VIRUS ALERT Virus 🔐 (.PAYNOW Files) — How to Remove?

The VIRUS ALERT ransomware is based on the code of Chaos ransomware. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (images, text files, excel sheets, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the read_it.txt files in each folder with the encrypted files.

What is Virus alert virus?

☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Virus alert would be “a Chaos family ransomware infection”.

Virus alert adds its own .paynow extension to the title of each encrypted file. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.paynow”. In the same manner, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.paynow”, and so forth.

In each folder that contains the encrypted files, a read_it.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is how they do it.

Virus alert abstract:

In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Virus alert looks like. Each filename has the “.paynow” extension appended to it.

How did my machine catch Virus alert ransomware?

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

There are currently three most exploited ways for criminals to have ransomware working in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.

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

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat 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 reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove the Virus alert virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Virus alert virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your computer to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware³ can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often criminals would decode some of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Virus alert virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a method to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decryption tools are constantly updated, so the solution may soon arrive.

Understandably, if the criminals succeed in encoding someone’s critical files, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about criminals just vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.

The best solution 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. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most crucial thing could be that file you were working upon when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.

Virus alert 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, Mmvb, Mmdt, Oopu, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Virus alert are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in every directory containing encoded files.

Some lucky victims were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-ransomware specialists. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom note. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware injection?

Virus alert ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can armour your system from ransomware attack in three easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown mailers with strange 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?). If the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information on this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such programs at all.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft⁴

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”.

FAQ

🤔 How can I open “.paynow” files?Are the “.paynow” files accessible?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.paynow” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

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

If the “.paynow” 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 actions should I take if the Virus alert malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Many of the blocked files might still be within your reach

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, mobile, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities⁶ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you can do it only after you remove the virus 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.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
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