The Iroubalsct virus belongs under the Snatch ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, creating the HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES.TXT text files in each folder containing encrypted files.
What is known about the Iroubalsctvirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Iroubalsct would be “a Snatch family ransomware malicious agent”.
Iroubalsct will append its specific ..iroubalsct extension to every file’s title. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg..iroubalsct”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx..iroubalsct”, and so forth.
In each directory with the encoded files, a HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES.TXT text file will be found. It is a ransom money note. 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 buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.
Iroubalsct outline:
| Name | Iroubalsct Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Snatch ransomware |
| Extension | ..iroubalsct |
| Ransomware note | HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES.TXT |
| Detection | MSIL/Spy.Agent.DSV, TrojanSpy:Win32/Delgent, Trojan.Ransom.Magniber |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a ..iroubalsct extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Iroubalsct virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Iroubalsct looks like. Each filename has the “..iroubalsct” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “..iroubalsct” files look.
How did my computer get infected with Iroubalsct ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited methods for criminals to have the Iroubalsct virus acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.
If you access your mailbox 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 unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a harmful item attached to them. So it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan virus scheme2. A Trojan is an object that gets into your machine pretending to be something legal. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. As the installation file can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the danger 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 reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Iroubalsct virus?
It is important to note that besides encrypting your files, the Iroubalsct virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often criminals would decrypt several of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. Since Iroubalsct virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are constantly updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Sure thing, if the criminals succeed in encoding someone’s essential data, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.
Iroubalsct 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 Wdlo, Tuid, Udla, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Iroubalsct are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware attack?
Iroubalsct ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect yourself from its infiltration within several easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious letter carefully. A hoax letter will surely have a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way 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 software will be a powerful armor for your system.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft3
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft4.
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 Iroubalsct 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 How can I open “..iroubalsct” files?Can I somehow access “..iroubalsct” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “..iroubalsct” files are decrypted.
🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?
Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. 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. All other solutions require time.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Iroubalsct virus?
Absolutely not! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual threats. The ransomware that has attacked your computer is probably still active and launching checks every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Iroubalsct malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide hackers with easy access to your system in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Iroubalsct malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such a case, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or brought into your PC. To suppress this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the blocked files can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your critical files via 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 pictures back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, phone, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery programs5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the virus 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove IROUBALSCT Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: IROUBALSCT Virus
Description: IROUBALSCT Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific ..iroubalsct 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.
- 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.
