Remove YZOO Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .yzoo Files)

Yzoo malware is a type of computer virus that infiltrates your computer, 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 stop your antivirus program.

Yzoo ransomware – what is it?

Yzoo virus can correctly be described as a STOP/Djvu virus family. That sort of malware is aimed on single users. This specification supposes that Yzoo does not carry any type of additional malware, which often helps virus of various other families to control your computer. Because of the fact that the majority users do not have anything valuable , there is no reason to download other viruses that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware operation.

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

You can also spectate different other signs of malware activity. Spontaneously disabled Microsoft Defender and inability to check the well-known anti-malware forums or web pages, where the ransomware removal and decryption guides are posted. You will see how it is conducted in the paragraph below. The removal and decryption guide are also available – check below how to delete Yzoo ransomware and get the .yzoo files back.

How did Yzoo ransomware encrypt my files?

After the injection, the Yzoo ransomware establishes a connection with its command and control server. This server is commanded by virus maintainers – people who manage the spreading of this malware. Another activity which is conducted by these crooks is answering the email messages of victims, who wish to get their files back.

The files are encrypted with one of the strongest encryption algorithm – AES-256. The “256” digit in the name of this algorithms means the power of two – 2^256 for this case. 78-digit number of possible decryption password 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 when you use the most powerful computer system. In each folder that contains the encrypted documents, Yzoo 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:

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 files. The Yzoo ransomware 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 capable of open these files – WinAmp is the best choice, since it is free and well-tested. First seconds of each song or video will be silent – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the video or music will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Yzoo ransomware dangerous for my PC?

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

Through the networking configurations, the most changed item is the HOSTS configuration file. This text file has the DNS-address configurations, which are used by the browsers while requesting to the website server. If you add a specific DNS-address for the certain website, your web browser will connect that site through that DNS next time. Ransomware edits that file, adding the non-existent 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 operative spotting of itself, and also preventing the installation of the majority of anti-malware programs. Yzoo ransomware makes some alterations in Group Policies – the system configuration app which gives you the right to change the abilities of each program. In such a way, ransomware stops the Microsoft Defender and various other antivirus programs, as well as prevents 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 programs as the main method of ransomware injection. Under the term of dubious programs I mean software that are already not supported by the creator and distributed through the third-party websites. These applications may be hacked, to make them usable without buying any license. Another example of such a program type is different hacking tools – cheat engines, keygens, Windows activation tools and so on.

Such software may be distributed in different methods – through the web page that offers a downloading link, or through the peer-to-peer networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are well-known as the biggest computer piracy resources. Folks use these sources to get a wide range of apps or games for free, even if these programs must be purchased. No one can prevent the users who hack these programs from adding viruses of some sort to the files of the hacked app. Hacktools, however, are created for outlaw targets, so their creators may easily insert the ransomware under the guise of some program element.

These hacked programs, regardless of their source, are one of the most often carriers for various viruses, and definitely the most used one for Yzoo malware. The best solution is to stop making use of it, and not only because of ransomware spreading risks. Avoiding the license purchase is an illegal action, and both hackers and folks who use hacked apps fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Yzoo virus?

The Yzoo malware is pretty hard to remove manually. Really, because of the number of changes it makes in your Windows, it is almost impossible to spot them all and repair. The best option is to make use of anti-malware software. But which one to choose?

You can spectate the advices to make use of Microsoft Defender, which is already inside of your computer. Nonetheless, as it was mentioned before, the majority of STOP/Djvu virus examples stop it even before the ciphering process. Using the third-party program is the only possible solution – and I can offer you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as an option for this 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 Yzoo virus attack.

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

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

How to decrypt the .yzoo files?

There are two ways to recover your files after a Yzoo virus attack. First one and the most popular is file decryption. It is performed with a special tool, 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 definitely 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 ransomware deletes them and substitutes with a ciphered copy, the residue of the documents are still stored on the disk drive. After the removal, the information about them is removed from the file system, but not from a disk. Special tools, 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 something unintentionally.

Decrypting the .yzoo 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 .yzoo files with PhotoRec tool

PhotoRec is an open-source tool, which is created to recover the deleted or lost files from the disk. 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