Remove PTHH Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .pthh Files)

Pthh malware is a type of computer virus that injects your computer, encrypts your documents, and then asks to pay the money for file decryption. Besides these unwanted activities, that malware also modifies some important settings and can even stop your anti-malware program.

Pthh virus – what is it?

Pthh virus can correctly be classified as a STOP/Djvu virus family. That type of virus is targeted at individuals. This specification supposes that Pthh does not carry any sort of additional viruses, which sometimes helps malware of other families to take control of your PC. Because of the fact that the majority people do not have anything valuable , there is no reason to download additional malware that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware injection.

The typical signs of this ransomware activity is the appearance of .pthh files in your folders, instead of the files you used to have. The photo.jpg turns into photo.jpg.pthh, report.xlsx – into report.xlsx.pthh and so on. You are not able to suspend this process, and can’t open these documents – they are encrypted with quite strong algorithm.

You can also spectate various other signs of malware activity. Suddenly blocked Microsoft Defender and inability to check the popular anti-malware forums or websites, where the malware removal and decryption guides are posted. You will see how it works in the paragraph below. The malware removal and decryption guide are also available – check below how to wipe out Pthh virus and get the .pthh files back.

How did Pthh ransomware encrypt my files?

After the malware injection, the Pthh virus starts a connection with its command and control server. This server is commanded by malware maintainers – people who manage the spreading of this malware. Another activity which is performed by those crooks is answering the emails of sufferers, who want to decrypt their files.

The documents are ciphered with one of the strongest encryption algorithm – AES-256. The digit in the name of this algorithms means the power of two – 2^256 for this case. 78-digit number of possible password variations – it is impossible to brute force it. As analysts say, it will take more time than the Earth can estimate to exist, even in case if you make use of the most powerful computers. In each folder that contains the encrypted file(s), Pthh 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:

support@fishmail.top

Reserve e-mail address to contact us:

datarestorehelp@airmail.cc

Your personal ID:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

However, you can still run some of your documents. The Pthh virus ciphers only the initial 150 KB of each file, but the other piece of this document can be opened. Primarily, it works best with audio/video files, which are definitely larger than 150 kilobytes. Not each media player is able to open these files – WinAmp is the best choice, since it is free and well-tested. First seconds of every file will be missing – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the file will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Pthh ransomware dangerous for my PC?

As it was described several paragraphs above, ransomware is not only about ciphering the files. Pthh ransomware makes the changes in your operating system in order to prevent searching the ransomware removal and file decryption guides. Pthh virus does not establish the software obstacle – it just alters the system settings, primarily – networking and security configurations.

Among the networking configurations, the most damaged item is the HOSTS file. This text file has the DNS-address configurations, which are used by the 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 that DNS next time. Ransomware modifies this file, adding the unknown DNS, so any of the web browsers will show you the “Unable to resolve the DNS-address” error.

Other alterations done by the ransomware are aimed at prevention of fast detection of itself, and also disabling the installation of the majority of anti-malware programs. Pthh malware implements some changes in Group Policies – the system configuration application which allows to modify the rights of each app. In such a way, the virus stops the Microsoft Defender and several other antivirus tools, as well as disables the launch of anti-malware 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 questionable applications I mean apps that are already not controlled by the developer and spread through the third-party websites. These apps may be hacked, to make them possible to use without buying any license. One more example of such a program type is various hacking tools – cheat engines, keygens, Windows activation tools and so on.

These programs may be spread in different ways – through the web page that offers a downloading link, and also through the seeding networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are known as the most popular computer piracy sites. People use these sites to get a wide range of programs or games for free, even if they must be purchased. No one can stop the users who crack these apps from adding malware of some sort to the files of the hacked app. Hacktools, however, are created for outlaw actions, so their developers can easily insert the ransomware under the guise of some program part.

These hacked apps, regardless of their source, are one of the most often carriers for various viruses, and surely the most widespread one for Pthh malware. The best solution is to avoid using of it, and not only because of virus injection risks. Avoiding the license purchase is an illegal action, and both hackers and persons who make use of cracked programs fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Pthh malware?

The Pthh ransomware is extremely hard to wipe out manually. Really, because of the number of changes it makes into your system, it is almost impossible to find them all and repair. The best option is to make use of antivirus programs. But which one to choose?

You can spectate the offers to make use of Microsoft Defender, which is already inside of your system. Nonetheless, as it was mentioned before, the majority of STOP/Djvu ransomware examples block it even before the encryption process. Making use of the third-party program is the only possible solution – and I can advice you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as a solution for this case. It has perfect detection abilities, so the virus will not be missed. It is also capable of system repairing, that is heavily demanded after the Pthh virus attack.

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

After the ransomware removal, you can go to file decryption. Malware removal is needed to prevent the repeating ciphering of your files: while Pthh ransomware is active, it will not pass any unencrypted file.

How to decrypt the .pthh files?

There are two ways to decrypt your files after a Pthh malware attack. First one and the most popular is file decryption. It is conducted with a special tool, designed by Emsisoft, and called 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 way to get your documents and photos back is to try to recover them from your disks. Since Pthh virus deletes them and substitutes with an encrypted copy, the residue of the files are still kept on the disk drive. After the removal, 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 .pthh 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 .pthh 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 residues of deleted files, and then tries to recover them. That app is able to recover the files of more than 400 different extensions. 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