The New24 virus falls within the Phobos ransomware family. Malware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the info.txt files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is New24 virus?
☝️ New24 is a Phobos family ransomware virus.
The renaming will be done according to the following pattern: id[xxxxxx].[contact-email].new24. As a part of encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id[9ECFA84E-3449].[decrypt2024@skiff.com].new24”.
In every folder with the encrypted files, a info.txt file will be found. It is a ransom money note. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the New24 developers. You can obtain this tool after contacting decrypt2024@skiff.com by email. That is how they do it.
New24 Summary:
| Name | New24 Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Phobos ransomware |
| Extension | .new24 |
| Ransomware note | info.txt |
| Contact | decrypt2024@skiff.com |
| Detection | Win32/Remtasu.O Virus Removal, Trojan:Win32/BazarLoader!MSR Virus Removal, Trojan:MSIL/AgentTesla Virus Removal |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .new24 extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by New24 virus |
The info.txt document coming in package with the New24 malware states the following:
!!!All of your files are encrypted!!! To decrypt them send e-mail to this address: decrypt2024@skiff.com. If we don\'t answer in 24h., send e-mail to this address: decrypt2024@onionmail.com
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the New24 looks like. Each filename has the “.new24” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .new24 files.
How did my machine catch New24 ransomware?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for hackers to have ransomware planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.
- If you access your inbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a ransomware item enclosed in them. Thus it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
- Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus scheme. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your machine pretending to be something different. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that encodes your data. As the update package can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
- As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never know 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 items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove ransomware?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the New24 virus will most likely deploy Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Remove New24 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 New24 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 “New24” 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 New24 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.
Often tamperers would decode several of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. As New24 virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently updated, so the solution may soon be available.
Understandably, if the malefactors succeed in encoding someone’s essential files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Despite that, 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 deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about hackers just disappearing after getting the money 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 storage or at least on an external disk. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that one 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 OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides New24, that work similarly. For instance, Ldhy, Mirror, Slime, and some others. The two main differences between them and the New24 are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in every folder containing encrypted files.
Some lucky people were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. 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 tamperers’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware infection?
New24 ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your computer from ransomware attack taking three easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake email will always have a mistake.
- Never use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often distributed as an element of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this program 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, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful shield for your PC.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Can I somehow access “.new24” files?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.new24” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?
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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the New24 malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Absolutely not! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual viruses. The ransomware that has infiltrated your PC is must be still active and it scans your system from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the New24 virus does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What to do if the New24 virus has blocked my PC 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 perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your system. To suppress this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system start. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encrypted files might still be within your reach
- If you exchanged your important files by 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 give those pictures 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 drives might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can use file recovery utilities2 to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you remove the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.
