Remove GYZA Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .gyza Files)

Gyza malware 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 unwanted activities, that malware also changes some important settings and can even stop your antivirus program.

Gyza ransomware – what is it?

Gyza ransomware can correctly be described as a STOP/Djvu ransomware family. That sort of malware is targeted at individuals. This specification supposes that Gyza does not bring any sort of additional malware, which usually helps ransomware of other families to control your PC. Because of the fact that most people do not have anything valuable on their PCs, there is no need to inject additional viruses that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware injection.

The common signs of this virus activity is the emersion of .gyza files in your folders, instead of the files you used to have. The photo.jpg turns into photo.jpg.gyza, report.xlsx – into report.xlsx.gyza and so on. You cannot to stop this action, and can’t open these documents – they are encrypted with quite strong cipher.

You can also spectate various other signs of malware activity. Suddenly stopped Microsoft Defender and inability to check the popular anti-malware forums or sites, where the malware removal and file decryption guides are published. You will see how it works in the paragraph below. The removal and decryption guide are also available – read below how to delete Gyza ransomware and get the .gyza files back.

How did Gyza ransomware encrypt my files?

After the injection, the Gyza virus creates a connection with its command and control server. This server is commanded by virus maintainers – fraudsters who manage the distribution of this ransomware. Another activity which is done by these crooks is answering the email messages of victims, who wish to get their files back.

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 password variations – it is not real to brute force it. As analysts say, it will take more time than our planet can approximately exist, even in case if you use the most powerful computers. In each folder that contains the encrypted documents, Gyza 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 open some of your documents. The Gyza ransomware encrypts only the first 150 KB of each file, but the other piece of this file can be opened. Primarily, it works best with audio/video files, which are likely larger than 150 kilobytes. Not each media player can open these files – WinAmp is the best option, since it is free and well-tested. First seconds of each file will be silent – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the document will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Gyza ransomware dangerous for my PC?

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

Among the networking configurations, the most changed item is the HOSTS configuration file. This text file keeps the DNS-address configurations, which are used by the browsers while requesting to the server. If you add a specific DNS-address for the certain web page, your web browser will connect that page through that DNS next time. Ransomware alters 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 virus are targeted on prevention of early detection of itself, and also blocking the installation of the majority of security tools. Gyza malware makes several modifications in Group Policies – the system setting interface which gives you the right to modify the rights of each application. In such a way, malware disables the Microsoft Defender and different other security programs, as well as blocks 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 dubious applications as the main way of ransomware injection. Under the term of dubious programs I mean apps that are already not controlled by the developer and spread through the third-party websites. These programs may be cracked, 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.

These programs may be spread in many methods – through the website that offers a downloading link, or through the p2p networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are well-known as the biggest computer piracy resources. Folks use these pages to get a wide range of apps or games for free, even if they must be purchased. Nobody can prevent the users who crack these programs from adding malware of some sort to the files of the hacked tool. Hacktools, however, are created for outlaw targets, so their developers may easily add the malware 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 definitely the most widespread one for Gyza ransomware. It is better to avoid making use of it, and not only because of ransomware installation risks. Avoiding the license buying is an outlaw action, and both hackers and folks who use hacked programs fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Gyza ransomware?

The Gyza virus is pretty hard to delete manually. In fact, because of the number of modifications it makes into your system, it is almost impossible to detect them all and repair. The best option is to make use of antivirus programs. But which one to choose?

You may see the advices to use Microsoft Defender, which is already inside of your system. Nonetheless, as it was mentioned earlier, most of STOP/Djvu virus examples stop it even before the encryption process. Using the third-party program is the only option – and I can recommend you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as a solution for that case. It has perfect detection abilities, so the ransomware will not be missed. It is also capable of system repairing, that is heavily needed after the Gyza virus attack.

To remove Gyza 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 Gyza ransomware is active, it will not pass any unencrypted file.

How to decrypt the .gyza files?

There are two ways to decrypt your files after a Gyza ransomware attack. First one and the most popular is file decryption. It is performed with a special program, designed by Emsisoft, and called Emsisoft Decryptor for STOP/Djvu. This program is 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 disk drives. Since ransomware 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 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 .gyza 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 .gyza 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 remains 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