What is HARDBIT Ransomware
HARDBIT is a ransomware virus that targets Windows users to encrypt system-stored data and blackmail victims into paying a fee for decryption and non-disclosure of exfiltrated data. While rendering files inaccessible, the file-encryptor assigns some visual changes to highlight the blocked data. For instance, a file originally named 1.pdf
will change to something like 1.pdf.[id-GSD557NO60].[boos@keemail.me].hardbit
at the end of encryption. This newly-assigned string of symbols consists of the victim’s ID, cybercriminals’ e-mail address, and .hardbit extension. Immediately after the encryption process approaches its end, HARDBIT changes the desktop wallpapers and drops two files explaining decryption instructions – Help_me_for_Decrypt.hta and How To Restore Your Files.txt.
HARDBIT
!!ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES ARE STOLEN AND ENCRYPTED!!
All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC.
If you want to restore them, please send your ID for us
Our contact information is written in file (HOW TO RESTORE YOUR FILES).
Please read this file carefully so as not to make a mistake.
You have to 48 hours(2 Days) To contact or paying us After that, you have to Pay Double.
We need your ID and your ID is written below the help file
Please do not touch the Key written under the help file in any way, otherwise the consequences will be with you
Introducing TOX messengers
•You can download and install TOX message from this link hxxps://tox.chat/
•Our ID in TOX: 77A904360EA7D74268E7A4F316865F1703D 2D7A6AF28C9ECFACED69CD09C8610FF2C728E6A33.
•We are ready to answer your questions!
•If you have information about the company and its servers, share with us in TOX and receive a share from us when they pay. Don't worry, your identity will remain hidden.
Is there a guarantee for decryption after payment?
•Before paying you can send us up to 2 test files for free decryption. The total size of files must be less than 1Mb (non archived), and files should not contain valuable information. (databases,backups, large excel sheets, etc.)
Attention!
•DO NOT trust anyone except the email and the TOX ID that is in the help file, otherwise we will not be responsible for the consequences.
•DO NOT rename encrypted files.
•DO NOT try to decrypt or manipulate the files yourself.
•Do Not contact intermediary companies. They don't do anything special, they just message us and give us money and get the key, but if our price was $50,000, they will charge $70,000 from you.
•Do not pay any money for the test file.
•Before manipulating the files, be sure to make a backup of them, otherwise it is your responsibility.
_ _ _____ ___ ___ ___ _ _____
| | ( )| _ || _ \ ( _ \ ( _ \ (_)(_ _)
| |_| || (_) || (_) )| | ) || (_) )| | | |
| _ || _ || / | | | || _ ( | | | |
| | | || | | || |\ \ | |_) || (_) )| | | |
(_) |_||_| |_||_| (_)(____/ (____/ |_| |_|
¦¦¦¦¦HARDBIT RANSOMWARE¦¦¦¦¦
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what happened?
All your files have been stolen and then encrypted. But don't worry, everything is safe and will be returned to you.
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How can I get my files back?
You have to pay us to get the files back. We don't have bank or paypal accounts, you only have to pay us via Bitcoin.
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How can I buy bitcoins?
You can buy bitcoins from all reputable sites in the world and send them to us. Just search how to buy bitcoins on the internet. Our suggestion is these sites.
>>hxxps://www.binance.com/enhxxps://www.coinbase.com/hxxps://localbitcoins.com/hxxps://www.bybit.com/en-US/<>boos@keemail.meboos@cyberfear.com<;<
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How will the payment process be after payment?
After payment, we will send you the decryption tool along with the guide and we will be with you until the last file is decrypted.
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What happens if I don't pay you?
If you don't pay us, you will never have access to your files because the private key is only in our hands. This transaction is not important to us,
but it is important to you, because not only do you not have access to your files, but you also lose time. And the more time passes, the more you will lose and
If you do not pay the ransom, we will attack your company again in the future.
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What are your recommendations?
- Never change the name of the files, if you want to manipulate the files, make sure you make a backup of them. If there is a problem with the files, we are not responsible for it.
- Never work with intermediary companies, because they charge more money from you. For example, if we ask you for 50,000 dollars, they will tell you 55,000 dollars. Don't be afraid of us, just call us.
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Very important! For those who have cyber insurance against ransomware attacks.
Insurance companies require you to keep your insurance information secret, this is to never pay the maximum amount specified in the contract or to pay nothing at all, disrupting negotiations.
The insurance company will try to derail negotiations in any way they can so that they can later argue that you will be denied coverage because your insurance does not cover the ransom amount.
For example your company is insured for 10 million dollars, while negotiating with your insurance agent about the ransom he will offer us the lowest possible amount, for example 100 thousand dollars,
we will refuse the paltry amount and ask for example the amount of 15 million dollars, the insurance agent will never offer us the top threshold of your insurance of 10 million dollars.
He will do anything to derail negotiations and refuse to pay us out completely and leave you alone with your problem. If you told us anonymously that your company was insured for $10 million and other
important details regarding insurance coverage, we would not demand more than $10 million in correspondence with the insurance agent. That way you would have avoided a leak and decrypted your information.
But since the sneaky insurance agent purposely negotiates so as not to pay for the insurance claim, only the insurance company wins in this situation. To avoid all this and get the money on the insurance,
be sure to inform us anonymously about the availability and terms of insurance coverage, it benefits both you and us, but it does not benefit the insurance company. Poor multimillionaire insurers will not
starve and will not become poorer from the payment of the maximum amount specified in the contract, because everyone knows that the contract is more expensive than money, so let them fulfill the conditions
prescribed in your insurance contract, thanks to our interaction.
Overall, it is said all important data has been encrypted and extracted by cybercriminals. Victims are therefore guided to contact extortionists and pay some amount of ransom to decrypt their data. Unless victims meet these demands, cybercriminals threaten it will result in gradual leaks of the collected data to resources on the dark web. It is also said victims should start communication within 2 days, otherwise, the price for decryption will double. Before paying the ransom, victims are allowed to send up to 2 files (less than 1Mb and non-archived) and get them fully decrypted for free. This way, cybercriminals prove they are capable of restoring access to data. In addition, the two ransom notes also display alerts that warn victims against trying to decrypt the blocked data manually. Unfortunately, there are no third-party tools that could decrypt .hardbit files at the moment. The only two options are either to agree on paying the ransom or delete the virus and recover your data using backup copies. However, paying the ransom is often not recommended – some ransomware developers end up being scammers who do not send any promised decryption tools in the end. Ransomware is specifically designed to run victims into a dead end where neither of the options is ideal – for instance, victims may recover data with backup copies but at the same time risk publication of data on dark web resources. If you choose to recover your files without the involvement of the extortionists, make sure to delete the infection first. Although virus removal will not unlock your data itself, it will ensure no more malicious activity is present inside your system. Follow our instructions below to do it. Additionally, you will also find some general decryption and recovery software recommendations, however, we should warn you that they might not be able to recover data encrypted by HARDBIT Ransomware for now.
How HARDBIT Ransomware infected your computer
Many users end up infected with ransomware after opening malicious files or downloading software that conceals some malware. Cybercriminals tend to send legitimate-looking e-mail messages with malicious attachments disguised as MS Office documents, PDFs, Executable, Archive, or JavaScript files. Such messages attempt to trick inexperienced or simply inattentive users into opening such attachments and allowing certain actions required by them (e.g, disabling “Protect View” mode in MS Office documents). Alternatively, users may receive unreliable links leading to websites that offer the installation of software with malware hidden inside. Infiltrations via e-mail spam messages is not the only method abused by threat actors to deliver various kinds of malware – the distribution may also be common to happen through trojans, deceptive third-party downloads, fake software updates/installers, backdoors, keyloggers, botnets, system exploits, and other similar channels. Read out guide below to learn some practical advice on how to protect yourself against ransomware and other threats in the future.
- Download HARDBIT Ransomware Removal Tool
- Get decryption tool for .hardbit files
- Recover encrypted files with Stellar Data Recovery Professional
- Restore encrypted files with Windows Previous Versions
- Restore files with Shadow Explorer
- How to protect from threats like HARDBIT Ransomware
Download Removal Tool
To remove HARDBIT Ransomware completely, we recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 from EnigmaSoft Limited. It detects and removes all files, folders, and registry keys of HARDBIT Ransomware. The trial version of SpyHunter 5 offers virus scan and 1-time removal for FREE.
Alternative Removal Tool
To remove HARDBIT Ransomware completely, we recommend you to use Norton Antivirus from Symantec. It detects and removes all files, folders, and registry keys of HARDBIT Ransomware and prevents future infections by similar viruses.
HARDBIT Ransomware files:
Help_me_for_Decrypt.hta
{randomname}.exe
HARDBIT Ransomware registry keys:
no information
How to decrypt and restore .hardbit files
Use automated decryptors
Download Kaspersky RakhniDecryptor
Use following tool from Kaspersky called Rakhni Decryptor, that can decrypt .hardbit 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 .hardbit 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 HARDBIT 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 .hardbit files
- Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
- Click Recover Data button.
- Select type of files you want to restore and click Next button.
- Choose location where you would like to restore files from and click Scan button.
- Preview found files, choose ones you will restore and click Recover.
Using Windows Previous Versions option:
- Right-click on infected file and choose Properties.
- Select Previous Versions tab.
- Choose particular version of the file and click Copy.
- To restore the selected file and replace the existing one, click on the Restore button.
- In case there is no items in the list choose alternative method.
Using Shadow Explorer:
- Download Shadow Explorer program.
- Run it and you will see screen listing of all the drives and the dates that shadow copy was created.
- Select the drive and date that you want to restore from.
- Right-click on a folder name and select Export.
- In case there are no other dates in the list, choose alternative method.
If you are using Dropbox:
- Login to the DropBox website and go to the folder that contains encrypted files.
- Right-click on the encrypted file and select Previous Versions.
- Select the version of the file you wish to restore and click on the Restore button.
How to protect computer from viruses, like HARDBIT Ransomware , in future
1. Get special anti-ransomware software
Use ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware
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. HARDBIT 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.