The Nuncatarde virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the #Decrypt#.txt text files in each directory containing encrypted files.
What is known about the Nuncatardevirus?
☝️ A scientifically correct description for the Nuncatarde would be “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Nuncatarde will append its own .NUNCATARDE extension to every file’s title. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.NUNCATARDE”. Likewise, the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.NUNCATARDE”, and so on.
In every folder that contains the encrypted files, a #Decrypt#.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about 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 tamperers. That is it.
Nuncatarde abstract:
| Name | Nuncatarde Virus |
| Extension | .NUNCATARDE |
| Ransomware note | #Decrypt#.txt |
| Detection | Adware.NeoBar.Generic, Trojan:Win32/Tnega.PKD!MTB, Win32/TrojanDownloader.Agent.DGM |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .NUNCATARDE extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Nuncatarde virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Nuncatarde looks like. Each filename has the “.NUNCATARDE” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .NUNCATARDE files.
How did Nuncatarde ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most exploited ways for malefactors to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.
If you access your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malware file enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan virus scheme1. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something different. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that corrupts your data. Since the update wizard can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer networks like BitTorrent 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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How do I get rid of the Nuncatarde virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Nuncatarde virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware2 can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes criminals would unblock several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. Since Nuncatarde virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decoding instruments are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Understandably, if the tamperers do the job of encoding someone’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. Despite that, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about racketeers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.
Nuncatarde 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 Nnqp, Mljx, Hudf, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Nuncatarde are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in every directory containing encoded files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How do I avert ransomware injection?
Nuncatarde ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can armour your system from its attack within three easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake letter will surely contain mistakes.
- Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy ones, because trojans may also have the functionality you need. Try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful shield for your PC.
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 PC.
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 Nuncatarde 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 “.NUNCATARDE” files?Is it possible to open“.NUNCATARDE” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.NUNCATARDE” files are decrypted.
🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Nuncatarde virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete the malware from your system. The malware that has infiltrated your device is must be still active and it scans your system every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Nuncatarde malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What to do if the Nuncatarde virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or brought into your PC. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running 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 by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- 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 downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, flash memory, etc.
HINT: You can use data recovery programs5 to get your lost data back since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the virus with an antivirus 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 NUNCATARDE Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: NUNCATARDE Virus
Description: NUNCATARDE Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .NUNCATARDE 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’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
