The Lilith virus belongs with the ransomware type of infection. Ransomware 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, leaving the Restore_Your_Files.txt text files in each folder with the encrypted files.
What is Lilith virus?
☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Lilith is “a ransomware malicious agent”.
Lilith appends its specific .lilith extension to the title of each encrypted file. For example, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.lilith”. Likewise, the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.lilith”, and so forth.
In each directory containing the encrypted files, a Restore_Your_Files.txt text document will be found. 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 tamperers. That is how they do it.
Lilith overview:
| Name | Lilith Virus |
| Extension | .lilith |
| Ransomware note | Restore_Your_Files.txt |
| Detection | UDS:Trojan.MSIL.Crypt, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PBZ!MTB, Ransom.BitRansomware |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .lilith extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Lilith virus |
The Restore_Your_Files.txt document accompanying the Lilith ransomware states the following:
All your important files have been encrypted and stolen! Contact us for price and get decryption software. You have 3 days to contact us for negotiation. If you don't contact within three days, we'll start leaking data. 1) Contact our tox. Tox download address: hxxps://tox.chat/ Our poison ID: - * Note that this server is available via Tor browser only Follow the instructions to open the link: 1. Type the addres "hxxps://www.torproject.org" in your Internet browser. It opens the Tor site. 2. Press "Download Tor", then press "Download Tor Browser Bundle", install and run it. 3. Now you have Tor browser. In the Tor Browser open : hxxp://yeuajcizwytgmrntijhxphs6wn5txp2prs6rpndafbsapek3zd4ubcid.onion
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Lilith looks like. Each filename has the “.lilith” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.lilith” files look.
How did my computer get infected with Lilith ransomware?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited methods for criminals to have ransomware planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme1. A Trojan is a program that gets into your computer pretending to be something else. For example, 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 compromises your data. Since the update file can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best way is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrent trackers 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 objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Lilith virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Lilith virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often tamperers would decode several of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. Since Lilith virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decryption instruments are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Of course, if the evildoers do the job of encoding someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system is rolled back.
There are other ransomware products, besides Lilith, that work similarly. Examples of those are Bbyy, Eiur, Bbzz, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Lilith are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in every directory containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware infection?
Lilith ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect yourself from its attack within several easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the dubious email with caution. A hoax letter will surely have mistakes.
- Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect armor 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 Lilith 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
🤔 How can I open “.lilith” files?Are the “.lilith” files accessible?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.lilith” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.lilith” 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. All other solutions require time.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Lilith 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 system off the actual viruses. The malware that has attacked your computer is must be still active and running scans every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Lilith 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 Lilith ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to have a flash memory card 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 computer. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the encrypted files can be found elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. 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 to do it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a notebook, phone, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery programs4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: you can do it only after you remove the ransomware itself with an antivirus 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 LILITH Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: LILITH Virus
Description: LILITH Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .lilith 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 are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
