The Tuslamon virus falls under the Xorist ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (photos, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, creating the HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt text files in each directory with the encrypted files.
Tuslamon virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically accurate denomination for the Tuslamon would be “a Xorist family ransomware infection”.
Tuslamon will add its own .tuslamon extension to every file’s name. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.tuslamon”. In the same manner, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.tuslamon”, and so forth.
In every directory that contains the encrypted files, a HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt file will appear. It is a ransom money note. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the Tuslamon developers. That is how they do it.
Tuslamon overview:
| Name | Tuslamon Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Xorist ransomware |
| Extension | .tuslamon |
| Ransomware note | HOW TO DECRYPT FILES.txt |
| Detection | Crytex.Virus.FileInfector.DDS, Win32/Filecoder.OLC, Malware-Cryptor.InstallCore.5 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .tuslamon extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Tuslamon virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Tuslamon looks like. Each filename has the “.tuslamon” extension added to it.
An example of encrypted .tuslamon files.
How did my computer get infected with Tuslamon ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for hackers to have ransomware planted in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services providers, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a malicious item attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file model2. A Trojan is an object that gets into your PC disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful program that encrypts your data. As the update file 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 way is to trust 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 know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How to remove the Tuslamon virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Tuslamon virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can extract your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes tamperers would decrypt some of your files so you know that they do have the decryption tool. Since Tuslamon virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon be available.
Of course, if the hackers do the job of encrypting victim’s critical files, the hopeless person will probably fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about hackers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The best solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Obviously, that might be not enough. Your most important thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the system restoration.
Tuslamon is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. Examples of those are Mzop, Vvoo, Erqw, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Tuslamon are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is the same: documents become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encoded files.
Some lucky victims were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware injection?
Tuslamon ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can protect your system from ransomware attack in three easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with unknown 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?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A hoax letter will surely contain mistakes.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect shield for your PC.
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 computer.
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 PC for Tuslamon 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
🤔 How can I open “.tuslamon” files?Can I somehow access “.tuslamon” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.tuslamon” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.tuslamon” files ASAP. How can I do that?
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.
🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Tuslamon malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?
Absolutely not! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your system off the actual viruses. The virus that has infected your PC is must be still functional and running scans periodically to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Tuslamon virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What actions should I take if the Tuslamon virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory drive with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encrypts any new files created or brought into your computer. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Many of the blocked files might still be within your reach
- If you exchanged your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared photographs 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 Web, you can try doing it 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 computer, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can use file recovery utilities5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: you can do it only after you eradicate the ransomware itself with an anti-malware 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 TUSLAMON Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: TUSLAMON Virus
Description: TUSLAMON Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .tuslamon 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’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
