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

The Obz virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the ReadMe.txt text files in every directory containing encrypted files.

What is known about the Obzvirus?

☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Obz would be “a ransomware-type infection”.

Obz adds its extra .OBZ extension to the name of each encrypted file. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.OBZ”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.OBZ”, and so on.

In every folder that contains the encrypted files, a ReadMe.txt text file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is how they do it.

Obz outline:

In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Obz looks like. Each filename has the “.OBZ” extension added to it.

How did Obz ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most exploited ways for malefactors to have the Obz virus planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.

If you open your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a ransomware item attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

As for the peer networks 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 resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove the Obz virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Obz virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware² can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Often criminals would decode several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption program. As Obz virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Of course, if the criminals do the job of encrypting victim’s essential data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After getting the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports of hackers simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The best countermeasure to 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 storage. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.

There are other ransomware products, besides Obz, that work similarly. For instance, Uyro, Fate, Kcbu, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Obz are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decoding code 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 bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How do I avert ransomware infiltration?

Obz ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can armour yourself from ransomware injection in three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A fake letter will always contain a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution 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”.

FAQ

🤔 How can I open “.OBZ” files?Is it possible to open“.OBZ” files?

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

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.OBZ” files ASAP. How can I do that?

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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

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

🤔 And what should I do now?

Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to give those images 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 networks pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, phone, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery utilities⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate the virus 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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