NIKO Ransomware ([email protected]) Removal Guide

The Niko virus belongs under the Phobos ransomware family. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, creating the +README-WARNING+.txt text files in each folder with the encrypted files.

What is known about the Niko virus?

☝️ Niko is a Phobos family ransomware virus.

The renaming will be done by this pattern: .niko. During the encryption, a file named, for instance, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.[42990E91].[[email protected]].niko”.

In every folder with the encoded files, a +README-WARNING+.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this tool after contacting [email protected] via email. That is how they do it.

Niko Summary:

The +README-WARNING+.txt document coming in package with the Niko ransomware states the following:

Hello! Your server data is encrypted and stolen.
To decrypt your files, you need to contact by email  

[email protected]


In order to decrypt the necessary files, you need to send in a message
2 simple files, size as proof that we have a tool to completely decrypt all your files.

In a response letter, you will receive your decrypted files and the price and wallet for payment in bitcoins.

You can buy Bitcoin through exchangers: abra.com , paxful.com, coinbase.com , binance.com, gate.io, moonpay.com and any other exchangers

Do not try to decrypt the files yourself or use the services of intermediaries, otherwise you will lose the files forever!
We and only we can decrypt your files.

Don\'t delay, we won\'t wait for you forever and you will lose files - as the decoder and keys will be deleted and the files will be published on the Internet.

In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Niko looks like. Each filename has the “.niko” extension added to it.

How did my computer get infected with Niko ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most popular methods for hackers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer file transfer.

• If you open your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious item enclosed in them. Thus it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse model. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your computer disguised as something legal. Imagine, 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 compromises your data. As the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the 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 guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.

How do I get rid of ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Niko virus will most likely deploy Vidar Stealer on your computer to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

How do I avert ransomware injection?

Niko ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from its injection in three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake letter will always contain mistakes.
• Never use cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are very hard to tell from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.

FAQ

🤔 Can I somehow access “.niko” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.niko” files you will not be able to access 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. All other solutions require time.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Niko ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the blocked data can be located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared photographs 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 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 computer, a notebook, cellphone, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery programs² to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the virus with an anti-malware program.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. Here’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2024.