The Snoopdogg virus belongs to the VoidCrypt ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, creating the Decrypt-me.txt text files in every directory which contains the encrypted files.
What is known about the Snoopdoggvirus?
☝️ A scientifically correct designation for the Snoopdogg would be “a VoidCrypt family ransomware infection”.
The pattern of renaming is the following: [email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg. In the process of encryption, a file entitled, for instance, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.[Openfileyou@protonmail.com][MJ-ZV8607394251].Snoopdogg”.
In every folder with the encoded files, a Decrypt-me.txt text file will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the Snoopdogg developers. You can obtain this decoding tool after contacting Openfileyou@protonmail.com via email. That is it.
Snoopdogg summary:
Name | Snoopdogg Virus |
Ransomware family1 | VoidCrypt ransomware |
Extension | .[email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg |
Ransomware note | Decrypt-me.txt |
Contact | Openfileyou@protonmail.com |
Detection | TrojanSpy:Win32/Delgent, Trojan.Ransom.Magniber, Trojan:MSIL/Tnega.SM!MTB |
Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .[email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg extension and you can’t open them. |
Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Snoopdogg virus |
The Decrypt-me.txt file coming in package with the Snoopdogg malware provides the following frustrating information:
All Your Files Has Been Encrypted You Have to Pay to Get Your Files Back 1-Go to C:\\ProgramData\\ folder and send us prvkey*.txt.key file , * might be a number (like this : prvkey3.txt.key) 2-You can send some file little than 1mb for Decryption test to trust us But the test File should not contain valuable data 3-Payment should be with Bitcoin Our Email:Openfileyou@protonmail.com in Case of no Answer:Openfileyou@mailfence.com
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Snoopdogg looks like. Each filename has the “.[email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg” extension appended to it.
How did Snoopdogg ransomware end up on my PC?
There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most exploited ways for tamperers to have ransomware acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-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 “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malware item attached to them. Thus it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file scheme2. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something else. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some service. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. As the update wizard can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
As for the peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger 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 websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.
How to remove the Snoopdogg virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Snoopdogg virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your computer 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.
Often racketeers would decrypt some of your files so you know that they really have the decryption tool. As Snoopdogg virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decoding tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.
Sure thing, if the evildoers do the job of encrypting someone’s essential data, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to racketeers 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 malefactors simply 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 critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Snoopdogg, that work similarly. For instance, Qbaa, Fgui, Rtgf, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Snoopdogg are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding key to the victims 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. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware infiltration?
Snoopdogg ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your system from its injection within several easy steps:
- Ignore any letters from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter with caution. A hoax email will always contain mistakes.
- Never use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often distributed as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” preventing the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution 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 shield for your system.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft3
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft4.
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 system.
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 computer for Snoopdogg 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.
FAQ
🤔 Is it possible to open “.[email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.[email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg” files are decrypted.
🤔 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Snoopdogg virus?
No way! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The malware that has infected your computer is probably still active and launching checks from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has already been said, the Snoopdogg virus does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your system in the future.
🤔 What should I do if the Snoopdogg malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your system. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encrypted files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to post those images back to you.
- If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, mobile, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can employ data recovery programs5 to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate the ransomware itself 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove SNOOPDOGG Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: SNOOPDOGG Virus
Description: SNOOPDOGG Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .[email].[idxxxxxx].Snoopdogg extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
- 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 are Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.