Remove QUAL Ransomware Virus (+DECRYPT .qual Files)

Qual malware is a sort of computer virus that infiltrates your system, encrypts your files, and then asks to pay the money for file decryption. Besides these unwanted actions, that malware also changes some important settings and can even suspend your anti-malware program.

Qual ransomware – what is it?

Qual virus can correctly be described as a STOP/Djvu virus family. That type of malware is targeted at single users. This feature supposes that Qual does not bring any sort of additional malware, which usually helps ransomware of various other families to take control of your system. Since the majority users do not have anything valuable on their PCs, there is no reason to download additional viruses that increases the risk of failure of the whole ransomware operation.

The usual signs of that ransomware activity is the appearance of .qual files in your folders, instead of the files you used to have. The photo.jpg turns into photo.jpg.qual, report.xlsx – into report.xlsx.qual and so on. You are not able to stop this action, as well as can’t open that files – they are ciphered with pretty strong algorithm.

You can also spectate different other signs of ransomware activity. Abruptly stopped Microsoft Defender and inability to check the well-known 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 malware removal and decryption guide are also available – read below how to wipe out Qual malware and get the .qual files back.

How did Qual ransomware encrypt my files?

After the injection, the Qual virus establishes a connection with its command and control server. This server is commanded by virus maintainers – crooks who manage the spreading of this malware. Another activity which is conducted by these crooks is answering the email messages of sufferers, who want to decrypt their files.

The documents are encrypted with one of the strongest encryption algorithm – AES-256. The “256” 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 unreal to brute force it. As analysts say, it will need more time than our planet can approximately exist, even in case if you make use of the most powerful computers. In each folder that keeps the encrypted documents, Qual 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 files. The Qual ransomware encrypts only the initial 150 KB of each file, but the other part of this document can be opened. Primarily, it works best with audio/video files, which are surely larger than 150 kilobytes. Not each media player is able to open these files – WinAmp is the best option, since it is free and well-tested. First seconds of every file will be silent – this part is encrypted – but the rest of the document will be accessible like nothing happened.

Is Qual ransomware dangerous for my PC?

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

Among the networking settings, the most damaged item is the HOSTS configuration file. This text file has 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 browser will connect that site through that DNS next time. Ransomware modifies that file, adding the unknown DNS, so any of the web browsers will show you the “Unable to resolve the DNS-address” error.

Other modifications done by the virus are targeted on prevention of fast detection of itself, and also blocking the installation of the majority of anti-malware programs. Qual virus makes some alterations in Group Policies – the system setting interface which allows to modify the abilities of each program. In such a way, malware blocks the Microsoft Defender and various other antivirus apps, and also blocks 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 a primary method of ransomware injection. Under the term of dubious programs I mean applications that are already not updated by the maintainer and spread through the third-party websites. These apps may be cracked, to make them possible to use without purchasing any license. One more example of such a program type is different hacking tools – cheat engines, keygens, Windows activation tools and so on.

This kind of applications may be spread in different ways – 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 most popular computer piracy sites. Folks use these sources to get a wide range of programs or games for free, even if they must be purchased. Nobody can stop the users who crack these apps from adding viruses of some sort to the files of the hacked app. Hacktools, meanwhile, are created for outlaw actions, so their developers can easily add the ransomware under the guise of some program element.

These hacked apps, regardless of their source, are one of the most often sources for various viruses, and 100% the most popular one for Qual malware. The best solution is to avoid making use of it, and not only because of virus injection risks. Avoiding the license buying is an illegal action, and both hackers and folks who make use of hacked apps fall under the charge of piracy.

How do I remove Qual ransomware?

The Qual malware is pretty hard to wipe out manually. Really, because of the amount of modifications it makes in your Windows, it is almost unreal to detect them all and fix. The best option is to make use of antivirus software. But which one to choose?

You can spectate the offers to make use of Microsoft Defender, which is already in your system. But as it was mentioned before, most of STOP/Djvu ransomware examples stop it even before the encryption process. Using the third-party tool is the only possible solution – and I can advice 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 recovery, which is heavily needed after the Qual virus attack.

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

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

How to decrypt the .qual files?

There are two ways to decrypt your files after a Qual malware attack. First one and the most obvious is file decryption. It is conducted with a special app, 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 an encrypted copy, the residue of the documents are still stored on the disk drive. After the deletion, the information about them is wiped 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 .qual 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 .qual 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