SCHRODINGERCAT Ransomware 🔐 (.SCHRODINGERCAT File) — Removal Guide

The Schrodingercat virus belongs under the GlobeImposter ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the how_to_back_files.html text files in every 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 Schrodingercat virus?

☝️ Schrodingercat is a GlobeImposter family ransomware virus.

Schrodingercat adds its own .schrodingercat extension to the title of every encoded file. For example, an image named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.schrodingercat”. Just like the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.schrodingercat”, and so on.

In every directory containing the encoded files, a how_to_back_files.html file will appear. It is a ransom money note. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can obtain this tool after contacting [email protected] by email. That is how they do it.

Schrodingercat Summary:

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Schrodingercat looks like. Each filename has the “.schrodingercat” extension added to it.

That is how encrypted “.schrodingercat” files look.

How did my machine catch Schrodingercat ransomware?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for hackers to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer networks.

• If you open your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose sender is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a harmful item attached to them. Thus it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
• Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus model. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something different. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some service. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that encodes your data. Since the update file 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 best thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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 resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Schrodingercat virus will most likely install Vidar Stealer on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Remove Schrodingercat 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 Schrodingercat 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 “Schrodingercat” 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 Schrodingercat 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.

Sometimes criminals would decode few of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption tool. Since Schrodingercat virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding instruments are frequently updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Understandably, if the criminals do the job of encoding victim’s essential data, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about criminals just vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The best safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external disk. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all started. Nevertheless, 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 Schrodingercat, that work similarly. For instance, Hunter, Redcryptoapp, Dzen, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Schrodingercat are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: files become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some fortunate people were able to decrypt the arrested files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. 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 tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avert ransomware infiltration?

Schrodingercat ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.

You can protect yourself from its injection in several easy steps:

• Never open any emails 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 participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable email carefully. A fake email will always contain mistakes.
• Never use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are very hard to tell from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such programs at all.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect defense for your PC.

FAQ

🤔 How can I open “.schrodingercat” files?Are the “.schrodingercat” files accessible?

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

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

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

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

Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will remove active viruses from your PC. The ransomware that has infected your PC is must be still active and it scans your system every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has been said above, the Schrodingercat ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC after some time.

🤔 What should I do if the Schrodingercat virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

In such a case, you need to have a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your system. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Many of the blocked files might still be within your reach

• If you exchanged your important 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. Simply ask them to send those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got 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 PC, a portable device, phone, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can employ data recovery programs² to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. Here are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2024.