TRAP Virus (.trap Files of Ransomware) — How to remove virus?

The Trap virus belongs with the ransomware type of infection. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, leaving the RESTORE.txt files in each directory with the encrypted files.

What is known about the Trap virus?

☝️ A scientifically correct description for the Trap is “a ransomware infection”.

Trap will add its specific .trap extension to the name of each encrypted file. For example, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.trap”. In the same manner, the Excel table named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.trap”, and so forth.

In each folder that contains the encoded files, a RESTORE.txt text document will be created. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. You can get this tool after contacting [email protected] via email. That is how they do it.

Trap abstract:

The RESTORE.txt file coming in package with the Trap ransomware states the following:

All your important files are encrypted!
Any attempts to recover your files using
third-party software will have fatal consequences, the files will be changed forever,
without the possibility of recovery.
There is only one way to get your files back: install the tor browser (https://www.torproject.org/download )
Important: Create a new email in the service http://pflujznptk5lmuf6xwadfqy6nffykdvahfbljh7liljailjbxrgvhfid.onion/account/create for contact!
write to me at [email protected]
Send me your ID by email
 

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

How did my machine catch Trap ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most popular ways for tamperers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer networks.

If you open your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a harmful file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with emails like these.

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 guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the Trap virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Trap virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to get access to credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Often tamperers would decode some of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. Since Trap virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software engineers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Understandably, if the criminals do the job of encrypting someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After getting the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports of racketeers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working upon when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Trap, that work similarly. For instance, Xcmb, Dehd, Sbpg, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Trap are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: files become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each directory containing encoded files.

Some fortunate users were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But naturally, 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?

Trap ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.

You can protect your computer from ransomware infiltration taking three easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the questionable letter carefully. A hoax letter will surely have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution 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 “.trap” files?Can I somehow access “.trap” files?

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

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

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. 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. All other solutions require time.

🤔 What actions should I take if the Trap 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 at your disposal

• If you sent or received your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to post those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, mobile, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery utilities⁴ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encrypts the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself with an antivirus 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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