Bitdefender have released a free decryption tool rescuing those affected by recent versions of GandCrab ransomware.

The free tool enables stricken users to recover data encrypted by various versions of GandCrab without paying a ransom to cybercriminals.

In a joint announcement with Europol, Romanian Police and other law-enforcement agencies, the cybersecurity provider detailed how a team of experts were recently able to gain access to the GandCrab control server, and access decryption keys for the ransomware that would allow safe recovery of data.

Blackhat developers behind GandCrab have claimed to have exploited more than $2 billion in ransom payments worldwide, and appeared to have enjoyed mocking the cybersecurity industry’s attempts to bring them to justice.

GandCrab became the latest nasty ransomware threat in January 2018 – following a disturbing trend of businesses and organisations worldwide struck by malicious encryption software.

Bitdefender’s previous attempts to quash the ransomware resulted in new versions being released by cyber criminals, but the latest recovery of private keys resulted in GandCrab’s developers announcing their ‘retirement’ – allegedly having exploited more than $150m in personal profit over five major versions of the ransomware.

Bitdefender’s recovery tool and instructions for use is available for download from the Bitdefender Labs here. In order to use the tool successfully, affected users must have a working internet connection and at least one copy of the ‘ransom note’ file present on the affected device.

For cybersecurity expertise and support, contact our team today.

Around 6% of PCs are estimated to still be running out of date, unsupported operating systems like Microsoft Windows XP. Here at Lineal we’ve long advocated keeping operating systems up-to-date and secure against the latest threats.

But in certain circumstances that’s not always so easy: legacy XP machines are often connected to third party equipment (e.g.: manufacturing hardware) using cable connections or drivers that are now difficult to obtain. The external hardware can’t be replaced as readily as the connected PC for both cost and practical reasons, so the ageing PC (with a lack of XP antivirus) creates an in-built security vulnerability for a businesses’ whole network.

Users caught by this conundrum can find a solution in Bitdefender’s Security for XP and Vista – a version of Bitdefender’s award-winning security built to be backwards compatible to older PCs, and providing ongoing security against the latest threats for legacy hardware.

Security for XP and Vista is available for Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Vista Service Pack 2 operating systems, and also integrates with older software likely to be found on such machines, such as Outlook 2007, Yahoo Messenger 9, Internet Explorer 8 and other common web browsers of the same generation.

For those concerned that a trusty old machine and lack of XP antivirus could be the very weakest point in their security, Bitdefender could be a shrewd choice indeed.

For IT Security advice and support, contact Lineal today.

Lineal Software have been certified as a Bitdefender Partner for Bitdefender security software.

Bitdefender’s range of security products are used on millions of devices worldwide and the provider ranks highly in independent Virus Bulleton’s VB100 tests, as well as winning numerous quality awards for software innovation.

A wide variety of both Bitdefender Home and Business security products are available, across platforms including Windows, Mac and Android and more.

Lineal’s Head of Technical Services Matt Norris explained: ‘We’re very pleased to qualify as Bronze Bitdefender partners – this qualification only expands the range of IT security options which Lineal can offer to our customers and we look forward to delivering a high quality service for those interested in using Bitdefender.’

‘There are only a handful of Bitdefender partners in the South West, and Lineal are delighted to be one of them.’

For IT security advice and support, contact Lineal today.