Remove HRUU Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .hruu Files)

Hruu virus is a type of computer virus that injects your PC, encrypts your documents, and then asks to pay the money for file decryption. Besides these unpleasant actions, that malware also alters some important settings and can even disable your anti-malware program.

Hruu virus – what is it?

Hruu ransomware can correctly be described as a STOP/Djvu malware family. That sort of virus is targeted at single users. This specification supposes that Hruu does not carry any type of additional malware, which often helps virus of other families to take control of your system. Since the majority people do not have anything valuable on their PCs, there is no need to infiltrate other malware that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware operation.

The common signs of this ransomware activity is the emersion of .hruu files in your folders, instead of the document you used to have. The photo.jpg turns into photo.jpg.hruu, report.xlsx – into report.xlsx.hruu and so on. You cannot to stop this operation, as well as can’t open that files – they are ciphered with quite strong cipher.

You can also spectate different other signs of ransomware activity. Abruptly stopped Microsoft Defender and inability to open the popular anti-malware forums or sites, where the removal and decryption guides are posted. You will see how it works in the paragraph below. The removal and decryption guide are also available – check below how to wipe out Hruu malware and get the .hruu files back.

How did Hruu ransomware encrypt my files?

After the injection, the Hruu virus creates a connection with its command and control server. This server is commanded by virus maintainers – fraudsters who manage the distribution of this virus. Another activity which is done by these crooks is answering the email messages of sufferers, who want to decrypt their files.

The documents are ciphered with one of the strongest encryption algorithm – AES-256. The “256” digit in the name of this algo means the power of two – 2^256 for this case. 78-digit number of possible password variations – it is unreal to brute force it. As analysts say, it will take more time than the Earth can approximately exist, even in case if you use the most powerful computers. In each folder that keeps the encrypted documents, Hruu ransomware leaves the _readme.txt file with the following contents:

ATTENTION!

Don't worry, you can return all your files!

All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.
The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.
This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.

What guarantees you have?

You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.
But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.

You can get and look video overview decrypt tool:

https://we.tl/t-WJa63R98Ku

Price of private key and decrypt software is $980.
Discount 50% available if you contact us first 72 hours, that's price for you is $490.

Please note that you'll never restore your data without payment.

Check your e-mail "Spam" or "Junk" folder if you don't get answer more than 6 hours.

To get this software you need write on our e-mail:

manager@mailtemp.ch

Reserve e-mail address to contact us:

managerhelper@airmail.cc

Your personal ID:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nonetheless, you can still run some of your files. The Hruu malware ciphers only the first 150 KB of each file, but the rest of this document can be opened. Primarily, it works best with audio/video files, which are surely bigger than 150 kilobytes. Not every media player can open these files – WinAmp is the best option, since it is free and well-tested. First seconds of every song or video will be missing – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the file will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Hruu ransomware dangerous for my PC?

As it was described several paragraphs before, ransomware is not only about ciphering the files. Hruu ransomware makes the changes in your OS in order to prevent looking for the virus removal and file decryption guides. Hruu virus does not establish the software barrier – it just changes the settings, primarily – networking and security configurations.

Through the networking configurations, the most changed item is the HOSTS file. This text file keeps the DNS-address configurations, which are used by the web browsers while sending a request to the website server. If you add a specific DNS-address for the certain website, your browser will connect that site through this DNS next time. Ransomware modifies that file, adding the unknown DNS, so any of the web browsers will show you the “Unable to resolve the DNS-address” error.

Other changes done by the ransomware are targeted on prevention of early detection of itself, and also disabling the installation of the majority of security tools. Hruu virus implements some alterations in Group Policies – the system setting application which allows to alter the rights of each application. In such a way, ransomware stops the Microsoft Defender and several other security programs, and also disables the launch of antivirus installation files.

How did I get infected?

Throughout the whole term while STOP/Djvu family is active, it was using questionable software as the main method of ransomware injection. Under the term of dubious software I mean apps that are already not supported by the maintainer and spread through the third-party websites. These apps may be cracked, to make them possible to use without buying any license. One more example of such a program type is different hacking tools – cheat engines, keygens, Windows activation tools and so on.

This sort of programs may be spread in many methods – through the web page that offers a downloading link, and also through the seeding networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are well-known as the most popular computer piracy websites. Folks use these pages to get various apps or games for free, even if these apps must be purchased. No one can stop the users who hack these programs from adding viruses of some type to the files of the hacked tool. Hacktools, however, are created for outlaw actions, so their developers can easily add the malware under the guise of some program part.

These cracked apps, regardless of their source, are one of the most often carriers for various viruses, and surely the most widespread one for Hruu malware. It is better to stop using of it, and not only because of ransomware installation risks. Avoiding the license purchase is an outlaw action, and both hackers and users who use hacked programs fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Hruu malware?

The Hruu virus is very hard to remove manually. Really, because of the number of modifications it makes into your system, it is almost unreal to spot them all and fix. The best decision is to use antivirus programs. But which one to choose?

You can spectate the advices to make use of Microsoft Defender, that is already inside of your system. But as it was mentioned earlier, the majority of STOP/Djvu virus examples stop it even before the encryption procedure. Making use of the third-party program is the only possible solution – and I can advice you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as an option for that case. It has perfect detection abilities, so the malware will not be missed. It is also capable of system recovery, that is heavily demanded after the Hruu virus attack.

To remove Hruu malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software.

After the ransomware removal, you can go to file decryption. Ransomware removal is required to prevent the repeating ciphering of your files: while Hruu ransomware is active, it will not miss any unencrypted file.

How to decrypt the .hruu files?

There are two ways to decrypt your files after a Hruu ransomware attack. First one and the most obvious is file decryption. It is performed with a special app, designed by Emsisoft, and named Emsisoft Decryptor for STOP/Djvu. This program is absolutely free. Analysts update its decryption keys databases as often as possible, so you will surely get your files back, sooner or later.

Another option to get your documents and photos back is to try to recover them from your disk drives. Since Hruu virus deletes them and substitutes with a ciphered copy, the residue of the documents are still kept on the disk drive. After the deletion, the information about them is wiped from the file system, but not from a disk. Special programs, like PhotoRec, are able to recover these files. It is free, too, and may also be used for file recovery in case when you have deleted some files unintentionally.

Decrypting the .hruu files with Emsisoft Decrypter for STOP/Djvu

Download and install Emsisoft Decrypter tool. Agree with its EULA and continue to the interface.

The interface of this program is extremely easy. All you have to do is to select the folder where the encrypted files are stored, and wait. If the program has the decryption key which corresponds to your ransomware case – it will decrypt it.

During the use of Emsisoft Decrypter for STOP/Djvu, you may observe various error messages. Don’t worry, that does not mean that you did something wrong or a program does not work properly. Each of these errors refer to a specific case. Here is the explanation:

Error: Unable to decrypt file with ID: [your ID]

The program does not have a corresponding key for your case. You need to wait for some time until the key database will be updated.

No key for new variant online ID: [your ID]

Notice: this ID appears to be an online ID, decryption is impossible.

This error means that your files are encrypted with an online key. In such a case, the decryption key is unique and stored on the remote server, controlled by crooks. Unfortunately, the decryption is impossible.

Result: No key for new variant offline ID: [example ID]

This ID appears to be an offline ID. Decryption may be possible in the future.

Ransomware uses the offline key to encrypt your files. This key is not unique, so you likely have it in common with another victim. Since offline keys must be collected, too, it is important to keep calm and wait until the analysts team finds one which will fit your case.

Remote name could not be resolved

This error indicates that the program has problems with DNS on your computer. That’s a clear sign of malicious alterations in your HOSTS file. Reset it using the official Microsoft guide.

Recovering the .hruu files with PhotoRec tool

PhotoRec is an open-source tool, which is designed to recover the deleted or lost files from the disk drive. It checks each disk sector for the remains of deleted files, and then tries to recover them. That app is able to recover the files of more than 400 different formats. Because of the described feature of ransomware encryption mechanism, it is possible to use this tool to get the original, unencrypted files back.

Download PhotoRec from the official website. It is absolutely free, however, its developer warns that he does not guarantee that this program will be 100% effective for file recovery purposes. Moreover, even paid apps can barely give you such a guarantee, because of the chain of random factors that can make the file recovery harder.

Unzip the downloaded archive to the folder you like. Don’t worry because of its name – TestDisk – this is the name of the utility developed by the same company. They decided to spread it together since PhotoRec and TestDisk are often used together. Among the unzipped files, search for qphotorec_win.exe file. Run this executable file.

Before you can start the recovery process, you need to specify several settings. In the drop-down list, choose the logic disk where the files were stored before the encryption.

Then, you need to specify the file formats you need to recover. It may be difficult to scroll all 400+ formats, luckily, they are sorted by alphabetical order.

Finally, name the folder you want to use as a container for recovered files. The program will likely dig out a lot of useless files, which were deleted intentionally, so desktop is a bad solution. The best option is to use the USB-drive.

After these easy manipulations, you may just press the “Search” button (it turns active if you specified all required parameters). The recovery process may take several hours, so keep patient. It is recommended not to use the computer during this term, since you may overwrite some files you are intending to recover.

Frequently Asked Questions