How to remove Black Hunt Ransomware and decrypt .black files

What is Black Hunt Ransomware

Black Hunt is a malicious infection classified as ransomware. Upon infiltration, it begins encrypting data and then blackmails victims into paying for decryption (in #BlackHunt_ReadMe.hta and #BlackHunt_ReadMe.txt ransom notes). While running encryption, the virus also assigns the victim’s ID, cybercriminal’s email address, and .black extension to influenced files. To illustrate, a file originally named 1.pdf will change to something like 1.pdf.[nnUWuTLm3Y45N021].[sentafe@rape.lol] and acquire the new Black Hunt icon as well. Desktop wallpapers get altered as well.

Inside the ransom notes cybercriminals state victims have 14 days to contact them by e-mail and buy a unique key for decryption. Unless the deadline is met, threat actors say they will start selling or leaking the collected data to various third-parties. Victims can review their “data situation” via the provided TOR link. It is also said that the initial developers of Black Hunt Ransomware are the only figures able to decrypt the blocked data – since they are the sole owners of necessary private keys. Unfortunately, it is indeed rarely possible to decrypt data without the help of attackers. You can try free third-party decryption/recovery tools from our guide, however, it is less likely that they will be able to help at the moment. The complexity of manual decryption is tied up to a lack of private keys, which are often unique for each victim and held only by cybercriminals. Sometimes, decryption is possible when data exchange with the ransomware’s command server was not established correctly and an “offline” key was generated. However, this has not been observed to be the case with Black Hunt Ransomware. For now, the only two methods to return your data are to either collaborate with extortionists (and purchase their decryption tool) or recover the files from available backups. Backups are copies of files stored on external storage (e.g., cloud, USB pen drives, etc.) that were not affected at the time of infection. Recovering data from backups is always a safer option. Apart from demanding unbearably high amounts of ransom, cybercriminals also tend to scam their victims and not send any decryption keys/tools eventually. Before trying to restore data without the involvement of cybercriminals, it is crucial to remove the infection from your computer and prevent its malicious activity. Follow our guide below to do so and get protection against such threats in the future.

Black Hunt Ransomware

Black Hunt Ransomware (ransom note)

How Black Hunt Ransomware infected your computer

The most common ways abused by cybercriminals to penetrate systems with malware are e-mail spam letters, trojans, deceptive third-party downloads, fake software updates/installers, backdoors, keyloggers, botnets, system exploits, and other channels as well. Users get typically caught when some malicious file is opened or installed. For instance, ransomware can be hidden under the camouflage of some legitimate-looking file (.DOCX, .XLSX, .PDF, .EXE, .ZIP, .RAR, or .JS extensions). Malicious e-mail letters are usually disguised as legal companies/entities (e.g., delivery companies, tax authorities, banks, and so forth) and clickbait users into opening ostensibly “important” or “urgent” content. If the attached content ends up opened according to cybercriminals’ guidelines, the contained infection will most likely lead to the installation of malware. A similar infection pattern can be seen in other distribution channels as well – for example, when users download some pirated or cracked version of the software from a shady web page. While the installation of such software may look completely unsuspicious, the final result may be inadvertent infection of malware. Thus, beware of interacting with dubious download sources, torrent-sharing pages, suspicious ads, potentially malicious attachments/links, and other kinds of risky content. Download software only from official resources to prevent drive-by (stealth) installations of malware. Read our guide below to learn more about establishing protection against threats like ransomware (and other malware) in the future.

1. Download Black Hunt Ransomware Removal Tool
2. Get decryption tool for .black files
3. Recover encrypted files with Stellar Data Recovery Professional
4. Restore encrypted files with Windows Previous Versions
5. Restore files with Shadow Explorer
6. How to protect from threats like Black Hunt Ransomware

Black Hunt Ransomware files:


#BlackHunt_ReadMe.hta
#BlackHunt_ReadMe.txt
{randomname}.exe


Black Hunt Ransomware registry keys:

no information

How to decrypt and restore .black files

Use automated decryptors

Download Kaspersky RakhniDecryptor

Use following tool from Kaspersky called Rakhni Decryptor, that can decrypt .black files. Download it here:

There is no purpose to pay the ransom because there is no guarantee you will receive the key, but you will put your bank credentials at risk.

Dr.Web Rescue Pack

Famous antivirus vendor Dr. Web provides free decryption service for the owners of its products: Dr.Web Security Space or Dr.Web Enterprise Security Suite. Other users can ask for help in the decryption of .black files by uploading samples to Dr. Web Ransomware Decryption Service. Analyzing files will be performed free of charge and if files are decryptable, all you need to do is purchase a 2-year license of Dr.Web Security Space worth $120 or less. Otherwise, you don’t have to pay.

If you are infected with Black Hunt Ransomware and removed from your computer you can try to decrypt your files. Antivirus vendors and individuals create free decryptors for some crypto-lockers. To attempt to decrypt them manually you can do the following:

Use Stellar Data Recovery Professional to restore .black files

1. Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
2. Click Recover Data button.
3. Select type of files you want to restore and click Next button.
4. Choose location where you would like to restore files from and click Scan button.
5. Preview found files, choose ones you will restore and click Recover.

Using Windows Previous Versions option:

1. Right-click on infected file and choose Properties.
2. Select Previous Versions tab.
3. Choose particular version of the file and click Copy.
4. To restore the selected file and replace the existing one, click on the Restore button.
5. In case there is no items in the list choose alternative method.

Using Shadow Explorer:

1. Download Shadow Explorer program.
2. Run it and you will see screen listing of all the drives and the dates that shadow copy was created.
3. Select the drive and date that you want to restore from.
4. Right-click on a folder name and select Export.
5. In case there are no other dates in the list, choose alternative method.

If you are using Dropbox:

1. Login to the DropBox website and go to the folder that contains encrypted files.
2. Right-click on the encrypted file and select Previous Versions.
3. Select the version of the file you wish to restore and click on the Restore button.

How to protect computer from viruses, like Black Hunt Ransomware , in future

1. Get special anti-ransomware software

Use ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Dashboard

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Alert

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Blocked

Famous antivirus brand ZoneAlarm by Check Point released a comprehensive tool, that will help you with active anti-ransomware protection, as an additional shield to your current protection. The tool provides Zero-Day protection against ransomware and allows you to recover files. ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware is compatible with all other antiviruses, firewalls, and security software except ZoneAlarm Extreme (already shipped with ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware) or Check Point Endpoint products. The killer features of this application are: automatic file recovery, overwrite protection that instantly and automatically recovers any encrypted files, file protection that detects and blocks even unknown encryptors.

2. Back up your files

As an additional way to save your files, we recommend online backup. Local storage, such as hard drives, SSDs, flash drives, or remote network storage can be instantly infected by the virus once plugged in or connected to. Black Hunt Ransomware uses some techniques to exploit this. One of the best services and programs for easy automatic online backup is iDrive. It has the most profitable terms and a simple interface. You can read more about iDrive cloud backup and storage here.

3. Do not open spam e-mails and protect your mailbox

Malicious attachments to spam or phishing e-mails are the most popular method of ransomware distribution. Using spam filters and creating anti-spam rules is good practice. One of the world leaders in anti-spam protection is MailWasher Pro. It works with various desktop applications and provides a very high level of anti-spam protection.