SLIME Virus (.SLIME Files) Ransomware Removal

The Slime virus belongs to the Chaos ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the read_it.txt files in every folder containing encrypted files.

What is Slime virus?

☝️ Slime is a Chaos family ransomware-type malicious agent.

Slime will append its specific .slime extension to every file’s title. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to photo.jpg.slime. Just like the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.slime”, and so forth.

In each folder that contains the encrypted files, a read_it.txt file 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 a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this decoding tool after contacting [email protected] by email. That is how they do it.

Slime Overview:

The read_it.txt document accompanying the Slime malware states the following:

----> Slime is multi-language ransomware. Translate your note to any language <----
All of your files have been encrypted
Your computer was infected with a ransomware virus. Your files have been encrypted and you won't
be able to decrypt them without our help. What can I do to get my files back? You can buy our special
decryption software, this software will allow you to recover all of your data and remove the
ransomware from your computer. The price for the software is RM10. Payment can be made in TNG only.
How do I pay, where do I get TNG?
Purchasing TNG varies from country to country, you are best advised to do a quick Google search
yourself to find out how to pay in touch.
Many of our customers have reported these sites to be fast and reliable:
TNG - hxxps://www.touchngo.com.my/


Payment informationAmount: RM 10
Email Address:  [email protected]


We will send you a QR code and you pay and we will send you a Decrypter software.

In the screenshot below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Slime looks like. Each filename has the ".slime" extension added to it.

How did my machine catch Slime ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most exploited ways for criminals to have the Slime virus acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction, and peer file transfer.

• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file scheme. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something different. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some service. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that compromises your data. Since the update file can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resources 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 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. So you'd better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How do I get rid of ransomware?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Slime virus will probably deploy Vidar Stealer on your computer to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can derive your logins and passwords from your browser's auto-filling card file.

How to avert ransomware infection?

Slime ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from its injection with several easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the suspicious letter with caution. A hoax letter will surely contain a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, possibly under the guise of a “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such software.

FAQ

🤔 How can I open ".slime" files?Are the ".slime" files accessible?

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

🤔 I need to decrypt those “.slime” files ASAP. How can I do that?

It's good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 What to do if the Slime malware has blocked my PC and I can't get the activation code?

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the encoded files might still be within your reach

• If you sent or received your important files via email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• 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 Internet, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, mobile, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities² to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, 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's the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2024.