The Tangem virus falls under the MedusaLocker ransomware family. A harmful program of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, leaving the How_to_back_files.html files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is known about the Tangemvirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Tangem would be “a MedusaLocker family ransomware-type infection”.
Tangem will append its extra .tangem extension to the name of each encoded file. For instance, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.tangem”. In the same manner, the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.tangem”, and so on.
In each directory containing the encrypted files, a How_to_back_files.html file will appear. 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 decryptor after contacting [email protected] through email. That is how they do it.
Tangem overview:
| Name | Tangem Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | MedusaLocker ransomware |
| Extension | .tangem |
| Ransomware note | How_to_back_files.html |
| Contact | [email protected] |
| Detection | Trojan:Win32/Smokeloader.GHN!MTB, Trojan:Win32/RedLine.LD!MTB, Ransom:MSIL/TankixCrypt.PA!MTB |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .tangem extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Tangem virus |
The How_to_back_files.html file coming in package with the Tangem malware states the following:
YOUR PERSONAL ID: - /!\ YOUR COMPANY NETWORK HAS BEEN PENETRATED /!\ All your important files have been encrypted! Your files are safe! Only modified. (RSA+AES) ANY ATTEMPT TO RESTORE YOUR FILES WITH THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE WILL PERMANENTLY CORRUPT IT. DO NOT MODIFY ENCRYPTED FILES. DO NOT RENAME ENCRYPTED FILES. No software available on internet can help you. We are the only ones able to solve your problem. We gathered highly confidential/personal data. These data are currently stored on a private server. This server will be immediately destroyed after your payment. If you decide to not pay, we will release your data to public or re-seller. So you can expect your data to be publicly available in the near future.. We only seek money and our goal is not to damage your reputation or prevent your business from running. You will can send us 2-3 non-important files and we will decrypt it for free to prove we are able to give your files back. Contact us for price and get decryption software. email: [email protected] [email protected] * To contact us, create a new free email account on the site: protonmail.com IF YOU DON'T CONTACT US WITHIN 72 HOURS, PRICE WILL BE HIGHER.
In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Tangem looks like. Each filename has the “.tangem” extension appended to it.
That is how encrypted “.tangem” files look.
How did my machine catch Tangem ransomware?
There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for criminals to have the Tangem virus acting in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.
If you open your mailbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Thus it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model. A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer pretending to be something different. For instance, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some program. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encodes your data. Since the installation package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The optimal thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents or eMule, the danger 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 websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Tangem virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Tangem virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your computer to get access to credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often tamperers would decode several of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. Since Tangem virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the decryption instruments are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Understandably, if the tamperers do the job of encrypting victim’s critical files, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of criminals simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.
The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the system restoration.
Tangem is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Nifr, Boty, Niwm, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Tangem are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encoded files.
Some fortunate users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the hackers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ instrument to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avert ransomware attack?
Tangem ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can protect yourself from its injection taking several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable email with caution. A fake email will always contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try to find information on this software product 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 “.tangem” files?Can I somehow access “.tangem” files?
Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.tangem” files you will not be able to access them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.tangem” files ASAP. How can I do that?
Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. All other solutions require time.
🤔 What to do if the Tangem malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.
- If you exchanged your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. 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 doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, mobile, flash memory, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery programs4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but be advised: you can do it only after you eradicate the virus 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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