The Seed locker ransomware virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the !#_How_to_decrypt_files_#!.txt files in every folder with the encrypted files.
What is Seed locker ransomware virus?
☝️ A strictly correct designation for the Seed locker ransomware would be “a ransomware malicious agent”.
Seed locker ransomware will add its specific .seed extension to the title of every encoded file. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.seed”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.seed”, and so on.
In every directory containing the encrypted files, a !#_How_to_decrypt_files_#!.txt text document will appear. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.
Seed locker ransomware summary:
| Name | Seed locker ransomware Virus |
| Extension | .seed |
| Ransomware note | !#_How_to_decrypt_files_#!.txt |
| Detection | MSIL/PSW.Agent.SSQ, Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.PMA!MTB, Win32/Injector.BXDT |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .seed extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Seed locker ransomware virus |
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Seed locker ransomware looks like. Each filename has the “.seed” extension appended to it.
That is how encrypted “.seed” files look.
How did my computer get infected with Seed locker ransomware ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for hackers to have ransomware acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer networks.
If you access your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services providers, postal 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 harmful file 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 horse scheme1. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some program. However, what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that encrypts your data. As the update package can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The best thing is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Seed locker ransomware virus?
It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Seed locker ransomware virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Sometimes tamperers would decode several of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption program. As Seed locker ransomware virus is a relatively new ransomware, anti-malware developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. However, the anti-ransomware instruments are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.
Of course, if the hackers succeed in encoding someone’s essential files, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of criminals simply vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Seed locker ransomware, that work similarly. Examples of those are Jhdd, Hhjk, Dewd, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Seed locker ransomware are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become encoded, their extensions changed, ransom notes are created in each directory containing encoded files.
Some lucky victims were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How to avert ransomware infiltration?
Seed locker ransomware ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from its attack in three easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake email will surely contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect shield for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft2
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft3.
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 Seed locker ransomware 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 “.seed” files?Are the “.seed” files accessible?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.seed” files first. Then you will be able to open 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. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Seed locker ransomware malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
No way! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will remove actual threats from your PC. The malware that has infiltrated your device is probably still active and it scans your system every so often to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the initial attack. As it has already been said, the Seed locker ransomware malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your computer after some time.
🤔 What to do if the Seed locker ransomware virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To suppress this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your critical 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 post 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 too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a laptop, mobile, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you eradicate the virus with an anti-malware 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove SEED LOCKER RANSOMWARE Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: SEED LOCKER RANSOMWARE Virus
Description: SEED LOCKER RANSOMWARE Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .seed extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated 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’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
