NMO Virus Ransomware (.NMO Files) — [email protected]

The Nmo virus belongs under the Dharma ransomware family. Malware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the info.txt files in every directory containing encrypted files.

What is known about the Nmovirus?

☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Nmo would be “a Dharma family ransomware malicious agent”.

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

In each directory containing the encoded files, a info.txt text document will appear. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about how to pay the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can obtain this decrypting software after contacting [email protected] via email. That is it.

Nmo summary:

The info.txt file coming in package with the Nmo ransomware states the following:

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

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Nmo looks like. Each filename has the “.NMO” extension appended to it.

How did my machine catch Nmo ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for hackers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer file transfer.

If you open your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. So it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.

As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. 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 objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove the Nmo virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Nmo virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your computer to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often racketeers would unblock several of your files so you know that they do have the decryption program. Since Nmo virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are frequently updated, so the solution may soon be available.

Sure thing, if the malefactors do the job of encoding victim’s essential files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of hackers simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The optimal solution 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 drive. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.

Nmo 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 Eiur, Hhwq, Hkgt, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Nmo are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become encrypted, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.

Some lucky victims were able to decode the arrested files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a bandits’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware injection?

Nmo ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can defend your PC from its attack in several easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes 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 participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the dubious letter carefully. A fake email will always have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best way is not to use such software.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

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 “.NMO” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.NMO” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?

If the “.NMO” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 What should I do if the Nmo malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the encrypted files might still be within your reach

• If you exchanged your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to post 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 media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, phone, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery utilities⁵ to retrieve your lost information 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 won’t be able to do it before you eradicate 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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