RHYSIDA Virus Ransomware [ChantellGrant@onionmail.org]

The Rhysida virus falls under the ransomware type of infection. Malware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the CriticalBreachDetected.pdf files in each folder which contains 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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Rhysida virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Rhysida would be “a ransomware-type malicious agent”.

Rhysida appends its specific .rhysida extension to every file’s title. For example, a file named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.rhysida”. In the same manner, the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.rhysida”, and so on.

In every directory containing the encrypted files, a CriticalBreachDetected.pdf text file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this decoding tool after contacting ChantellGrant@onionmail.org, LorriBuckridge@onionmail.org through email. That is how they do it.

Rhysida outline:

The CriticalBreachDetected.pdf file accompanying the Rhysida ransomware provides the following frustrating information:

Dear company,

This is an automated alert from cybersecurity team Rhysida. An unfortunate
situation has arisen – your digital ecosystem has been compromised, and a
substantial amount of confidential data has been exfiltrated from your network.
The potential ramifications of this could be dire, including the sale, publication,
or distribution of your data to competitors or media outlets. This could inflict
significant reputational and financial damage.

However, this situation is not without a remedy.

Our team has developed a unique key, specifically designed to restore your
digital security. This key represents the first and most crucial step in
recovering from this situation. To utilize this key, visit our secure portal:
- with your
secret key - or write email:
ChantellGrant@onionmail.org LorriBuckridge@onionmail.org

It’s vital to note that any attempts to decrypt the encrypted files independently
could lead to permanent data loss. We strongly advise against such actions.

Time is a critical factor in mitigating the impact of this breach. With each
passing moment, the potential damage escalates. Your immediate action and
full cooperation are required to navigate this scenario effectively.


Rest assured, our team is committed to guiding you through this process. The
journey to resolution begins with the use of the unique key. Together, we can
restore the security of your digital environment.

Best regards

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

An example of encrypted .rhysida files.

How did my computer get infected with Rhysida ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most popular methods for tamperers to have the Rhysida virus settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer file transfer.

If you open your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a viral file attached to 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 file scheme. A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer disguised as something different. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that compromises your data. As the installation package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The best way is to use the software companies’ official websites.

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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the Rhysida virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Rhysida virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Sometimes racketeers would unblock some of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. As Rhysida virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.

Of course, if the evildoers succeed in encrypting someone’s critical data, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying a ransom 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 code to the victim. There were reports about hackers simply disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The best 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 not enough. The most crucial 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.

There are other ransomware products, besides Rhysida, that work similarly. For instance, Ahgr, Ahtw, Bhui, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Rhysida are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in every directory containing encoded files.

Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-ransomware experts. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How do I avert ransomware injection?

Rhysida ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from its infiltration in several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how 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 dubious email with caution. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
• Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, possibly under the guise of “patch” to prevent the license check. But potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal 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 shield for your system.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft¹

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft².

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 system for Rhysida 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.rhysida” files?Can I somehow access “.rhysida” files?

There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.rhysida” files are decrypted.

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

If the “.rhysida” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Rhysida 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.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual threats. The virus that has attacked your PC is most likely still active and launching checks from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Rhysida 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 computer in the future.

🤔 What to do if the Rhysida malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

If that happened, you need to have a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your PC. To stop 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?

Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it 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 portable device, mobile, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can use data recovery programs³ to get your lost data back since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: 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.

1. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
2. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
3. Here’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.