Hermes Virus – Details
The Hermes mean a ransomware-type infection. The virus comes from the Hermes ransomware family. Hermes was elaborated particularly to encrypt all major file types. As soon as the file is encrypted people are unable to use them. Hermes adds the “.Hermes” extension for each file encrypted by it. For example, the file “myphoto.jpg“, when encrypted by Hermes, will be renamed into “myphoto.jpg.Hermes“. As soon as the encryption is finished, Hermes places a special text file into every folder containing the encrypted data.The message given by Hermes text file requesting for the ransom is absolutely the like the statements given by other ransomware virus representatives coming from the Hermes clan. It literally mentions that the information is encrypted and that the only way to restore it is to use a an unique decryption key. Unfortunately, this is definitely true. The sort of cryptography mechanism applied by Hermes is still not correctly examined. Still, it is definitely specific that each victim may be given the specific decryption key, which is absolutely unique. It is impossible to restore the files without the key available.
Another technique of Hermes is that the victims cannot gain access to the key. The key is kept on a specific server run by the frauds associated with Hermes ransomware. To get the key and recover the important info people have to pay the ransom, which amounts to $300. To obtain the payment information users are advised to contact the frauds through email or telegram. The alert also shows that the users need to contact the Hermes developers within 72 hours after the encryption occurred. The message says that doing so users will get a 50% discount, so the ransom quantity will drop down to $150.
Hermes encrypted your documents, but that might not be the only damage done to you. The ransomware might still be hidingon your computer. To identify whether this holds true, we suggest downloading GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
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Nevertheless, regardless of the asked for amount, people should stay away from paying the ransom. Cyber frauds are unfair, so they tend to totally ignore what their victims feel about the problem, even when the payment reaches their pockets. This is why paying the ransom normally does not provide any positive result and people simply waste their money for absolutely nothing.
We highly recommend that you do not contact these crooks and definitely do not transfer money into their accounts. It is said to admit that there are no utilities able to crack Hermes ransomware and to recover the information data free of charge. Thus, the just best decision is to recover the lost information from the available backup.
Virus Summary
| Name | Hermes Ransomware |
| File Extension | .Hermes |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Family | Hermes |
| Short Description | The ransomware encrypts all the data stored on your system and requires a ransom to be paid on your part supposedly to recover your important files. |
| Symptoms | File encryption by the ransomware is performed by means of the AES and RSA encryption algorithms. Once the encryption is completed, the ransomware adds its special Hermes extension to all the files modified by it. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments |
| Removal Tool | GridinSoft Anti-Malware |
Keep in mind that the internet is now overwhelmed with threats that look comparable to Hermes ransomware. Harmful programs of such kind are typically elaborated to encrypt important data and to state the demand prior to the user to pay the ransom. The peculiarity of all such ransomware threats is that all apply a similar algorithm to produce the distinct decryption key for information decryption.
Hence, as long as the ransomware is still being developed or has some hidden bugs, manually recovering the information is just not feasible. The only way to prevent the loss of your important information is to routinely create backups of your important information.
Bear in mind that even if you create such backups, they need to be placed into a special storage utility not connect to your main PC. You may use the USB Flash Drive or external hard disk for this purpose, or refer to the help of the cloud storage. If you store your backup files on your common system they may be encrypted in addition to other files, so it’s certainly not a good storage place.
How did ransomware infect my computer?
There are a number of ways used by online scams to distribute Hermes ransom virus. Even though it doubts how precisely Hermes injects your system, there are some leaks through which it may penetrate the system:
- integration with third-party software, especially freeware;
- spam emails from unknown senders;
- websites rendering free hosting services;
- pirated peer-to-peer (P2P) downloads.
Typically Hermes ransomware might exist as some legitimate software application, for instance, in the pop-ups advising users to carry out some essential software application updates. This is the typical trick used by online frauds to persuade people into downloading and installing Hermes infection manually, by methods of their direct participation in the installation process.
Furthermore, the criminals might refer to different e-mail spam techniques to inject malicious codes into systems. So, they may refer to to sending unsolicited spam e-mails with tricky notifications promoting users to download the attachments or click on certain download links, for example, the ones encouraging users to open some photos, documents, tax reports or invoices.
Needless to mention, opening such documents or clicking on such dangerous links may severely damage the PC. Fictitious Adobe Flash Player update alerts may result in Hermes ransom injection. As for the cracked software, these illegally downloaded programs may also include harmful codes causing Hermes secret installation. Lastly, injection of Hermes may occur by means of Trojans that secretly get injected into the system and install destructive utilities without the user’s authorization.
Is there any method to prevent the injection of Hermes ransom virus?
Although there is no 100% guarantee to avoid your system from getting infected, there are some pieces of advice we want to show with you. To start with, be very cautious when you browse the web and especially while downloading free apps. Keep away from opening suspicious email attachments, especially when the sender of the email is not familiar to you.
Keep in mind that some freeware installers may include other unwanted utilities in the bundle, so they may be destructive. Ensure that your current antivirus and your entire operating system is always appropriately updated.
Naturally, downloading pirated software is illegal and may result in necessary damage to be produced your system. Hence, stay away from downloading cracked software. You are also strongly recommended to reconsider your existing security software and potentially switch to another security solution that can render much better services of defending your system.
Screenshot of files with “.Hermes” extension added by the ransomware:
Use GridinSoft Anti-Malware to remove Hermes ransomware from your computer
1.Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:
2. Double-click on the setup file.
When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-ag.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.
3. Press Install button for run GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
3.Once installed, GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically run.
4. Wait for the GridinSoft Anti-Malware scan to complete.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your computer for Win Speedup 2018 and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so we suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.
5. 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.
