NLB Virus 🔐 (.NLB Files) — How to Remove?

The Nlb virus falls under the Dharma ransomware family. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, leaving the FILES ENCRYPTED.txt text files in every folder containing encrypted files.

Nlb virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Nlb is “a Dharma family ransomware-type malicious agent”.

The scheme of renaming is the following: id-xxxxxx.[contact_email].nlb. After the encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id-9ECFA84E.[[email protected]].nlb”.

In every folder that contains the encoded files, a FILES ENCRYPTED.txt text file will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. You can obtain this decrypting software after contacting [email protected] via email. That is pretty much the scheme of the crime.

Nlb overview:

The FILES ENCRYPTED.txt document accompanying the Nlb ransomware states the following:

all your data has been locked us
You want to return?
write email [email protected] or [email protected] 

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

How did my computer get infected with Nlb ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for malefactors to have ransomware working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.

If you access your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful item attached to them. Thus it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrents or eMule, the danger 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 websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove the Nlb virus?

It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Nlb virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware³ can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often racketeers would decrypt some of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. Since Nlb virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Sure thing, if the evildoers succeed in encoding someone’s critical data, the hopeless person will most likely comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about hackers just disappearing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

The best solution 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. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that one you were working upon when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the system restoration.

Nlb 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 Bpsm, Poqw, Znsm, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Nlb are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encoded files.

Some fortunate users were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware infection?

Nlb ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your system from ransomware infiltration in several easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A fake email will surely contain mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft⁴

Download Removal Tool.

Run the setup file.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

Click on “Clean Now”.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Is it possible to open “.nlb” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.nlb” 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. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. All other solutions require time.

🤔 What to do if the Nlb virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Many of the blocked files might still be at your disposal

• If you sent or received your important files via 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 images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, phone, memory stick, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery programs⁶ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus with an antivirus program.

Also, you can contact the following governmental 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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