Remove LDHY Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .ldhy Files)

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

Ldhy ransomware – what is it?

Ldhy virus can correctly be classified as a STOP/Djvu ransomware family. That type of virus is aimed at individuals. This specification supposes that Ldhy does not bring any type of additional viruses, which usually helps malware of other families to take control of your system. Because most users do not have anything valuable on their PCs, there is no reason to inject other viruses that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware injection.

The usual signs of ransomware activity is the emersion of .ldhy files in your folders, instead of the files you used to have. The photo.jpg turns into photo.jpg.ldhy, report.xlsx – into report.xlsx.ldhy and so on. You are not able to stop this operation, and can’t open these documents – they are ciphered with a pretty strong algorithm.

You can also see various other signs of ransomware activity. Spontaneously suspended Microsoft Defender and inability to open the well-known anti-malware forums or web pages, where the malware removal and file decryption guides are posted. You will see how it is conducted in the paragraph below. The malware removal and decryption guide are also available – check below how to remove Ldhy malware and get the .ldhy files back.

How did Ldhy ransomware encrypt my files?

After the injection, the Ldhy ransomware creates a connection with its command and control server. This server is controlled by ransomware maintainers – fraudsters who manage the spreading of this malware. Another activity which is done by those crooks is answering the emails of sufferers, 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 password variations – it is unreal to brute force it. As analysts say, it will need more time than our planet can estimate to exist, even when you use the most powerful computers. In each folder that contains the encrypted documents, Ldhy 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

Nonetheless, you can still open some of your documents. The Ldhy ransomware encrypts only the first 150 KB of each file, but the rest 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 can open these files – WinAmp is the best option, since it is free and well-tested. First seconds of each recording will be silent – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the document will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Ldhy ransomware dangerous for my PC?

As it was described several paragraphs before, ransomware is not only about encrypting the files. Ldhy malware makes the changes in your operating system in order to prevent searching the ransomware removal and file decryption guides. Malware does not establish the software barrier – it just modifies the 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 instructions, which are used by the web browsers while requesting to the website server. If you add a specific DNS-address for the certain site, your web browser will connect that page through that DNS next time. Ransomware alters 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 targeted on prevention of fast spotting of itself, and also disabling the installation of the majority of security tools. Ldhy ransomware makes several alterations in Group Policies – the system configuration interface which allows to modify the abilities of each app. In such a way, the virus disables the Microsoft Defender and different other security programs, as well as blocks the launch of antivirus installation files.

How did I get infected?

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

This sort of applications may be distributed in different ways – through the website that offers a downloading link, as well as through the p2p networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are known as the biggest computer piracy websites. Folks 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 hack these apps from adding malware of some type to the files of the hacked tool. Hacktools, however, are created for outlaw actions, so their developers can easily embed the ransomware under the guise of some program part.

These cracked programs, regardless of their source, are one of the most often sources for various malware, and definitely the most popular one for Ldhy malware. It is better to avoid using of it, and not only because of virus injection risks. Avoiding the license purchase is an outlaw action, and both hackers and users who make use of hacked programs fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Ldhy virus?

The Ldhy malware is really hard to delete manually. Really, because of the number of alterations it makes in your system, it is almost unreal to spot them all and repair. The best option is to make use of anti-malware software. But which one to choose?

You can see the advices to use Microsoft Defender, which is already inside of your system. However, as it was mentioned earlier, the majority of STOP/Djvu malware examples stop it even before the ciphering procedure. Making use of the third-party application is the only option – and I can recommend you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as an option 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 needed after the Ldhy virus attack.

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

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

How to decrypt the .ldhy files?

There are two ways to recover your files after a Ldhy malware attack. First one and the most popular is file decryption. It is conducted 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 surely get your files back, sooner or later.

Another way to get your files back is to try to recover them from your disks. Since Ldhy virus deletes them and substitutes with a ciphered copy, the residue of the documents are still kept on the disk. After the removal, the information about them is wiped 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 a thing unintentionally.

Decrypting the .ldhy 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 .ldhy 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 attempts 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