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

The Phoenix virus falls under the Phobos ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all the data on your computer (images, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the info.txt files in every folder with the encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is Phoenix virus?

☝️ A strictly accurate description for the Phoenix is “a Phobos family ransomware infection”.

The scheme of renaming is this: id[xxxxxx].[contact_email].phoenix. During the encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.id[1E857D00-0001].[absonkaine@aol.com].phoenix”.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a info.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money note. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can obtain this decrypting software after contacting absonkaine@aol.com via email. That is it.

Phoenix abstract:

The info.txt file coming in package with the Phoenix malware states the following:

!!! All of your files are encrypted !!!
To decrypt them send e-mail to this address: absonkaine@aol.com.
If we don\'t answer in 48h., send e-mail to this address: klemens.stobe@aol.com
If there is no response from our mail, you can install the Jabber client and write to us in support of phobos_helper@xmpp.jp

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

An example of encrypted .phoenix files.

How did Phoenix ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

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

If you access your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malware file 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 horse model². A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer disguised as something legal. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that corrupts your data. Since the update package can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software companies’ official websites.

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 Internet. 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 files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How do I get rid of the Phoenix virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Phoenix virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often tamperers would decode several of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Phoenix virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware tools are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the evildoers succeed in encrypting someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After receiving the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical 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 file you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.

There are other ransomware products, besides Phoenix, that work similarly. Examples of those are Qqmt, Qqjj, Vvyu, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Phoenix are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encoded files.

Some fortunate people were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the racketeers accidentally send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ tool to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware attack?

Phoenix ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from its attack taking several easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (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 email with caution. A fake letter will surely contain a mistake.
• Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy ones, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such programs at all.
• And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful armor for your personal computer.

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 computer.

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 Phoenix 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

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

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.phoenix” files first. Then you will be able to open 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. In case you haven’t, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. All other solutions require time.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Phoenix malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your PC off the actual threats. The virus that has infiltrated your computer is must be still active and it scans your system from time to time to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been said above, the Phoenix ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Phoenix ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

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 encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Many of the blocked files might still be within your reach

• If you sent or received your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to give those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files too.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, cellphone, external storage, etc.

HINT: You can use file recovery utilities⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself 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.

How to Remove PHOENIX Ransomware & Recover PC

Name: PHOENIX Virus

Description: PHOENIX Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .phoenix extension. So, you can't use them at all.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Virus

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