. However, paying to racketeers does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about racketeers simply disappearing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
The optimal solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Hoffmx, that work similarly. Examples of those are Iavpt, J2xnp, Hospitalhelper, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Hoffmx are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each directory containing encoded files.
Some fortunate people were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware attack?
Hoffmx ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your computer from ransomware injection taking three easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). {In case|If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax letter will surely have mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But dubious programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect armor for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft1
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft2.
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 PC.
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 Hoffmx 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 finished, 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
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.hoffmx” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
If the “.hoffmx” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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.
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 viruses. The virus that has attacked your computer is must be still functional and running scans from time to time to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has already been said, the Hoffmx ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your system in the future.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to prepare a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer.
{Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.|Many of the encrypted files might still be within your reach.
- If you exchanged your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. 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 doing it again.
- Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, cellphone, memory stick, etc.
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 HOFFMX Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: HOFFMX Virus
Description: HOFFMX Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .hoffmx extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
