How to remove Glutton ransomware

Glutton ransomware — the newest version of Scarab ransomware that is spreading from Russia to the remaining world 

Glutton ransomware is a cryptovirus that was first detected in June 2018. The first attacks were spotted in Russia. However, at the moment this version of Scarab ransomware is actively spreading all over the world. This virus infects the system with the help of phishing emails and immediately scans it for user's mostly used files. Ransomware^[1] uses the AES encryption method to lock this data and appends .glutton file extension. This is why the infection is alternatively called as Scarab-Glutton ransomware. After this file modification, the virus drops a text file named as !!!HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES!!!.TXT. This is the direct message for the victim containing more details about the attack and instructions for further actions. In this note, a victim will find out that the ransom amount depends on the time he or she spent before contacting the cybercriminals via gluttonBD@protonmail.com email address. However, it is not advisable to contact these hackers or paying the ransom. It may lead to permanent data or even money loss. 

Glutton files virus is hailing from a dangerous crypto family which is known as Scarab. This family has been actively spreading around for almost a half year and has successfully attacked home users and businesses. This variant of Scarab ransomware seems to have Russia as its primary target. However, the ransom note can be translated into several languages, so there is no doubt that the malware is ready to attack other countries as well.

Glutton ransomware virus works as other versions of crypto infections: it locks your files using sophisticated encryption methods and appends .glutton file extension to the modified data to make it unavailable for the use. This virus may affect anything from photos, videos or documents to even archived files. 

After this encryption process, ransomware places a ransom note !!!HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES!!!.TXT that provides numerous details about the attack and also gives the victim an email address to contact virus developers. The file content may differ from victim to victim, but the main information remains the same: after being informed about the encryption of specific files, the unaware user is asked to pay from 0.5 to 2 BTC or another cryptocurrency.

The ransom message of Scarab-Glutton reads:

Your files are now encrypted!
Your personal identifier:
   * * * * * *
All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC.
Now you should send us email with your personal identifier.
This email will be as confirmation you are ready to pay for decryption key.
You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins. The price depends on how fast you write to us.
After payment we will send you the decryption tool that will decrypt all your files.
Contact us using this email address: gluttonBD@protonmail.com
Free decryption as guarantee!
Before paying you can send us up to 3 files for free decryption.
The total size of files must be less than 10Mb (non archived), and files should not contain
valuable information (databases, backups, large excel sheets, etc.).
Attention!
* 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.

Scarab's developers have also been offering their victims to test their decryption service by sending them three files. They also state that their decryption tool is the only way to recover these files. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that this alleged decryption tool doesn't exist. Besides, the people behind this ransomware can also stop communicating with their victims right after receiving the money for the Glutton decrypter. To sum up, contacting people is not an option. Many reaserchers^[2] have stated that ransomware developers tend to disappear after the payment is done.

If you got infected, you need to remove Glutton ransomware at first. Otherwise, the virus will take over your files again right after you reboot your computer. Additionally, try data recovery methods that we provided below. Of course, the easiest way to get your files back is restoring them from backup. However, if you don't have extra copies, use tips that we provided in this article. 

To perform Glutton ransomware removal, we recommend using anti-malware tools like FortectIntego or SpyHunterCombo Cleaner. This tool will help you to find all ransomware-related components and other files that could have infiltrated your device silently. Unfortunately, it does not recover encrypted files.

Hackers initiate spam email campaigns to spread ransomware

Ransomware as a threat can land on your computer directly from the spam email. Such emails can be used to spread various types of malware using the direct script. Email can have safe-looking files attached to them, but often these Word or Excel documents have macro-viruses^[3] and spread malware the minute you open them on your device. 

These emails may also contain direct links designed to mislead you into running the malicious code on your device. This malicious website might open after you click on a picture or a button directly placed on the email. You should avoid opening emails with excessive commercial content, suspicious file attachments or emails which are sent from services you do not use. 

Proper Glutton ransomware elimination requires the help of professional tools

To remove Glutton ransomware from your device, you should use anti-malware tools that are trustworthy. FortectIntego, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner and MalwarebytesMalwarebytes have been approved to be the best solutions in this case. After performing a full system scan, make sure you take care of your most important files in the future. You can save extra copies of your important photos, videos or business documents in clouds or external drives.

Unfortunately, Glutton ransomware removal won't help you recover your locked data. For that, you should either use backups or, if you don't have them, rely on our tips. We have selected several methods that could be helpful in this case. However, keep in mind that data recovery can't be done before the removal of ransomware virus.