KING Ransomware (king_ransom1@mailfence.com)

The King virus belongs under the ransomware type of infection. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, leaving the #Read-for-recovery.txt files in every folder containing encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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King virus: what is known so far?

The renaming will be done by the following pattern: .king. After the encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.[king_ransom1@mailfence.com].king”.

In every directory that contains the encrypted files, a #Read-for-recovery.txt text document will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this decrypting software after contacting king_ransom1@mailfence.com, password1@tutamail.com via email. That is pretty much the scheme of the crime.

King Summary:

The #Read-for-recovery.txt document accompanying the King ransomware provides the following dispiriting information:

Email 1:
king_ransom1@mailfence.com

Email 2:
password1@tutamail.com

Send messages to both emails at the same time

So send messages to our emails, check your spam folder every few hours

ID: -

If you do not receive a response from us after 24 hours, create a valid email, for example, gmail,outlook
Then send us a message with a new email

In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the King looks like. Each filename has the “.king” extension appended to it.

An example of encrypted .king files.

How did King ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for hackers to have ransomware working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.

• If you open your mailbox 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, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malware item attached to them. So it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
• Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus model. A Trojan is a program that gets into your computer disguised as something else. For instance, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. However, what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful agent that corrupts your data. As the update package can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software companies’ 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 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 directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove ransomware?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the King virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your computer to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Remove King with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common Ransomware as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove King as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Trojan Killer for “King” removal on locked PC

In situations where it becomes impossible to download antivirus applications directly onto the infected computer due to malware blocking access to websites, an alternative solution is to utilize the Trojan Killer application.

There is a really little number of security tools that are able to be set up on the USB drives, and antiviruses that can do so in most cases require to obtain quite an expensive license. For this instance, I can recommend you to use another solution of GridinSoft - Trojan Killer Portable. It has a 14-days cost-free trial mode that offers the entire features of the paid version. This term will definitely be 100% enough to wipe malware out.

Trojan Killer is a valuable tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, helping you to effectively remove malware from infected computers. Now, we will walk you through the process of using Trojan Killer from a USB flash drive to scan and remove malware on an infected PC. Remember, always obtain permission to scan and remove malware from a computer that you do not own.

Step 1: Download & Install Trojan Killer on a Clean Computer:

1. Go to the official GridinSoft website (gridinsoft.com) and download Trojan Killer to a computer that is not infected.

2. Insert a USB flash drive into this computer.

3. Install Trojan Killer to the "removable drive" following the on-screen instructions.

4. Once the installation is complete, launch Trojan Killer.

Step 2: Update Signature Databases:

5. After launching Trojan Killer, ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

6. Click "Update" icon to download the latest signature databases, which will ensure the tool can detect the most recent threats.

Step 3: Scan the Infected PC:

7. Safely eject the USB flash drive from the clean computer.

8. Boot the infected computer to the Safe Mode.

9. Insert the USB flash drive.

10. Run tk.exe

11. Once the program is open, click on "Full Scan" to begin the malware scanning process.

Step 4: Remove Found Threats:

12. After the scan is complete, Trojan Killer will display a list of detected threats.

13. Click on "Cure PC!" to remove the identified malware from the infected PC.

14. Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the removal process.

Step 5: Restart Your Computer:

15. Once the threats are removed, click on "Restart PC" to reboot your computer.

16. Remove the USB flash drive from the infected computer.

Congratulations on effectively removing King and the concealed threats from your computer! You can now have peace of mind, knowing that they won't resurface again. Thanks to Gridinsoft's capabilities and commitment to cybersecurity, your system is now protected.

Sometimes criminals would decode some of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. As King virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Of course, if the malefactors do the job of encrypting someone’s essential files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about criminals just vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

King 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, Tyson, Bixi, Hlas, and some others. The two major differences between them and the King are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encoded files.

Some lucky people were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware infection?

King ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can defend your PC from ransomware injection taking several easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email with caution. A hoax email will surely have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best 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 defense for your system.

FAQ

🤔 Are the “.king” files accessible?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.king” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?

If the “.king” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the King virus?

Of course not. Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual threats. The malware that has infected your PC is most likely still functional and it scans your system periodically to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has already been said, the King ransomware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC after some time.

🤔 What actions should I take if the King virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.

In such an unfortunate situation, you need to prepare a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your machine. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted files can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You might 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 networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, mobile, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can use file recovery programs¹ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

1. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2024.