Remove VVYU Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .vvyu Files)

Vvyu virus is a sort of computer virus that injects your computer, encrypts your files, and then asks to pay the money for file decryption. Besides these bad actions, that malware also alters some important settings and can even suspend your anti-malware program.

Vvyu virus – what is it?

Vvyu virus can correctly be classified as a STOP/Djvu malware family. That type of computer virus is aimed on individuals. This feature supposes that Vvyu does not bring any sort of additional malware, which sometimes helps malware of other families to control your PC. Since the majority users do not have anything valuable , there is no need to inject other viruses that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware injection.

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

You can also see various other signs of ransomware activity. Spontaneously stopped Microsoft Defender and inability to open the popular anti-malware forums or websites, where the ransomware removal and decryption guides are posted. You will see how it works in the paragraph below. The removal and decryption guide are also available – read below how to remove Vvyu ransomware and get the .vvyu files back.

How did Vvyu ransomware encrypt my files?

After the injection, the Vvyu virus establishes a connection with its command and control server. This server is controlled by ransomware maintainers – people who manage the spreading of this virus. Another activity which is done by those crooks is answering the email messages of sufferers, who wish to decrypt their files.

The documents are ciphered with one of the strongest encryption algorithm – AES-256. The digit in the name of this algo means the power of two – 2^256 for this case. 78-digit number of possible decryption keys variations – it is not real to brute force it. As cipher analysts say, it will take more time than the Earth can approximately exist, even in case if you make use of the most powerful computer system. In each folder that has the encrypted file(s), Vvyu virus creates 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

However, you can still use some of your documents. The Vvyu malware encrypts only the first 150 KB of each file, but the other piece of this file can be accessed. Primarily, it works best with audio/video files, which are surely bigger than 150 kilobytes. Not every media player is able to 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 video or music will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Vvyu ransomware dangerous for my PC?

As it was mentioned several paragraphs above, ransomware is not only about encrypting the files. Vvyu malware makes the changes in your system in order to prevent searching the malware removal and file decryption guides. Malware does not establish the software barrier – it just changes the system settings, primarily – networking and security configurations.

Through the networking configurations, the most damaged item is the HOSTS configuration file. This text file keeps the DNS-address instructions, which are used by the browsers while sending a request to the server. If you add a specific DNS-address for the certain site, your browser will connect that page through that DNS next time. Ransomware alters 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 virus are aimed at prevention of early detection of itself, and also blocking the installation of the majority of security tools. Vvyu ransomware makes some changes in Group Policies – the system setting application which allows to modify the rights of each program. In such a way, the virus stops the Microsoft Defender and different other anti-malware programs, as well as disables the launch of antivirus installation files.

How did I get infected?

Throughout the whole term while STOP/Djvu family existed, it was using dubious software as the main way of ransomware injection. Under the term of dubious software I mean software that are already not controlled by the developer and spread through the third-party websites. These apps may be cracked, to make them usable without purchasing any license. Another example of such a program type is different hacking tools – cheat engines, keygens, Windows activation tools and so on.

Such programs may be spread in different ways – through the web page that offers a downloading link, and also through the peer-to-peer networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are known as the most popular computer piracy sites. Folks use these pages to get different apps or games for free, even if these apps must be purchased. No one can stop the users who hack these apps from adding malware of some type to the files of the hacked tool. Hacktools, meanwhile, are created for outlaw targets, so their developers may easily add the virus under the guise of some program element.

These hacked apps, regardless of their source, are one of the most often sources for various malware, and surely the most popular one for Vvyu malware. The best solution is to avoid using of it, and not only because of virus spreading risks. Avoiding the license purchase is an outlaw action, and both hackers and persons who use hacked apps fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Vvyu malware?

The Vvyu virus is extremely hard to remove manually. In fact, because of the number of alterations it makes into your system, it is almost unreal to detect them all and repair. The best solution is to use antivirus software. But which one to choose?

You may read the advices to make use of Microsoft Defender, that is already inside of your Windows. But as it was mentioned before, the majority of STOP/Djvu malware examples disable it even before the ciphering procedure. Making use of the third-party application is the only option – and I can advice you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as a solution for that case. It has perfect detection abilities, so the virus will not be missed. It is also capable of system recovery, which is heavily needed after the Vvyu virus attack.

To remove Vvyu 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 encryption of your files: while Vvyu ransomware is active, it will not pass any unencrypted file.

How to decrypt the .vvyu files?

There are two ways to decrypt your files after a Vvyu 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 physical disks. Since Vvyu virus deletes them and substitutes with a ciphered copy, the residue of the documents are still kept on the disk. After the deletion, the information about them is removed from the file system, but not from a disk. Special apps, 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 .vvyu 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 .vvyu files with PhotoRec tool

PhotoRec is an open-source tool, which is designed to recover the deleted or lost files from the disk. It checks each disk sector for the residues of deleted files, and then attempts 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