This article will aid you remove SnowPicnic Virus effectively. Follow the removal instructions at the end.
The SnowPicnic Virus is a newly discovered ransomware threat that does not belong to any of the known malware families. The identity of the operators behind the recent attacks are not known. Depending on its configuration active infections can also lead to the installation of other threats — Viruses, ransomware, miners and Trojans. Our guide explains how computer users can spot the infections and attempt to remove them.
Threat Summary
| Name | SnowPicnic Virus |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Short Description | The ransomware encrypts files on your computer and displays a ransom message afterward. |
| Symptoms | The ransomware will encrypt your files and put the extension .snowpicnic to them after it finishes its encryption process. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss SnowPicnic 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. |
SnowPicnic Virus – Distribution
The SnowPicnic Virus is a newly discovered malware used in an attack in the end of October 2018. According to the security reports it is based on generic and well-known malware families. This brings up two possible hypotheses about its origins. The first one is that the operators have made the modifications by themselves and released the threat on their own. The other one is that the strain is commissioned through an order via the hacker underground forums.
It appears that one of the main distribution tactics is the use of infected documents. They can can be of any popular type: presentations, databases, rich text documents or spreadsheets. When they are opened by the victims a prompt will be shown asking for the internal scripts to be enabled. If this is done the ransomware will be installed onto the computers.
One of the popular methods is the coordination of SPAM email messages. They include phishing tactics that coerce the victims into running the documents — they may be described as manuals or received delivery notifications, contracts or other files that may be of user interest.
The other delivery tactic is the inclusion of the script into modified setup files. They are usually the most popular software that users download: creativity suites, system utilities and common productivity applications. Whenever they are installed the Virus will also be deployed. They are made by taking the real files and modifying them with the relevant infection code.
All of these infected payloads can additionally be spread on various file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent. They are often used to distribute both illegal and legal contents — applications, documents and games.
To initiate large-scale infections the computer criminals can make use of browser hijackers — dangerous extensions that are made compatible with the most popular web browsers. They are most commonly available on the official browser repositories posing as useful additions. To coerce the users into installing them fake user reviews and developer accounts are used.
SnowPicnic Virus – Information
At the moment the captured strains of the SnowPicnic virus contain the base encryption engine. However as it is based on other threats we expect that future updates of the modular engine will allow the hackers to launch a much more complex infection. This article will present the classic infection scenario however every single variation of it may use a different approach.
Usually the first module to be run is the information retrieval one. It scans the contents of the local machine for data that can be useful in the encryption process and for the hacker operators. It can expose the victim’s identity by looking for strings such as their name, address and any stored passwords. Another type of information would be a profile of their installed hardware or user settings.
The information can be sent automatically to the operators or used further in a security bypass. It will search for security software and remove them. They are responsible for detecting and countering virus infections — anti-virus software and various debug environments. Advanced malware can also detect if they are running inside a virtual machine and shuts themselves down to avoid detection.
At this point the criminals will have complete access to the infected devices. Most advanced threats will modify the Windows Registry of both the operating system and third-party applications. This can lead to the inability to start certain functions and cause overall performance issues.
A related malicious action is the installation of SnowPicnic as a persistent threat. This means that the engine will modify boot options, system settings and Registry values in order to automatically launch itself when the computer is started. Such threats also disable most manual user removal strategies.
Infections such as this one are very dangerous as they also delete system data such as Shadow Volume Copies and System Recovery Points. Effective recovery must therefore be made using a powerful data recovery application.
Additional payloads can be made such as Trojan horse infections which set up a local client to the hacker-controlled server. This allows the operators to spy on the victims in real-time and take over control of their machines.
Alternative signatures under which the SnowPicnic virus is known are the following:
Gen:Heur.Ransom.REntS.Gen.1
MSIL/Filecoder.AK!tr.ransom
MSIL:Filecoder-AC [Trj] Troj/Cryptear-A
Trojan.Encoder.10598
Trojan.Win32.Z.Filecoder.21504
Win32/Trojan.61e
a variant of MSIL/Filecoder.AK
malicious.fbeef2
malware (ai score=87)
SnowPicnic Virus – Encryption Process
When all modules have completed execution the associated SnowPicnic ransomware engine will be started. Like other popular threats it will use a built-in list of target file type extensions that will be processed by a strong cipher. An example one will include the following data:
- Archives
- Documents
- Backups
- Images
- Videos
- Music
All of them will receive the .snowpicnic extension. The ransomware note created by the engine is created in two files: Read.HTML and Read.TXT. Both of them contain the same message:
aYour files has been encrypted with Millitary Grade Algorithm AES-256 (Advanced Encrypting Standard) h[tt]ps://en.wikipedia[.]org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard,
And for decrypt: Buy to my wallet 0 bitcoins, not 0.5, not 1, not 2,0 bitcoins!ator will be crypted, obfuscated, and encoded with ASCII chars. Abort – spread to all computers. Retry – Record to BIOS and Hard Disk for installation and spreading before reinstalled:***
Good luck!
Good bye!’
Remove SnowPicnic Ransomware and Restore .snowpicnic Files
If your computer got infected with the SnowPicnic Ransomware ransomware Virus, you should have a bit of experience in removing malware. You should get rid of this ransomware as quickly as possible before it can have the chance to spread further and infect other computers. You should remove the ransomware and follow the step-by-step instructions guide provided below.
Martin Beltov
Martin graduated with a degree in Publishing from Sofia University. As a cyber security enthusiast he enjoys writing about the latest threats and mechanisms of intrusion.
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Step 1: Scan for SnowPicnic Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Ransomware Automatic Removal - Video Guide
Step 2: Uninstall SnowPicnic Virus and related malware 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 delete most unwanted and malicious programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by SnowPicnic 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 SnowPicnic 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: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove SnowPicnic Virus
Step 5: Try to Restore Files Encrypted by SnowPicnic Virus.
Method 1: Use STOP Decrypter by Emsisoft.
Not all variants of this ransomware can be decrypted for free, but we have added the decryptor used by researchers that is often updated with the variants which become eventually decrypted. You can try and decrypt your files using the instructions below, but if they do not work, then unfortunately your variant of the ransomware virus is not decryptable.
Follow the instructions below to use the Emsisoft decrypter and decrypt your files for free. You can download the Emsisoft decryption tool linked here and then follow the steps provided below:
1 Right-click on the decrypter and click on Run as Administrator as shown below:
2. Agree with the license terms:
3. Click on "Add Folder" and then add the folders where you want files decrypted as shown underneath:
4. Click on "Decrypt" and wait for your files to be decoded.
Note: Credit for the decryptor goes to Emsisoft researchers who have made the breakthrough with this virus.
Method 2: Use data recovery software
Ransomware infections and SnowPicnic 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 the top, choose Data Recovery - Data Recovery Wizard for Windows or Mac (depending on your OS), and then download and run the tool.
SnowPicnic Virus-FAQ
What is SnowPicnic Virus Ransomware?
SnowPicnic 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 algorithms 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.
What Does SnowPicnic Virus Ransomware Do?
Ransomware in general is a malicious software that is designed to block access to your computer or files until a ransom is paid.
Ransomware viruses can also damage your system, corrupt data and delete files, resulting in the permanent loss of important files.
How Does SnowPicnic Virus Infect?
Via several ways.SnowPicnic Virus Ransomware infects computers by being sent via phishing emails, 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.
Another way you may become a victim of SnowPicnic 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 .SnowPicnic Virus files?
You can't without a decryptor. At this point, the .SnowPicnic Virus files are encrypted. You can only open them once they are decrypted using a specific decryption key for the particular algorithm.
What to Do If a Decryptor Does Not Work?
Do not panic, and backup the files. If a decryptor did not decrypt your .SnowPicnic Virus files successfully, then do not despair, because this virus is still new.
Can I Restore ".SnowPicnic Virus" Files?
Yes, sometimes files can be restored. We have suggested several file recovery methods that could work if you want to restore .SnowPicnic Virus files.
These methods are in no way 100% guaranteed that you will be able to get your files back. But if you have a backup, your chances of success are much greater.
How To Get Rid of SnowPicnic Virus Virus?
The safest way and the most efficient one for the removal of this ransomware infection is the use a professional anti-malware program.
It will scan for and locate SnowPicnic Virus ransomware and then remove it without causing any additional harm to your important .SnowPicnic Virus files.
Can I Report Ransomware to Authorities?
In case your computer got infected with a ransomware infection, you can report it to the local Police departments. It can help authorities worldwide track and determine the perpetrators behind the virus that has infected your computer.
Below, we have prepared a list with government websites, where you can file a report in case you are a victim of a cybercrime:
Cyber-security authorities, responsible for handling ransomware attack reports in different regions all over the world:
Germany - Offizielles Portal der deutschen Polizei
United States - IC3 Internet Crime Complaint Centre
United Kingdom - Action Fraud Police
France - Ministère de l'Intérieur
Italy - Polizia Di Stato
Spain - Policía Nacional
Netherlands - Politie
Poland - Policja
Portugal - Polícia Judiciária
Greece - Cyber Crime Unit (Hellenic Police)
India - Mumbai Police - CyberCrime Investigation Cell
Australia - Australian High Tech Crime Center
Reports may be responded to in different timeframes, depending on your local authorities.
Can You Stop Ransomware from Encrypting Your Files?
Yes, you can prevent ransomware. The best way to do this is to ensure your computer system is updated with the latest security patches, use a reputable anti-malware program and firewall, backup your important files frequently, and avoid clicking on malicious links or downloading unknown files.
Can SnowPicnic Virus Ransomware Steal Your Data?
Yes, in most cases ransomware will steal your information. It is a form of malware that steals data from a user's computer, encrypts it, and then demands a ransom in order to decrypt it.
In many cases, the malware authors or attackers will threaten to delete the data or publish it online unless the ransom is paid.
Can Ransomware Infect WiFi?
Yes, ransomware can infect WiFi networks, as malicious actors can use it to gain control of the network, steal confidential data, and lock out users. If a ransomware attack is successful, it could lead to a loss of service and/or data, and in some cases, financial losses.
Should I Pay Ransomware?
No, you should not pay ransomware extortionists. Paying them only encourages criminals and does not guarantee that the files or data will be restored. The better approach is to have a secure backup of important data and be vigilant about security in the first place.
What Happens If I Don't Pay Ransom?
If you don't pay the ransom, the hackers may still have access to your computer, data, or files and may continue to threaten to expose or delete them, or even use them to commit cybercrimes. In some cases, they may even continue to demand additional ransom payments.
Can a Ransomware Attack Be Detected?
Yes, ransomware can be detected. Anti-malware software and other advanced security tools can detect ransomware and alert the user when it is present on a machine.
It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest security measures and to keep security software updated to ensure ransomware can be detected and prevented.
Do Ransomware Criminals Get Caught?
Yes, ransomware criminals do get caught. Law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, Interpol and others have been successful in tracking down and prosecuting ransomware criminals in the US and other countries. As ransomware threats continue to increase, so does the enforcement activity.
About the SnowPicnic Virus Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this SnowPicnic Virus how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific malware and restore your encrypted files.
How did we conduct the research on this ransomware?
Our research is based on an independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, and as such, we receive daily updates on the latest malware and ransomware definitions.
Furthermore, the research behind the SnowPicnic Virus ransomware threat is backed with VirusTotal and the NoMoreRansom project.
To better understand the ransomware threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.
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.
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