In this article, you will find more information about .PLANT files virus as well as a step-by-step guide on how to remove malicious files from an infected system and how to potentially recover files encrypted by this ransomware.
The .PLANT files virus is another ransomware that belongs to Matrix threat family. Once activated on a computer system it interferes with essential settings in an attempt to localize certain types of files and encodes them with sophisticated cipher algorithm. Following encryption, corrupted files display the extension .PLANT in their names. The fact that you are no longer able to access them is misused by hackers who blackmail you into transferring them a ransom for a decryption tool.
Threat Summary
| Name | .PLANT Files Virus |
| Type | Ransomware, Cryptovirus |
| Short Description | A data locker ransomware that utilizes strond cihper algorithm to encrypt files on stored on the infected computer. Then it demands a ransom for decryption solution. |
| Symptoms | Important files are locked and renamed with .PLANT extension. They remain unusable until a ransom is paid. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool | User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss .PLANT Files Virus. |
| Data Recovery Tool | Windows Data Recovery by Stellar Phoenix Notice! This product scans your drive sectors to recover lost files and it may not recover 100% of the encrypted files, but only few of them, depending on the situation and whether or not you have reformatted your drive. |
.PLANT Files Virus (Matrix) – Distribution
The spread of .PLANT files virus’s payload files is probably realized via email spam messages. Emails that attempt to deliver malicious code on computer devices are often designed as representatives of well-known businesses, websites, and even governmental institutions. With this trick, hackers aim to make you more prone to interact with the presented malicious components – an action which will activate their malicious code on your PC.
As regards these malicious components they are usually disguised as file attachments of common types such as documents, images, archives, PDFs or as URL addresses associated with infected web pages. In addition, text messages presented by emails part of malspam campaigns usually attempt to provoke a sense of urgency to lure you into opening affected elements on your device without taking into account the risk they hide.
In order to stay safe in future we recommend you to check our forum for several safety tips that could help you prevent ransomware infections like .PLANT from infecting your system.
.PLANT Files Virus (Matrix) – Overview
Security researchers reports indicate that .PLANT files virus is a strain of
The infection process with this threat begins the moment its payload files loads on your system. Such a file is usually designed to trigger lots of malicious commands that support the smooth infection process. One of the first operations this is likely to initiate is the creation of additional malicious files on the system. Once established on the infected system these files are executed by .PLANT ransomware in a predefined order. Processes they manipulate and infect let the threat to complete all infection stages.
Before .PLANT could reach the main infection stage – data corruption, it needs to access several system components in order to modify their settings and become able to evade detection and obtain a persistent presence. Usually, the Registry Editor is among these affected components so that’s why we advise you to check your registries for malicious entries during the removal process of .PLANT cryptovirus.
As a way to demonstrate its presence on the system, .PLANT files virus could drop a ransom note file. The message presented by this file is likely to force you into contacting hackers at a given email address or transferring them a specified ransom fee. Either way, it is better to avoid its instructions and attempt to cope with the problem in a secure way.
.PLANT Files Virus (Matrix) – Encryption Process
Once the ransomware reaches the encryption stage it activates an in-built encryption module to localize target files and transform their original code. During this stage, .PLANT files virus utilizes a combination of two sophisticated cipher algorithms – RSA 2048 bit and AES 128 bit. As a result, corrupted files remain inaccessible and renamed with a long sequence of extension that starts with hackers’ contact email and ends with the extension .PLANT.
Like previous variants of Matrix ransomware variant, .PLANT is likely to corrupt types of files that store valuable data including:
- Audio files
- Video files
- Document files
- Image files
- Backup files
- Banking credentials, etc
Remove .PLANT Files Virus (Matrix) and Restore Data
The so-called .PLANT files virus is a threat with highly complex code designed to corrupt both system settings and valuable data. So the only way to use your infected system in a secure manner again is to remove all malicious files and objects created by the ransomware. For the purpose, you could use our removal guide that reveals how to clean and secure your system step by step. In addition, in the guide, you will find several alternative data recovery approaches that may be helpful in attempting to restore files encrypted by Matrix .PLANT ransomware. We remind you to back up all encrypted files to an external drive before the recovery process.
Gergana Ivanova
Gergana has a bachelor's degree in Marketing. She has been with the STF team for five years, researching malware, reporting on the latest computer infections, and following digital marketing trends.
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Attention! SensorsTechForum strongly recommends that all malware victims should look for assistance only by reputable sources. Many guides out there claim to offer free recovery and decryption for files encrypted by ransomware viruses. Be advised that some of them may only be after your money.
As a site that has been dedicated to providing free removal instructions for ransomware and malware since 2014, SensorsTechForum’s recommendation is to only pay attention to trustworthy sources.
How to recognize trustworthy sources:
- Always check "About Us" web page.
- Profile of the content creator.
- Make sure that real people are behind the site and not fake names and profiles.
- Verify Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter personal profiles.
- Guide 1: How to Remove .PLANT Files Virus from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of .PLANT Files Virus from Mac OS X.
How to Remove .PLANT Files Virus from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove .PLANT Files Virus
Step 2: Uninstall .PLANT Files Virus and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.Step 3: Clean any registries, created by .PLANT Files Virus on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by .PLANT Files Virus there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Step 4: Scan for .PLANT Files Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 5 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .PLANT Files Virus.
Ransomware infections and .PLANT Files Virus aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested a data recovery method that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that this method may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Simply click on the link and on the website menus on top, choose Data Recovery - Data Recovery Wizard for Windows or Mac (depending on your OS), and then download and run the tool.
Get rid of .PLANT Files Virus from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall .PLANT Files Virus and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove .PLANT Files Virus via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 3 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .PLANT Files Virus.
Ransomware infections and .PLANT Files Virus aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested a data recovery method that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that this method may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Simply click on the link and on the website menus on top, choose Data Recovery - Data Recovery Wizard for Windows or Mac (depending on your OS), and then download and run the tool.
.PLANT Files Virus FAQ
What is .PLANT Files Virus ransomware and how does it work?
.PLANT Files Virus is a ransomware infection - the malicious software that enters your computer silently and blocks either access to the computer itself or encrypt your files.
Many ransomware viruses use sophisticated encryption algorithm how to make your files inaccessible. The goal of ransomware infections is to demand that you pay a ransom payment to get access to your files back.
How does .PLANT Files Virus ransomware infect my computer?
Via several ways..PLANT Files Virus Ransomware infects computers by being sent via phishing e-mails, containing virus attachment.
This attachment is usually masked as an important document, like an invoice, bank document or even a plane ticket and it looks very convincing to users.
After you download and execute this attachment, a drive-by download occurs and your computer is infected with the ransomware virus.
Another way, you may become a victim of .PLANT Files Virus is if you download a fake installer, crack or patch from a low reputation website or if you click on a virus link. Many users report getting a ransomware infection by downloading torrents.
How to open ..PLANT Files Virus files?
You can't. At this point the ..PLANT Files Virus files are encrypted. You can only open them once they are decrypted.
Decryptor did not decrypt my data. What now?
Do not panic and backup the files. If a decryptor did not decrypt your ..PLANT Files Virus files successfully, then do not despair, because this virus is still new.
One way to restore files, encrypted by .PLANT Files Virus ransomware is to use a decryptor for it. But since it's a new virus, advised that the decryption keys for it may not be out yet and available to the public. We will update this article and keep you posted as soon as this decryptor is released.
How Do I restore "..PLANT Files Virus" files (Other Methods)?
Yes, sometimes files can be restored. We have suggested several file recovery methods that could work if you want to restore ..PLANT Files Virus files.
These methods are in no way 100% guarantee that you will be able to get your files back. But if you have a backup, your chances of success are much greater.
How do I get rid of .PLANT Files Virus ransomware virus?
The safest way and the most efficient one for the removal of this ransomware infection is the use a professional anti malware software. It will scan for and locate .PLANT Files Virus ransomware and then remove it without causing any additional harm to your important ..PLANT Files Virus files.
Also, keep in mind that viruses like .PLANT Files Virus ransomware also install Trojans and keyloggers that can steal your passwords and accounts. Scanning your computer with an anti-malware software will make sure that all of these virus components are removed and your computer is protected in the future.
What to Do If nothing works?
There is still a lot you can do. If none of the above methods seem to work for you, then try these methods:
- Try to find a safe computer from where you can can login on your own line accounts like One Drive, iDrive, Google Drive and so on.
- Try to contact your friends, relatives and other people so that they can check if they have some of your important photos or documents just in case you sent them.
- Also, check if some of the files that were encrypted it can be re-downloaded from the web.
- Another clever way to get back some of your files is to find another old computer, a flash drive or even a CD or a DVD where you may have saved your older documents. You might be surprised what will turn up.
- You can also go to your email account to check if you can send any attachments to other people. Usually what is sent the email is saved on your account and you can re-download it. But most importantly, make sure that this is done from a safe computer and make sure to remove the virus first.
More tips you can find on our forums, where you can also asks any questions about your ransomware problem.
