Remove QEHU Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .qehu Files)

Qehu ransomware is a sort of computer virus that infiltrates your computer, encrypts your files, and then asks to pay the ransom for file decryption. Besides these unwanted activities, that malware also changes some important settings and can even stop your anti-malware program.

Qehu virus – what is it?

Qehu malware can correctly be classified as a STOP/Djvu malware family. That sort of computer virus is aimed on single users. This specification supposes that Qehu does not bring any sort of additional viruses, which often helps malware of various other families to control your system. Since the majority users do not have anything valuable , there is no need to inject additional malware that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware operation.

The typical signs of Qehu ransomware activity is the emersion of .qehu files in your folders, instead of the files you used to have. The photo.jpg turns into photo.jpg.qehu, report.xlsx – into report.xlsx.qehu and so on. You cannot to stop this operation, as well as can’t open that files – they are encrypted with quite strong cipher.

You can also spectate different other signs of virus activity. Suddenly suspended Microsoft Defender and inability to check the popular anti-malware forums or web pages, where the virus 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 remove Qehu ransomware and get the .qehu files back.

How did Qehu ransomware encrypt my files?

After the malware injection, the Qehu virus starts a connection with its command and control server. This server is controlled by virus maintainers – people who manage the distribution of this virus. Another activity which is conducted by these crooks is answering the emails of victims, who wish to get their files back.

The documents are ciphered 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 take more time than the Earth can approximately exist, even if you make use of the most powerful computers. In each folder that contains the encrypted documents, Qehu 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 open some of your files. The Qehu virus ciphers only the first 150 KB of each file, but the rest of this document can be accessed. Primarily, it works best with audio/video files, which are surely 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 song or video will be silent – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the file will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Qehu ransomware dangerous for my PC?

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

Among the networking configurations, the most damaged item is the HOSTS configuration file. This text file keeps the DNS-address configurations, which are used by the browsers while sending a request to the server. If you add a specific DNS-address for the certain website, your browser will connect that site through this DNS next time. Ransomware modifies this file, adding the non-existent 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 targeted on prevention of operative spotting of itself, and also disabling the installation of the majority of security tools. Qehu malware implements some changes in Group Policies – the system configuration application which allows to alter the abilities of each application. In such a way, malware blocks the Microsoft Defender and various other anti-malware apps, and also prevents 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 applications I mean apps that are already not supported by the maintainer and spread through the third-party websites. These programs may be cracked, to make them possible to use without buying any license. Another example of such a program type is different hacking tools – cheat engines, keygens, Windows activation tools and so on.

This kind of apps may be spread in many ways – through the site that offers a downloading link, as well as through the seeding networks – ThePirateBay, eMule and so on. All these sources are well-known as the biggest computer piracy websites. People use these sources to get a wide range of apps or games for free, even if they must be purchased. No one can stop the users who hack these apps from adding viruses of some sort to the files of the hacked tool. Hacktools, meanwhile, are created for outlaw actions, so their developers may easily insert the virus under the guise of some program part.

These cracked programs, regardless of their source, are one of the most often carriers for various malware, and surely the most popular one for Qehu malware. The best solution is to avoid using of it, and not only because of virus installation risks. Avoiding the license buying 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 Qehu ransomware?

The Qehu malware is extremely hard to delete manually. Really, because of the amount of changes it makes in your computer, it is almost impossible to spot them all and fix. The best option is to make use of antivirus programs. But which one to choose?

You may read the offers to make use of Microsoft Defender, that is already inside of your system. Nonetheless, as it was mentioned before, the majority of STOP/Djvu ransomware examples disable it even before the ciphering process. Making use of the third-party tool is the only option – and I can offer you the GridinSoft Anti-Malware as an option for that case. It has impressive detection abilities, so the virus will not be missed. It is also capable of system recovery, which is heavily demanded after the Qehu virus attack.

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

How to decrypt the .qehu files?

There are two ways to recover your files after a Qehu virus 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 definitely get your files back, sooner or later.

Another option 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 documents are still kept on the disk drive. After the deletion, the information about them is removed from the file system, but not from a disk drive. 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 .qehu 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 .qehu files with PhotoRec tool

PhotoRec is an open-source tool, which is created to recover the deleted or lost files from the disk drive. It checks each disk sector for the remains 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