SUFFERING Ransomware 🔐 (.SUFFERING File) — Removal Guide

The Suffering virus belongs to the GlobeImposter ransomware family. Ransomware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the PC (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, creating the how_to_back_files.html text files in every folder with the encrypted files.

What is Suffering virus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Suffering would be “a GlobeImposter family ransomware infection”.

Suffering adds its extra .Suffering extension to the title of each encoded file. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.Suffering”. Just like the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.Suffering”, and so on.

In every folder containing the encoded files, a how_to_back_files.html text document will be created. It is a ransom money note. It contains information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the Suffering developers. That is how they do it.

Suffering summary:

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

How did my computer get infected with Suffering ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

There are currently three most exploited methods for evil-doers to have the Suffering virus working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.

If you access your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a ransomware file enclosed in them. So it is even riskier to open 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 PC pretending to be something different. For example, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. As the update wizard can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.

As for the peer networks like torrents 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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the Suffering virus?

It is crucial to inform you that besides encrypting your files, the Suffering virus will probably deploy Vidar Stealer on your PC to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often criminals would unblock several of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption tool. As Suffering virus is a relatively recent ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.

Of course, if the malefactors do the job of encoding victim’s critical data, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files 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 racketeers just vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The best safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Obviously, that might be not enough. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

There are other ransomware products, besides Suffering, that work similarly. For instance, Coty, Foza, Boza, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Suffering are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.

Some lucky people were able to decrypt the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How to avoid ransomware infection?

Suffering ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from its attack within three easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown senders with unknown 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?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake letter will surely have a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojans are often distributed as an element of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best way is not to use such programs at all.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft²

Download Removal Tool.

Run the setup file.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

Click on “Clean Now”.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.Suffering” files?Is it possible to open“.Suffering” files?

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

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

If the “.Suffering” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. The rest of the methods require patience.

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

🤔 What can I do right now?

Many of the encrypted files might still be within your reach

• If you exchanged your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to post those pictures 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 PC, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery programs⁴ to get your lost data back since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting 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 ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following governmental 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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