Safety specialist dnwls0719 was the person who originally described the Khonsari virus, which falls within the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file.
What is known about the Khonsarivirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Khonsari is “a ransomware malicious agent”.
Khonsari is the first ransomware to use an exploit for Log4Shell. The ransomware is written in .NET and runs exclusively on Windows systems.
Khonsari adds its specific khonsari to every file’s title. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.khonsari”. Just like the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.khonsari”, and so on.
The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this tool after contacting karenkhonsari@gmail.com by email. That is pretty much the scheme of the malefaction.
Khonsari abstract:
| Name | Khonsari Virus |
| Extension | .khonsari |
| Contact | karenkhonsari@gmail.com |
| Detection | Trojan:Win32/Ymacco.AB8D, Win32/GenKryptik.CURX, MSIL/Injector.CAX |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .khonsari extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Khonsari virus |
The note accompanying the Khonsari malware provides the following discouraging information:
Your files have been encrypted and stolen by the Khonsari family. If you wish to decrypt , call (225) 287-1309 or email karenkhonsari@gmail.com. If you do not know how to buy btc, use a search engine to find exchanges. DO NOT MODIFY OR DELETE THIS FILE OR ANY ENCRYPTED FILES. IF YOU DO, YOUR FILES MAY BE UNRECOVERABLE.
In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Khonsari looks like. Each filename has the “.khonsari” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .khonsari files.
How did my machine catch Khonsari ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for hackers to have the Khonsari virus working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.
If you open your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus model1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something different. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that corrupts your data. As the installation wizard 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 trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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 a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.
How do I get rid of the Khonsari virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Khonsari virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often tamperers would decode few of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption tool. As Khonsari virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decryption tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.
Sure thing, if the hackers do the job of encoding someone’s essential data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about malefactors simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The best safety measure against 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. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Khonsari, that work similarly. Examples of those are Phv1, Mljx, Delta_team/, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Khonsari are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in every directory containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding code 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. Remember, ransomware is a bandits’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How do I avoid ransomware infiltration?
Khonsari ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect your system from its infiltration in several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email carefully. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
- Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful defense for your PC.
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 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 computer for Khonsari 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 How can I open “.khonsari” files?Is it possible to open“.khonsari” files?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.khonsari” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.khonsari” files ASAP. How can I do that?
Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Khonsari virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
No way! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual threats. The virus that has infiltrated your device is most likely still active and it scans your system every so often to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Khonsari 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 computer in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Khonsari 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 drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the blocked data can be located elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. 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 downloading them 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 notebook, mobile, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can use file recovery programs4 to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the authentic 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 ransomware itself with an antivirus 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 KHONSARI Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: KHONSARI Virus
Description: KHONSARI Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .khonsari 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’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
