Remove Protomolecule Virus (.protomolecule@gmx.us Files Ransomware) – Scarab Ransomware

Protomolecule Virus Ransomware

The Protomolecule mean a ransomware-type infection. The infection comes from the Scarab ransomware family. Protomolecule was elaborated specifically to encrypt all major file types. Once the file is encrypted people are unable to use them. Protomolecule adds the “.protomolecule@gmx.us” extension for each file encrypted by it. For example, the file “myphoto.jpg“, once encrypted by Protomolecule, will be renamed into “myphoto.jpg.protomolecule@gmx.us“. As quickly as the encryption is completed, Protomolecule places a special text file into every folder containing the encrypted data.

The message given by Protomolecule text file requesting the ransom is definitely the like the statements given by other ransomware virus representatives coming from the Scarab clan. It actually points out that the info is encrypted and that the only way to bring back it is to use a a special decryption key. Regretfully, this is absolutely true. The kind of cryptography mechanism applied by Protomolecule is still not appropriately examined. Still, it is definitely certain that each victim may be given the specific decryption key, which is absolutely unique. It is impossible to bring back the files without the key available.

Another technique of Protomolecule is that the victims cannot gain access to the key. The key is stored on a specific server run by the frauds associated with Protomolecule ransomware. To get the key and recover the important info people need to pay the ransom.

Nevertheless, regardless of the asked for amount, people should stay away from paying the virus. Cyber frauds are not fair, so they tend to totally ignore what their victims feel about the issue, even when the payment reaches their pockets. This is why paying the ransom generally does not provide any positive outcome and people just waste their money for absolutely nothing.

We highly recommend that you do not contact these crooks and certainly do not transfer money into their accounts. It is said to admit that there are no utilities able to crack Protomolecule ransomware and to recover the data data free of charge. Thus, the just right decision is to recover the lost data from the available backup.

Virus Summary

Name	Protomolecule Ransomware
File Extension	.protomolecule@gmx.us
Type	Ransomware
Family	Scarab
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 protomolecule@gmx.us extension to all the files modified by it.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments
Similar Infections	Ambrosia, Makb, Bomba
Removal Tool	GridinSoft Anti-Malware

Remember that the world wide web is now overwhelmed with threats that look comparable to Protomolecule ransomware. It is similar Ambrosia and many other ransomware-type threats. Destructive programs of such kind are typically elaborated to encrypt crucial information and to set forth the demand prior to the user to pay the ransom. The peculiarity of all such ransomware threats is that all apply a comparable algorithm to produce the distinct decryption key for data 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 avoid the loss of your crucial information is to regularly create backups of your important information.

Bear in mind that even if you create such backups, they should be put into a special storage utility not connect to your main PC. You may use the USB Flash Drive or external hard 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 certainly not a good storage location.

How did ransomware infect my PC?

There are a number of methods used by online frauds to distribute Protomolecule ransomware. Even though it doubts how precisely Protomolecule injects your system, 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.

Frequently Protomolecule virus may be presented as some legitimate software, for example, in the pop-ups advising users to execute some important software application updates. This is the common technique used by online frauds to persuade people into downloading and installing Protomolecule infection manually, by methods of their direct participation in the installation process.

In addition, the criminals may describe different e-mail spam methods to inject harmful codes into systems. So, they may describe to sending unsolicited spam e-mails with tricky notices promoting users to download the attachments or click on certain download links, for example, the ones encouraging users to open some receipts, files, tax reports or invoices.

Needless to mention, opening such documents or clicking on such dangerous links may badly damage the PC. Fictitious Adobe Flash Player upgrade informs may result in Protomolecule ransom injection. When it comes to the cracked applications, these illegally downloaded programs may also consist of malicious codes resulting in Protomolecule secret installation. Lastly, injection of Protomolecule may occur by means of Trojans that secretly get injected into the system and install malicious tools without the user’s permission.

Is there any method to prevent the injection of Protomolecule ransom virus?

Although there is no 100% guarantee to prevent your system from getting infected, there are some pieces of advice we wish to share with with you. First off, be very cautious when you browse the web and specifically while downloading totally free apps. Stay away from opening suspicious email attachments, especially when the sender of the email is not familiar to you.

Bear in mind that some freeware installers may contain other unwanted utilities in the bundle, so they may be malicious. Make sure that your current antivirus and your entire OS is always duly updated.

Obviously, downloading pirated software is prohibited and may result in important damage to be made for your system. For this reason, stay away from downloading cracked software. You are likewise strongly recommended to reconsider your existing security software and perhaps change to another security solution that can render much better services of defending your Windows.

Below please find the quotation from the Protomolecule text file:

Your documents, photos, databases, save games and other important data has been encrypted.
All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC. Data recovery is required decryptor.
If you want to restore them, write us to the e-mail : protomolecule@gmx.us . In a letter to indicate your personal identifier(look at the beginning of this message).
Free decryption as guarantee
Before paying you can send to us up to 3 files for free decryption. Please note that files must NOT contain valuable information and their total size must be less than 1Mb.
If you have no Bitcoin
Create a Bitcoin wallet: hxxps://blockchain.info/wallet/#/
Get cryptocurrency Bitcoin:
hxxps://localbitcoins.com/buy_bitcoins (Visa/MasterCard, Skrill ...)
hxxps://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page
hxxp://www.coindesk.com/information/how-can-i-buy-bitcoins/
(instruction for beginners)

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.

Screenshot of files with “.protomolecule@gmx.us” extension added by the ransomware:

Use GridinSoft Anti-Malware to remove Protomolecule 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.