The Kabil virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, leaving the read_it.txt text files in each directory with the encrypted files.
Kabil virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically correct designation for the Kabil would be “a ransomware infection”.
Kabil will append its own .kabil extension to every file’s title. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.kabil”. Likewise, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.kabil”, and so on.
In each directory with the encoded files, a read_it.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is basically the scheme of the felony.
Kabil overview:
| Name | Kabil Virus |
| Extension | .kabil |
| Ransomware note | read_it.txt |
| Detection | MSIL/Spy.Agent.DSV, TrojanSpy:Win32/Delgent, Trojan.Ransom.Magniber |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .kabil extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Kabil virus |
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Kabil looks like. Each filename has the “.kabil” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.kabil” files look.
How did Kabil ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for evil-doers to have the Kabil virus acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful item 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 scheme1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something different. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some service. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encodes your data. Since the installation package can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The best way is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Kabil virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Kabil virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware2 can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Often tamperers would decrypt several of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption tool. Since Kabil virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the criminals do the job of encoding victim’s essential files, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about ransomware developers simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Kabil, that work similarly. For instance, Qbaa, Ooii, Fgui, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Kabil are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encoded files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a bandits’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How to avert ransomware infection?
Kabil ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your system from ransomware infiltration within three easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown mailers with unknown 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?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email carefully. A fake letter will surely have a mistake.
- Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect defense for your personal computer.
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 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 Kabil 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 “.kabil” files?Is it possible to open“.kabil” files?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.kabil” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.kabil” files ASAP. How can I do that?
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. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Kabil virus?
Absolutely not! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The virus that has infected your PC is probably still active and launching checks from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the Kabil malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Kabil virus has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.
In such an unfortunate situation, 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 runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to post those images back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, 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 computer, a laptop, mobile, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery programs5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video 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 KABIL Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: KABIL Virus
Description: KABIL Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .kabil 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.
- 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’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
