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

The Rival virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the FILES ENCRYPTED.txt files in each directory containing 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 known about the Rival virus?

The renaming will be done by this pattern: EMAIL=[contact_email]ID=[victim_id].rival. In the process of encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be renamed to “report.docx.EMAIL=[recoveryanti@gmail.com]ID=[A7BF40638C0B7184].rival”.

In every folder containing the encoded files, a FILES ENCRYPTED.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this decryptor after contacting recoveryanti@gmail.com by email. That is pretty much the scheme of the malefaction.

Rival Summary:

The FILES ENCRYPTED.txt file accompanying the Rival malware states the following:

ATTENTION!
At the moment, your system is not protected.
We can fix itand restore files.
To get started, send a file to decrypt trial.
You can trust us after opening the test file.
To restore the system write to both : recoveryanti@gmail.com and ransupport@onionmail.org
Your Decryption ID: -

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

An example of encrypted .rival files.

How did my computer get infected with Rival ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for evil-doers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.

• If you open your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a malware item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
• Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file model. A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer pretending to be something legal. For instance, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. Since the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software developers’ official websites.
• As for the peer networks like torrents or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove ransomware?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Rival virus will most likely install Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Remove Rival with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common Ransomware as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove Rival as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Trojan Killer for “Rival” removal on locked PC

In situations where it becomes impossible to download antivirus applications directly onto the infected computer due to malware blocking access to websites, an alternative solution is to utilize the Trojan Killer application.

There is a really little number of security tools that are able to be set up on the USB drives, and antiviruses that can do so in most cases require to obtain quite an expensive license. For this instance, I can recommend you to use another solution of GridinSoft - Trojan Killer Portable. It has a 14-days cost-free trial mode that offers the entire features of the paid version. This term will definitely be 100% enough to wipe malware out.

Trojan Killer is a valuable tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, helping you to effectively remove malware from infected computers. Now, we will walk you through the process of using Trojan Killer from a USB flash drive to scan and remove malware on an infected PC. Remember, always obtain permission to scan and remove malware from a computer that you do not own.

Step 1: Download & Install Trojan Killer on a Clean Computer:

1. Go to the official GridinSoft website (gridinsoft.com) and download Trojan Killer to a computer that is not infected.

2. Insert a USB flash drive into this computer.

3. Install Trojan Killer to the "removable drive" following the on-screen instructions.

4. Once the installation is complete, launch Trojan Killer.

Step 2: Update Signature Databases:

5. After launching Trojan Killer, ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

6. Click "Update" icon to download the latest signature databases, which will ensure the tool can detect the most recent threats.

Step 3: Scan the Infected PC:

7. Safely eject the USB flash drive from the clean computer.

8. Boot the infected computer to the Safe Mode.

9. Insert the USB flash drive.

10. Run tk.exe

11. Once the program is open, click on "Full Scan" to begin the malware scanning process.

Step 4: Remove Found Threats:

12. After the scan is complete, Trojan Killer will display a list of detected threats.

13. Click on "Cure PC!" to remove the identified malware from the infected PC.

14. Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the removal process.

Step 5: Restart Your Computer:

15. Once the threats are removed, click on "Restart PC" to reboot your computer.

16. Remove the USB flash drive from the infected computer.

Congratulations on effectively removing Rival and the concealed threats from your computer! You can now have peace of mind, knowing that they won't resurface again. Thanks to Gridinsoft's capabilities and commitment to cybersecurity, your system is now protected.

Often criminals would decrypt few of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. Since Rival virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. However, the decryption tools are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Of course, if the tamperers do the job of encrypting someone’s critical files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about malefactors just vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be not enough. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

Rival 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, Rzfu, Rzml, Rzkd, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Rival are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in every directory containing encrypted files.

Some lucky people were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware injection?

Rival ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can armour your PC from its injection within three easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax email will surely contain mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful defense for your system.

FAQ

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

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

🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Rival virus?

No way! The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with real threats. The malware that has infiltrated your system is most likely still functional and running scans every so often to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Rival malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide hackers with easy access to your system after some time.

🤔 What to do if the Rival ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

If that happened, you need to have a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or imported into your computer. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to give those pictures 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 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 computer, a laptop, mobile, memory stick, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery programs¹ to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.

1. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.