The Mafiaware666 virus belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Malware of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, opening the pop-up window when the encryption process is over.
What is known about the Mafiaware666virus?
☝️ A strictly correct denomination for the Mafiaware666 would be “a ransomware-type infection”.
Mafiaware666 will append its extra .MafiaWare666 extension to every file’s name. For example, a file named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.MafiaWare666”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.MafiaWare666”, and so forth.
In each folder containing the encrypted files, a pop-up window will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is how they do it.
Mafiaware666 summary:
| Name | Mafiaware666 Virus |
| Extension | .MafiaWare666 |
| Ransomware note | pop-up window |
| Detection | TrojanDownloader:Win32/Nitedrem.A, Backdoor:Win32/Koceg!B, Win32/GenKryptik.DCUC |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .MafiaWare666 extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Mafiaware666 virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Mafiaware666 looks like. Each filename has the “.MafiaWare666” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .MafiaWare666 files.
How did my machine catch Mafiaware666 ransomware?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most popular methods for tamperers to have the Mafiaware666 virus planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer networks.
If you access your mailbox 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 malware item enclosed in them. Thus it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something else. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that corrupts your data. Since the installation file can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Mafiaware666 virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Mafiaware666 virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware2 can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes racketeers would unblock few of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. As Mafiaware666 virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Sure thing, if the criminals succeed in encoding victim’s essential data, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
The optimal solution against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Obviously, that might be not enough. Your most important thing could be that file you were working upon when it all started. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.
Mafiaware666 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 Mmvb, Eewt, Oflg, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Mafiaware666 are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each directory containing encrypted files.
Some lucky users were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How to avoid ransomware attack?
Mafiaware666 ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your system from ransomware infiltration in several easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often shared as an element of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But dubious programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information about this software product 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, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect shield 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 computer.
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 Mafiaware666 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 “.MafiaWare666” files?Are the “.MafiaWare666” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.MafiaWare666” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Mafiaware666 virus?
Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete active malware from your computer. The virus that has infiltrated your computer is must be still active and it scans your system from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has already been said, the Mafiaware666 ransomware 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 computer in the future.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Mafiaware666 ransomware 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 do the cleaning. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the blocked files might still be within your reach
- If you exchanged your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those images back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, cellphone, memory stick, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery utilities5 to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself 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 MAFIAWARE666 Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: MAFIAWARE666 Virus
Description: MAFIAWARE666 Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .MafiaWare666 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 are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
