Remove phantom Virus (.phantom Files Ransomware) – Phantom Ransomware

phantom – General Info

The phantom mean a ransomware-type infection. The infection comes from the Phantom ransomware family. phantom was elaborated particularly to encrypt all major file types. Once the file is encrypted people are not able to use them. phantom adds the “.phantom” extension for each file encrypted by it. For example, the file “myphoto.jpg“, when encrypted by phantom, will be renamed into “myphoto.jpg.phantom“. As soon as the encryption is finished, phantom places a special text file into every folder containing the encrypted data.

The message given by phantom text file requesting the ransom is definitely the like the statements given by other ransomware representatives coming from the Phantom type. It actually points out that the info is encrypted which the only way to bring back it is to use a a special decryption key. Sadly, this is definitely true. The sort of cryptography mechanism applied by phantom is still not appropriately examined. Still, it is absolutely particular that each victim may be given the specific decryption key, which is absolutely distinct. It is impossible to restore the files without the key available.

Another trick of phantom is that the victims cannot access to the key. The key is stored on a particular server run by the frauds associated with phantom ransomware. To get the key and recover the important information people have to pay the ransom.

Nevertheless, irrespective of the requested quantity, people should keep away from paying the ransom virus. Cyber frauds are unfair, so they tend to completely ignore what their victims feel about the issue, even when the payment reaches their pockets. This is why paying the ransom typically does not give any positive result and people simply lose their money for nothing.

We strongly advise 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 phantom ransomware and to recover the data data totally free. Therefore, the just best decision is to recover the lost data from the available backup.

Virus Summary

Name	phantom Ransomware
File Extension	.phantom
Type	Ransomware
Family	Phantom
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 phantom extension to all the files modified by it.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments
Removal Tool	GridinSoft Anti-Malware

Keep in mind that the world wide web is now overwhelmed with threats that look comparable to phantom ransomware. Destructive programs of such kind are normally elaborated to encrypt essential information and to set forth the need prior to the user to pay the ransom. The peculiarity of all such ransomware threats is that all apply a similar algorithm to create the distinct decryption key for information decryption.

Thus, as long as the ransomware is still being developed or has some hidden bugs, by hand recovering the information is merely not feasible. The only way to prevent the loss of your important files is to routinely create backups of your important information.

Keep 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 Memory Stick or external disk drive for this purpose, or refer to the help of the cloud storage. If you save your backup files on your common system they may be encrypted along with other files, so it’s absolutely not a good storage location.

How did ransomware infect my PC?

There are numerous methods used by online frauds to distribute phantom ransomware. Despite the fact that it is uncertain how exactly phantom injects your PC, there are some leaks through which it may infiltrate the system:

• integration with third-party software, especially freeware;
• spam e-mails from unknown senders;
• sites rendering free hosting services;
• pirated peer-to-peer (P2P) downloads.

Typically phantom ransomware may exist as some legitimate software, for instance, in the pop-ups advising users to execute some essential software updates. This is the typical trick used by online frauds to persuade people into downloading and installing phantom infection manually, by ways of their direct participation in the installation process.

Additionally, the criminals may refer to different e-mail spam tactics to inject destructive codes into Windows PC. So, they may refer to to sending unsolicited spam emails with tricky notices promoting users to download the attachments or click on certain download links, for example, the ones motivating users to open some photos, files, tax reports or invoices.

Needless to mention, opening such files or clicking on such dangerous links may significantly damage the system. Fictitious Adobe Flash Player upgrade notifies may result in phantom ransom injection. When it comes to the cracked applications, these illegally downloaded programs may likewise contain harmful codes causing phantom secret installation. Lastly, injection of phantom may happen by methods of Trojans that covertly get injected into the system and set up destructive utilities without the user’s consent.

Is there any way to avoid the injection of phantom ransomware?

Even though there is no 100% guarantee to prevent your computer from getting infected, there are some pieces of suggestions we wish to show with you. Firstly, be really cautious when you browse the web and specifically while downloading complimentary programs. Stay 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 contain other unwanted utilities in the package, so they may be harmful. Make sure that your current antivirus software and your entire OS is always appropriately updated.

Obviously, downloading pirated software is unlawful and may result in essential damage to be produced your system. Hence, stay away from downloading cracked software. You are also strongly encouraged to reconsider your existing security software and potentially switch to another security solution that can render much better services of protecting your PC.

Below please find the quotation from the phantom text file:

发送您的 ID 到 pianist6@protonmail.com
价格取决于您给我们写信的速度 , 付款后 , 我们将向您发送解密工具 , 并协助您解密所有文件 !
我们支持解密测试 !
• 诚信是我们的原则 !
• 在付款之前 , 您可以向我们发送测试文件 , 证明我们有能力恢复您的数据 (完好无损) !
注意 !
• 请勿 (编辑 删除 重命名 更改后缀名) 文件 , 否则不可恢复 !
• 我们没有第三方合作 , 除了我们无人能解 !
• 不要试图使用第三方软件 (恢复 解密) 您的数据 , 这可能会导致数据永久损坏 !
Your ID

English note:

If you want to restore them, write us to the e-mail: pianist6@protonmail.com
Write this Your ID in the body of your message
You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins. The price depends on how fast you write to us. After payment we will send you the decryption tool that will decrypt all your files.

Free decryption test as guarantee !

Integrity is our principle!
Before paying you can send us up to 1 file for free decryption. The total size of files must be less than 2Mb (non archived), and files should not contain valuable information. (databases, backups, large excel sheets, etc.)
Attention !

Do not rename encrypted files !
Do not try to decrypt your data using third party software, it may cause permanent data loss !
Decryption of your files with the help of third parties may cause increased price (they add their fee to our) or you can become a victim of a scam !
Your ID:

Screenshot of files with “.phantom” extension added by the ransomware:

Use GridinSoft Anti-Malware to remove phantom ransomware from your computer

1.Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

  GridinSoft Anti-Malware

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.