THX File Virus Ransomware 🔐 CLUSTER1@OUTLOOK.SA — Removal Guide

The Thx virus falls within the Dharma ransomware family. Harmful software of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, creating the info.txt text files in every folder with the encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is known about the Thxvirus?

☝️ A scientifically correct designation for the Thx is “a Dharma family ransomware infection”.

The scheme of renaming is the following: .[cluster1@outlook.sa].thx. During the encryption, a file entitled, for example, “report.docx” will be turned into “report.docx.id-1E857D00.[cluster1@outlook.sa].thx”.

In every folder that contains the encoded files, a info.txt file 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 most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. You can get this decrypting software after contacting cluster1@outlook.sa, cluster@mailfence.com through email. That is pretty much the scheme of the malefaction.

Thx abstract:

The info.txt document accompanying the Thx malware states the following:

All your files have been encrypted!
Don\'t worry, you can return all your files!
If you want to restore them, write to the mail: cluster1@outlook.sa YOUR ID 1E857D00
If you have not answered by mail within 12 hours, write to us by another mail:cluster@mailfence.com
Free decryption as guarantee
Before paying you can send us up to 3 files for free decryption. The total size of files must be less than 3Mb (non archived), and files should not contain valuable information. (databases,backups, large excel sheets, etc.)
How to obtain Bitcoins

Also you can find other places to buy Bitcoins and beginners guide here:
hxxp://www.coindesk.com/information/how-can-i-buy-bitcoins/
Attention!
Do not rename encrypted files.
Do not try to decrypt your data using third party software, it may cause permanent data loss.
Decryption of your files with the help of third parties may cause increased price (they add their fee to our) or you can become a victim of a scam.

In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Thx looks like. Each filename has the “.[cluster1@outlook.sa].thx” extension added to it.

That is how encrypted “.[cluster1@outlook.sa].thx” files look.

How did my computer get infected with Thx ransomware?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most exploited methods for tamperers to have the Thx virus acting in your digital environment. 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 mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a harmful item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse scheme. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer pretending to be something else. 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 program that compromises your data. Since the installation file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The best way is to use the software companies’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-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. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the Thx virus?

It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Thx virus will most likely install Vidar Stealer on your PC to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often criminals would decode few of your files so you know that they really have the decryption program. Since Thx virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Understandably, if the evildoers succeed in encoding someone’s essential data, the hopeless person will most likely comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports of malefactors just disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The best safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Obviously, that might be insufficient. The most important thing could be that file you were working upon when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the system is rolled back.

Thx 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, Gatz, Qore, Xaro, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Thx are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware attack?

Thx ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, so as any similar malware.

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

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (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 expecting, check all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax email will always have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are difficult to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such software.
• And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect armor for your system.

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 computer for Thx 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 finished, 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

🤔 Are the “.[cluster1@outlook.sa].thx” files accessible?

There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.[cluster1@outlook.sa].thx” files are decrypted.

🤔 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. All other solutions require time.

🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Thx virus?

Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The malware that has infiltrated your system is probably still functional and running scans from time to time to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Thx malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your system in the future.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Thx malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.

If that happened, you need to have a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or imported into your machine. To suppress this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the blocked data can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to send those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try doing it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, mobile, memory stick, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery programs⁴ to get your lost data back since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove 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.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
3. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
4. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.