Qbix file extension
.Qbix file extension is a file extension that uses malware belonging to the Crysis/Dharma ransomware family to mark files that have been encrypted. Ransomware is a malicious program that encrypts user files and demands a ransom for a key-decryptor pair that is necessary to decrypt the affected files. Ransomware uses a strong encryption system and a long key, which virtually eliminates the possibility of decrypting files without a key. Files encrypted with .Qbix extension become useless, their contents cannot be read without the key that the criminals have.
Qbix virus
Qbix virus is one of the variants of Dharma/Crysis ransomware. This malware most often gets to the computer as part of other programs (torrents files, freeware, cracked apps and games) that have been downloaded by the user from the Internet. After its start, the virus begins to encrypt files using a key that is individual for each computer. Qbix virus uses a very strong encryption system, which eliminates the possibility of determining the key, even using a super computer. The encryption process is very fast, regardless of what is in the file, the virus can easily encrypt it. Qbix can encrypt almost all files that are on the computer, including those located on network drives. The only thing that the virus does not encrypt is the files that are necessary for the Windows OS to function normally. Below we list the types of files that can be encrypted by the ransomware.
.cas, .pfx, .wp5, .xbplate, .itdb, .r3d, .fsh, .tor, .wbd, .wmf, .wbk, .wps, .w3x, .ysp, .epk, .xar, .wsc, .snx, .blob, .db0, .cr2, .xf, .gdb, .odp, .wp6, .hvpl, .3fr, .ai, .arw, .xdb, .rw2, .kdb, .ppt, .indd, .t13, .asset, .xls, .x3f, .wire, .docm, .sum, .tax, .erf, .rtf, .rofl, .dwg, .ntl, .d3dbsp, .xml, .cdr, .pst, .esm, .zip, .arch00, .xlsm, .doc, .re4, .wn, .wm, .dcr, .vtf, .psd, .bay, .jpe, .wp, .wcf, .x, .sb, .bik, .p12, .png, .p7c, .bc7, .sav, .vfs0, .nrw, .pptm, .wmd, .accdb, .webp, .wmo, .vdf, wallet, .ncf, .iwd, .crt, .zdc, .1, .yal, .xx, .xlsb, .pem, .z, .yml, .xyp, .m4a, .ltx, .xlk, .ws, .txt, .xmind, .bar, .dazip, .odm, .lrf, .mdbackup, .hkdb, .mpqge, .das, .wpg, .wbmp, .0, .wav, .wgz, .dmp, .xyw, .mdf, .wpw, .layout, .rwl, .wpb, .vpp_pc, .menu, .raf, .mov, .ybk, .cfr, .pkpass, .avi, .lbf, .pdf, .crw, .3ds, .wb2, .bsa, .big, .wotreplay, .upk, .gho, .fos, .map, .flv, .svg, .zdb, .psk, .zif, .rgss3a, .3dm, .zabw, .wpd, .xxx, .xwp, .2bp, .pdd, .jpeg, .mcmeta, .pef, .7z, .dng, .csv, .desc, .kf, .py, .srw, .xmmap, .bkp, .xlgc, .eps, .xdl, .rb, .xls, .dxg, .ff, .sql, .icxs, .sr2, .srf, .wsh, .dbf, .sie, .css, .qdf, .apk, .lvl, .ptx, .dba, .wpl, .1st, .xll, .jpg, .mrwref, .sid, .zi, .hplg, .kdc, .m3u, .bc6, .wp7, .xlsx, .fpk, .sidd, .rar, .sidn, .m2, .wpd, .syncdb, .xpm
When the file is encrypted, ‘.id-USERID.[EMAIL-ADDRESS].Qbix’ is added at the end of its name, that is, if you had a file of ‘document.docx’, then a file with the name ‘document.docx.id-USERID.[EMAIL-ADDRESS].Qbix’ will appear in its place. If you change the file name, just delete the added extension, then nothing will change. The file will remain encrypted, and as before, this file will not be possible to open in the program with which it is associated.
Perhaps you found on your computer or its desktop a new file called ‘FILES ENCRYPTED.txt’, which for some reason is not encrypted. An example of such a file is given below.
all your data has been locked us
You want to return?
write email qbix@qq.com
This file is very important, in addition to containing a ransom note, it also contains information that allows you to contact intruders. According to the message, the victim is invited to contact the attackers using the given email address. In response, the authors of the virus will give a Bitcoin address to which the ransom must be transferred. Of course, you should understand that there is no guarantee that the attackers, after receiving the ransom, will provide you with the key necessary to decrypt your files. In addition, by paying the ransom, you will push attackers to create a new ransomware.
Threat Summary
Name | Qbix |
Type | Ransomware, File locker, Filecoder, Crypto virus, Crypto malware |
Encrypted files extension | .qbix |
Ransom note | pop-up window, FILES ENCRYPTED.txt, RETURN FILES.txt |
Contact | qbix@qq.com, backdata@qq.com, dta@cock.li |
Ransom amount | $300-$1500 in Bitcoins |
Detection Names | Trojan.Win32.Crusis.tqMs, Trojan/Win32.Crysis.R213980, Trojan.Ransom.Crysis, Win32:RansomX-gen [Ransom], W32.RansomeDNZ.Trojan, Win.Trojan.Dharma-6668198-0, Trojan.Encoder.3953, Trojan.Ransom.Crysis.E (B), W32/Wadhrama.B, Win32/Filecoder.Crysis.P, Win32.Trojan-Ransom.VirusEncoder.A, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Crusis.to |
Symptoms | Cannot open files stored on the computer. Odd, new or missing file extensions. Your file directories contain a ‘ransom note’ file that is usually a .html, .jpg or .txt file. Ransom note displayed on your desktop. |
Distribution ways | Email attachments. Malicious downloads that happen without a user’s knowledge when they visit a compromised website. Social media, such as web-based instant messaging applications. Malvertising campaigns. |
Removal | Qbix virus removal guide |
Recovery | Qbix file recovery |
Text presented in Qbix ransom demand message:
All FILES ENCRYPTED “RSA1024”
All YOUR FILES HAVE BEEN ENCRYPTED!!! IF YOU WANT TO RESTORE THEM, WRITE US TO THE E-MAIL #######
IN THE LETTER WRITE YOUR ID, YOUR ID 1E857D00
IF YOU ARE NOT ANSWERED, WRITE TO EMAIL:#######
YOUR SECRET KEY WILL BE STORED ON A SERVER 7 DAYS, AFTER 7 DAYS IT MAY BE OVERWRITTEN BY OTHER KEYS, DON’T PULL TIME, WAITING YOUR EMAIL
FREE DECRYPTION FOR PROOF
You can send us up to 1 file 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.)
DECRYPTION PROCESS:
When you make sure of decryption possibility transfer the money to our bitcoin wallet. As soon as we receive the money we will send you:
1. Decryption program.
2. Detailed instruction for decryption.
3. And individual keys for decrypting your files.
!WARNING!
Do not rename encrypted files.
Do not try to decrypt your data using third party software, it may cause permanent data loss.
Decryption of your files with the help of third parties may cause increased price (they add their fee to our) or you can become a victim of a scam.
As we have already said, Qbix virus is not the first in its series. The fact that to date, antivirus companies have not created a way to decrypt files, and just have not found a 100% way to protect the user’s computers (otherwise how would you be on our site), indicates the complexity of the virus and the method that it uses to encrypt files. Nevertheless, you do not need to despair. There are several ways to find and remove Qbix ransomware, and there is also a chance to restore part or even all encrypted files to their original state. Below we will describe in detail how to do this.
How to remove Qbix virus & Restore .Qbix files
If you encounter the malicious actions of Qbix virus, and your files have been encrypted with ‘.Qbix’ extension, then you need to remove the virus or be 100% sure that there is no ransomware on your computer, and then proceed to restore the files. Both the virus removal process and the file recovery process will take a lot of time, so do not believe the magical instructions that say that this can be done very quickly. We definitely recommend, even if for some reason one of the methods proposed below did not suit you, try another one and try all of them. Perhaps one of them will help you. Feel free to ask questions in the special section on our website or in the comments below. In addition, we want to add that all the tools that we recommend using in our instructions are free and verified by security experts. And the last, before proceeding with the instructions, we advise you to read it thoroughly carefully, and then print or open it on a tablet or smartphone to have it always at hand.
- How to remove Qbix crypto malware
- How to decrypt .qbix files
- How to restore .qbix files
- How to protect your computer from Qbix ransomware virus
How to remove Qbix crypto malware
To remove the Qbix virus, we recommend using free malware removal tools, which we will consider below. You can use them in the same sequence as we gave, or in the order as you like. Perhaps you think that this virus can be removed manually by using some magic OS functions or by pressing a few keys. Probably a professional or computer specialist with great knowledge will be able to, but I recommend you use malware removal tools. They will do all the work for you, and most importantly they will prevent damage to system files that you might accidentally do. Of course, if you have an antivirus, you can use it first, but if it missed this ransomware, then your trust in it is greatly undermined.
Remove Qbix ransomware with Zemana Free
Zemana highly recommended, because it can find security threats such Qbix ransomware, other malware and trojans that most ‘classic’ antivirus apps fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any Qbix removal problems which cannot be fixed by this utility automatically, then Zemana provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.
Zemana can be downloaded from the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
164030 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Once downloading is complete, close all windows on your personal computer. Further, open the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” which will allow you install Zemana on the machine. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is complete successfully, Zemana Free will automatically start and you can see its main window as displayed on the image below.
Next, click the “Scan” button to begin scanning your computer for the Qbix crypto virus related folders,files and registry keys. Depending on your system, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will scan for threats present on your PC system.
When the scanning is finished, Zemana Free will display you the results. All found items will be marked. You can delete them all by simply press “Next” button.
The Zemana Free will delete Qbix crypto virus, other malicious software, worms and trojans and add threats to the Quarantine. After disinfection is finished, you can be prompted to restart your personal computer.
Remove Qbix with MalwareBytes
If you are having issues with the Qbix removal, then download MalwareBytes. It’s free for home use, and detects and removes various malicious apps that attacks your personal computer or degrades computer performance. MalwareBytes Anti Malware can delete adware, potentially unwanted software as well as malicious software, including ransomware and trojans.
- Installing the MalwareBytes Free is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware by clicking on the link below. Save it on your Desktop.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326382 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- Once downloading is complete, close all software and windows on your computer. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is done, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Free tool will begin scanning the whole machine to find out Qbix crypto malware and other security threats. Depending on your machine, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour.
- As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes will display a list of all threats detected by the scan. Review the results once the tool has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine Selected”. After finished, you can be prompted to restart your machine.
The following video offers a steps on how to uninstall hijacker infections, adware software and other malicious software with MalwareBytes Free.
Remove Qbix virus from PC system with KVRT
Kaspersky virus removal tool (KVRT) is a free portable program that scans your computer for spyware, crypto viruses, adware software, potentially unwanted software, trojans, worms, malware and helps remove them easily. Moreover, it will also allow you remove any other security threats for free.
Download Kaspersky virus removal tool (KVRT) on your machine by clicking on the following link.
129055 downloads
Author: Kaspersky® lab
Category: Security tools
Update: March 5, 2018
When downloading is complete, double-click on the Kaspersky virus removal tool icon. Once initialization process is complete, you’ll see the KVRT screen like below.
Click Change Parameters and set a check near all your drives. Click OK to close the Parameters window. Next click Start scan button to perform a system scan with this utility for the Qbix ransomware virus and other trojans and harmful apps. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your PC system. While the Kaspersky virus removal tool utility is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
When that process is done, KVRT will open a screen which contains a list of malware that has been detected as shown below.
In order to delete all threats, simply click on Continue to start a cleaning task.
How to decrypt .qbix files
All files with the ‘.Qbix’ extension are encrypted. Their contents cannot be unlocked simply by removing this extension or completely changing the filename. Unfortunately, as we already reported in this article, there is currently no way to decrypt files. The reason for this is the complexity of the encryption algorithm that the authors of Qbix virus use. In principle, this is what the attackers sought. But this does not mean that you have no choice and you need to pay a ransom for your files.
Never pay the ransom! Any security expert will tell you this. Of course, there is a chance that by paying a ransom, Qbix virus authors will allow you to unlock your files, but there is no guarantee. Moreover, you should understand that when you pay a ransom, you unknowingly push the attackers to create new, even more destructive viruses.
Do not forget that besides you, thousands more people around the world have lost their files, that is, you are not alone. Antivirus companies, secuity experts are working on something that will allow you to decrypt .Qbix files. Perhaps in the future an universal method will be developed that will allow all victims to unlock all their data.
Of course, as soon as a way to decrypt the files appears, we will post a message about this to this article or to our facebook account. Therefore, we recommend that you follow the updates.
How to restore .qbix files
As we wrote above, you cannot decrypt files encrypted with this virus. But you can use a different way, there is a small chance to restore .Qbix files without decrypting them. Programs created for searching and recovering lost and deleted data can help you with this. We offer you to use the following free programs: PhotoRec and ShadowExplorer. Only two things that I want to say additionally. First, before restoring files, you must be 100% sure that there is no ransomware on the computer. We recommend using free malware removal tools that we examined in this article. Second, and what is very important! The less you use your computer after ransomware infection, the higher the chance that you will be able to recover encrypted files.
Restore .qbix files with ShadowExplorer
First of all, try to recover your files using a free tool called ShadowExplorer. This program will allow you to recover your files from Shadow Volume Copies. These copies are created automatically by the OS when you work with your files. Unfortunately, very often, the virus automatically deletes all these copies and thus prevents the user from recovering exnrypted files. Nevertheless, in some cases, the ransomware cannot delete all copies, and the user gets the opportunity to quickly restore all files. Therefore, our opinion, you should definitely try this method!
First, please go to the link below, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of ShadowExplorer.
438663 downloads
Author: ShadowExplorer.com
Category: Security tools
Update: September 15, 2019
When the download is complete, open a directory in which you saved it. Right click to ShadowExplorer-0.9-portable and select Extract all. Follow the prompts. Next please open the ShadowExplorerPortable folder as displayed in the following example.
Start the ShadowExplorer utility and then choose the disk (1) and the date (2) that you wish to restore the shadow copy of file(s) encrypted by the Qbix ransomware virus as shown in the figure below.
Now navigate to the file or folder that you wish to restore. When ready right-click on it and click ‘Export’ button similar to the one below.
Restore .qbix files with PhotoRec
Another really working way to recover your encrypted files is to use a program named PhotoRec. It is created to recover deleted or lost files. Does the virus block this method? Fortunately, the Qbix virus cannot block it in any way. Why is this possible you ask. This is possible for the reason that when you delete files using the standard OS function, these files are not actually deleted. Just the Windows marks them as deleted and does not show them in the list of files. The program that we suggest you use, finds deleted files, including files that were deleted by the ransomware, and recovers them.
Download PhotoRec by clicking on the following link.
When downloading is done, open a directory in which you saved it. Right click to testdisk-7.0.win and choose Extract all. Follow the prompts. Next please open the testdisk-7.0 folder like below.
Double click on qphotorec_win to run PhotoRec for Windows. It will display a screen as on the image below.
Choose a drive to recover as shown on the image below.
You will see a list of available partitions. Choose a partition that holds encrypted documents, photos and music as displayed below.
Press File Formats button and specify file types to restore. You can to enable or disable the restore of certain file types. When this is complete, click OK button.
Next, click Browse button to choose where restored files should be written, then click Search.
Count of recovered files is updated in real time. All recovered files are written in a folder that you have selected on the previous step. You can to access the files even if the recovery process is not finished.
When the restore is complete, press on Quit button. Next, open the directory where restored photos, documents and music are stored. You will see a contents as shown on the screen below.
All recovered personal files are written in recup_dir.1, recup_dir.2 … sub-directories. If you are looking for a specific file, then you can to sort your recovered files by extension and/or date/time.
How to protect your computer from Qbix ransomware virus?
Most antivirus apps already have built-in protection system against the ransomware virus. Therefore, if your machine does not have an antivirus program, make sure you install it. As an extra protection, run the HitmanPro.Alert. HitmanPro.Alert is a small security utility. It can check the system integrity and alerts you when critical system functions are affected by malware. HitmanPro.Alert can detect, remove, and reverse ransomware effects.
Please go to the following link to download HitmanPro.Alert. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
After downloading is done, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the HitmanPro Alert desktop icon. When the tool is launched, you’ll be displayed a window where you can select a level of protection, as shown in the following example.
Now click the Install button to activate the protection.
Finish words
This guide was created to help all victims of Qbix ransomware virus. We tried to give answers to the following questions: how to remove ransomware; how to recover .Qbix files. We hope that the information presented in this manual has helped you.
If you have questions, then write to us, leaving a comment below. If you need more help with Qbix related issues, go to here.