The Okhacked virus falls within the Chaos ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the read_it.txt text files in every folder with the encrypted files.
What is Okhacked virus?
☝️ A strictly accurate designation for the Okhacked is “a Chaos family ransomware malicious agent”.
Okhacked will append its own .okhacked extension to the title of each encoded file. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.okhacked”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.okhacked”, and so on.
In every folder containing the encoded files, a read_it.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about 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 tamperers. That is it.
Okhacked outline:
| Name | Okhacked Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Chaos ransomware |
| Extension | .okhacked |
| Ransomware note | read_it.txt |
| Detection | Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Cryptodef.zv, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.SK!MTB, Trojan:Win32/Phorpiex.AE!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .okhacked extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Okhacked virus |
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Okhacked looks like. Each filename has the “.okhacked” extension appended to it.
An example of encrypted .okhacked files.
How did Okhacked ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.
Nowadays, there are three most exploited methods for hackers to have the Okhacked virus working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful item attached to them. Thus it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme2. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something legal. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unboxed reveals itself a harmful agent that encodes your data. As the update file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols 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 websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How do I get rid of the Okhacked virus?
It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Okhacked virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware3 can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often tamperers would decrypt some of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Okhacked virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.
Of course, if the hackers do the job of encoding victim’s essential data, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. However, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of criminals simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.
Okhacked is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Eewt, Aawt, Mmdt, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Okhacked are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in every directory containing encrypted files.
Some fortunate victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avoid ransomware injection?
Okhacked ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from its infiltration in three easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email with caution. A hoax email will always have mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect defense for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft4
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft5.
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 computer for Okhacked 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 completed, 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 How can I open “.okhacked” files?Is it possible to open“.okhacked” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.okhacked” files are decrypted.
🤔 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.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Okhacked virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Absolutely not! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The ransomware that has attacked your computer is most likely still active and launching checks every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has been mentioned above, the Okhacked ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your system after some time.
🤔 What should I do if the Okhacked ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such a case, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or brought into your system. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run upon system start. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the blocked data can be found elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. 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 downloading them 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 PC, a notebook, mobile, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery programs6 to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you kill 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove OKHACKED Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: OKHACKED Virus
Description: OKHACKED Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .okhacked extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
- 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 are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
