.frendi Ransomware
The .frendi Ransomware is an encryption ransomware Trojan. The .frendi Ransomware is a variant in the Dharma Ransomware family, which has numerous identical variants that are active currently. The .frendi Ransomware is designed to take victims' files hostage, encrypting them with a strong encryption algorithm and then demanding a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key needed to restore the affected files. Malware researchers also have called attention to the fact that the .frendi Ransomware infections may be linked to additional malware problems and online attacks that may endanger the computer users' data and systems seriously.
What is the Objective of the .frendi Ransomware
The .frendi Ransomware targets the user-generated files in its attack, using a strong encryption algorithm to make the victims' files inaccessible. The following are examples of the files that the .frendi Ransomware threatens in its attack:
.jpg, .jpeg, .raw, .tif, .gif, .png, .bmp, .3dm, .max, .accdb, .db, .dbf, .mdb, .pdb, .sql, .dwg, .dxf, .cpp, .cs, .h, .php, .asp, .rb, .java, .jar, .class, .py, .js, .aaf, .aep, .aepx, .plb, .prel, .prproj, .aet, .ppj, .psd, .indd, .indl, .indt, .indb, .inx, .idml, .pmd, .xqx, .xqx, .ai, .eps, .ps, .svg, .swf, .fla, .as3, .as, .txt, .doc, .dot, .docx, .docm, .dotx, .dotm, .docb, .rtf, .wpd, .wps, .msg, .pdf, .xls, .xlt, .xlm, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .xltm, .xlsb, .xla, .xlam, .xll, .xlw, .ppt, .pot, .pps, .pptx, .pptm, .potx, .potm, .ppam, .ppsx, .ppsm, .sldx, .sldm, .wav, .mp3, .aif, .iff, .m3u, .m4u, .mid, .mpa, .wma, .ra, .avi, .mov, .mp4, .3gp, .mpeg, .3g2, .asf, .asx, .flv, .mpg, .wmv, .vob, .m3u8, .dat, .csv, .efx, .sdf, .vcf, .xml, .ses, .qbw, .qbb, .qbm, .qbi, .qbr , .cnt, .des, .v30, .qbo, .ini, .lgb, .qwc, .qbp, .aif, .qba, .tlg, .qbx, .qby , .1pa, .qpd, .txt, .set, .iif, .nd, .rtp, .tlg, .wav, .qsm, .qss, .qst, .fx0, .fx1, .mx0, .fpx, .fxr, .fim, .ptb, .ai, .pfb, .cgn, .vsd, .cdr, .cmx, .cpt, .csl, .cur, .des, .dsf, .ds4, , .drw, .eps, .ps, .prn, .gif, .pcd, .pct, .pcx, .plt, .rif, .svg, .swf, .tga, .tiff, .psp, .ttf, .wpd, .wpg, .wi, .raw, .wmf, .txt, .cal, .cpx, .shw, .clk, .cdx, .cdt, .fpx, .fmv, .img, .gem, .xcf, .pic, .mac, .met, .pp4, .pp5, .ppf, .nap, .pat, .ps, .prn, .sct, .vsd, .wk3, .wk4, .xpm, .zip, .rar.
The .frendi Ransomware marks the files encrypted by its attack by adding the file extension '.frendi' to each affected file's name. The file extension added to each file typically also includes an ID string and a contact email address.
The .frendi Ransomware's Ransom Demand
The .frendi Ransomware delivers its ransom note right after encrypting the victims' files. The .frendi Ransomware does this by dropping two files on the victim's computer desktop, a text file and an HTML file, both named 'Encrypted.' The .frendi Ransomware also displays its ransom note in a program window on the victim's PC. The .frendi Ransomware ransom messages read as follows:
'All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC. If you want to restore them, write us to the e-mailtlalpidas1978@aol.com
In case of no answer in 24 hours write us to theese e-mails: FobosAmerika@protonmail.ch
If there is no response from our mail, you can install the Jabber client and write to us in support of 'phobos_help@xmpp.jp, orphobos_helper@exploit.im'
Security experts strongly advise that computer users avoid contacting the criminals via the provided email addresses. It is also unrecommended that computer users pay these ransoms. It is very improbable that these people will keep their promise to restore the victims' data and, in most cases, will target the victim for additional infections once they have shown a willingness to pay. More importantly, paying these ransoms allows the criminals to continue financing these criminal activities, creating threats like the .frendi Ransomware and distributing them to computer users by these attacks. Instead, it is recommended that computer users restore any compromised data from file backups.
