The Yourdadgone virus belongs under the ransomware type of malicious agent. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the Readme_eternal.txt files in each folder with the encrypted files.
What is known about the Yourdadgonevirus?
☝️ A scientifically accurate description for the Yourdadgone would be “a ransomware-type infection”.
Yourdadgone will add its extra .yourdadgone extension to every file’s name. For example, an image named “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.yourdadgone”. Likewise, the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.yourdadgone”, and so forth.
In every folder with the encrypted files, a Readme_eternal.txt notebook document will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.
Yourdadgone overview:
| Name | Yourdadgone Virus |
| Extension | .yourdadgone |
| Ransomware note | Readme_eternal.txt |
| Detection | Adware.NeoBar.Generic, Trojan:Win32/Tnega.PKD!MTB, Win32/TrojanDownloader.Agent.DGM |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .yourdadgone extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Yourdadgone virus |
In the image below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Yourdadgone looks like. Each filename has the “.yourdadgone” extension appended to it.
That is how encrypted “.yourdadgone” files look.
How did Yourdadgone ransomware end up on my PC?
There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.
There are currently three most popular ways for hackers to have ransomware working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer networks.
If you open your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, be wary of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a viral item enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something different. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some service. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encodes your data. Since the update wizard 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 best thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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 folder containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Yourdadgone virus?
It is important to note that besides encrypting your files, the Yourdadgone virus will most likely install the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often racketeers would decode several of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. As Yourdadgone virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decryption instruments are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the malefactors succeed in encoding someone’s essential data, the hopeless person will most likely fulfill their demands. Despite that, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about racketeers just disappearing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.
The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that file you were working upon when it all happened. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the antivirus program after the OS restoration.
Yourdadgone 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, Nnqp, Mljx, Hudf, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Yourdadgone are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each directory containing encoded files.
Some lucky victims were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the hackers accidentally send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.
How to avert ransomware infiltration?
Yourdadgone ransomware has no endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour yourself from its infiltration in several easy steps:
- Never open any emails from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake letter will always contain mistakes.
- Do not use cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to tell from trustworthy software, because trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect defense 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 Yourdadgone 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 completed, 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 How can I open “.yourdadgone” files?Can I somehow access “.yourdadgone” files?
There’s no way to do it, unless the files “.yourdadgone” files are decrypted.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.yourdadgone” files ASAP. How can I do that?
If the “.yourdadgone” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Yourdadgone virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual viruses. The ransomware that has infiltrated your device is most likely still functional and launching checks periodically to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Yourdadgone malware does not come alone. 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 to do if the Yourdadgone virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.
In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your computer. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What could help the situation right now?
Many of the encoded files might still be within your reach
- If you sent or received your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to give those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
- Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, mobile, memory stick, etc.
HINT: You can use data recovery programs4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial 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 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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Brendan SmithHow to Remove YOURDADGONE Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: YOURDADGONE Virus
Description: YOURDADGONE Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .yourdadgone extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- 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.
