Ransomware malware threats are a particularly dangerous and problematic form of PC viruses that are used by their creators or blackmailing and for extorting money from their victims. The way those malicious cyber threats work is they block the access to the computer by displaying a screen-wide banner on the screen that covers everything or they apply an advanced encryption code to the personal data files of the user which locks them and makes them inaccessible without a special decryption key. This separates the Ransomware virus class into two main subcategories – the screen-locker Ransomware viruses and the Ransomware cryptoviruses. Both of those classes are really nasty and problematic but the cryptovirus subcategory is generally regarded as the more advanced one. Typically, a user with some computing skills and literacy should be able to handle the lockdown on their PC impose by a screen-locker virus. However, when talking about cryptoviruses, things are different.

Those threats are highly advanced and their encryption is oftentimes impenetrable. In most of the cases, there really is no other reliable way of recovering the locked-up data than decrypting it with the corresponding key. Of course, this is precisely what the hackers rely on as they offer their victims to send them the key if the user makes a payment to them. This blackmailing scheme is really common and seems to be highly effective because, as we mentioned already, there is usually no other reliable way of unlocking the sealed files. Even if the malware is removed from the PC, if the files have already gotten encrypted, they would stay locked up despite the PC having already been cleaned from the virus. Here, we will introduce you to .Djvuu which is a relatively new malware program of the Ransomware cryptovirus type – the number of users who have fallen prey to it is already quite significant and more and more people are getting their data files sealed by this malicious threat every day. In this post, we can offer you some possible solutions to this issue that do not include paying the ransom to the hackers so if you are interested in finding out more about that, stay with use and read on. Note that we can’t promise you that everything will be solved if you use our suggested methods but we believe that it’s best if you try all available alternatives instead of going for the ransom payment and risking your money for a decryption key you might never actually receive. That’s right, the fact that you pay the hackers doesn’t mean that they will hold on to their promises. Remember, those are anonymous online criminals that are harassing and blackmailing you – probably not the most trustworthy people out there.

Remove .Djvuu Ransomware 

1: Preparations

Note: Before you go any further, we advise you to bookmark this page or have it open on a separate device such as your smartphone or another PC. Some of the steps might require you to exit your browser on this PC.

2: Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to enter the Task Manager. Go to the Tab labeled Processes (Details for Win 8/10). Carefully look through the list of processes that are currently active on you PC.

If any of them seems shady, consumes too much RAM/CPU or has some strange description or no description at all, right-click on it, select Open File Location and delete everything there.

Also, even if you do not delete the files, be sure to stop the process by right-clicking on it and selecting End Process.

3: The Hosts file

Go to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Open the hosts file with notepad.

Find where it says Localhost and take a look below that. 

If you see any IP addresses there (below Localhost) send them to us here, in the comments since they might be coming from the virus.

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4: Disable Startup programs

Re-open the Start Menu and type msconfig.

Click on the first search result. In the next window, go to the Startup tab. If you are on Win 10,  it will send you to the Startup part of the task manager instead, as in the picture:

If you see any sketchy/shady looking entries in the list with an unknown manufacturer or a manufacturer name that looks suspicious , disable those programs and select OK.

5: Registry Editor

Press Windows key + R and in the resulting window type regedit.

Now, press Ctrl + F and type the name of the virus.

Delete everything that gets found. If you are not sure about whether to delete something, do not hesitate to ask us in the comments. Keep in mind that if you delete the wrong thing, you might cause all sorts of issues to your PC.

6: Deleting potentially malicious data

Type each of the following locations in the Windows search box and hit enter to open the locations:

%AppData%

%LocalAppData%

%ProgramData%

%WinDir%

%Temp%

Delete everything you see in Temp linked to .Djvuu Ransomware. About the other folders, sort their contents by date and delete only the most recent entries. As always, if you are not sure about something, write to us in the comment section.

7: Decryption

The previous steps were all aimed at removing the .Djvuu Ransomware from your PC. However, in order to regain access to your files, you will also need to decrypt them or restore them. For that, we have a separate article with detailed instructions on what you have to do in order to unlock your data. Here is a link to that guide.

The specifics of the Ransomware cryptovirus encryption

Threats like .Djvuu are unique in the sense that they do not try to harm anything in the literal sense of the word. Your files would still be intact even after they have gotten encrypted as the hacker would need to have leverage upon you in order to blackmail you for the access to your data. However, because there is no actual damage done to anything on the PC when there’s a cryptovirus on it, the possibility of detecting the malware is rather low as there won’t typically be any visible symptoms. The only thing that might give away the infection is an increase in the RAM, CPU and HDD free space that is being used on your machine. This, however, might be rather difficult to notice and the window of opportunity to do so is likely to be quite narrow as well. Sometimes a strong and powerful antivirus might intercept the infection before it has finished the encryption but this is also rather unlikely because even good antivirus programs oftentimes have difficult time detecting Ransomware threats again due to their “harmless” nature.

The distribution methods used for Ransomware

As with most other forms of malware, viruses like .Djvuu are typically distributed via the help of some form of disguise that would make them appear harmless to the unsuspecting user. Such a disguise could be a spam e-mail, a malvertising advert, a pirated software download, a misleading pop-up or online offer as well as many other similar forms of software/Internet content. Aside from that, Trojan Horse  backdoor viruses are also popular tools for loading Ransomware inside users’ PCs and that is why you still need to have an antivirus on your computer so that it would keep Trojan viruses at bay. Another thing you certainly need to keep your data safe in the event of a Ransomware attack is a backup of your most important files so be sure to set up one in case you haven’t already done so.

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