The idea behind this ransomware attack is to infect as many computers as possible and encrypt files so the perpetrators could demand victims a ransom in exchange for decryption tools. To achieve their plans, the STOP/DJVU cybercriminal group would clone software copies that are in high demand, embed them with OODT ransomware virus and upload to malicious online torrent platforms. When unsuspecting users download such unwholesome software content, they bring a highly destructive virus into their computer system. Cybercriminals also make use of emails and attachments by embedding them with malware and distributing to random addresses. Therefore, it becomes imperative for computer users to be proactive at all times by shunning activities that would put their computers at risk.

More about the ransom note contents

Simultaneously, while the above-stated attack is still ongoing, the virus would release notifications known as _readme.txt. These notifications will explain what has occurred to the computer owner and also brief them on why they must pay a certain amount of money as ransom before they would be allowed to regain access to their encrypted files. Otherwise, the computer user would lose such encrypted files forever. Usually, victims that have backup copies would call their bluff, but those that don’t have and also consider such files to be very important to them, may want to negotiate with the cybercriminals. In anticipation of such, the cybercriminals would also drop two emails: support@bestyourmail.ch, datarestorehelp@airmail.cc. Once the victim writes to them, they would respond with an automated message stating that the ransom fee is $980, but if the victim is willing to pay within 72 hours, they will reduce the fee by half, thus bringing the ransom down to $490. Their conditions don’t end there, and they would also warn that payment can only be accepted via cryptocurrency transfer. They consider the anonymous nature of crypto as a safe haven since it ensures that their real identity is protected. Nevertheless, victims are advised never to comply with the demands of cybercriminals. It’s even best never to communicate with them. The FBI and other reputable global security organizations unanimously agreed on this. Listed below are some of the reasons why they insist against ransom payment:

Records have shown that cybercriminals don’t keep to their promise of providing effective decryption tools even after receiving ransom fees.When huge funds are made available to cybercriminals as ransom fees, their criminal activities are profitable, which encourages them.Ransom payment is generally considered illegal.Due to their greedy nature, cybercriminals typically targets paying victim again and again in the future, but they ignore those that don’t comply with their initial demands.

Delete the malware and protect your computer as soon as you can

Although more emphasis is being made on OODT ransomware virus, it should be noted that it isn’t the only risk associated with the malware. Other Trojans, referred to as RATs, are often attached alongside and are used in pilfering vital personal information such as cryptocurrency wallets, banking details, software login details, and browsing history, among others. RAT is a shortened term for Remote Access Trojans, which enable cybercriminals to commit further crimes against the victim. When you consider these risk factors, the need to remove OODT ransomware virus once it is detected in any computer becomes more glaring. The recommended safe way to get rid of it is by logging in through Safe Mode with Networking booting. This set up will enable the antivirus to function optimally. After you’re done with the AV scan, we recommend downloading RESTORO to identify and repair virus damage to Windows OS files automatically.

Ransomware Summary

REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE See below how encrypted files look like.

Proactive measures to safeguard your computer against ransomware

The saying that prevention is better than cure holds true when dealing with this virus. There are particularly dangerous activities that put your computer at significant risk of malware infection, and they include:

Downloading of software contents from malicious online torrentsIndiscriminate opening of emails, especially from unknown sources.P2P sharing of software contents.

Cybercriminals know that some software users habitually prefer sourcing them illegally because they do not want to pay the fees requested by the original producers. So, they clone popular ones, embed them with malware and freely distribute them thereby spreading OODT ransomware virus. Alternatively, they sometimes make use of emails/attachments which they send to diverse random addresses. Computer users are advised to stay away from emails with spoofed originating addresses that appear odd or unsolicited. Cybercriminals are always seeking loopholes they could leverage in spreading ransomware viruses, but if computer users remain proactive at all times, they won’t become victims. Therefore, it is very important that software users should ensure they’re using original copies by downloading them from the official pages of the copyright owners. From our records, we compiled a list of popular software contents that are often cloned by cybercriminals and uploaded to malicious online torrent platforms:

Corel Draw;Adobe Photoshop;Adobe Illustrator;Tenorshare 4ukey;AutoCad;Cubase;League of Legends;Internet Download Manager.

While some of those using these cloned software copies may be oblivious of the dangers associated with it, others are aware but would still decide to risk it. The sad truth is that when they eventually become victims, they lose a lot in terms of lost documents, time wasted, or even loss of huge sums of money for those that pay ransom. Paying the fees requested by the original content producers is the right thing to do because they spent a lot during research and development, and they need to recover their investments. This is the only the IT industry will continue to grow and software users will be the better for it. Also note that popular files such as DOCX, PDF and XLS despite being developed for genuine reasons are also being exploited by cybercriminals because of their macro function enablement. Such files enable them embed malware and also trigger them once opened in other computers. However, victims of ransomware attack should avoid sites that make bogus claims of having decryption tools that work. Most of them are fraudulent and they tend to have ulterior motives. So far, our team can recommend Emsisoft and DiskTuna tools as they have proven to be reliable to a large extent.

How to remove OODT ransomware virus and recover your data

Before we conclude this piece, we need to reiterate that removing OODT ransomware virus ASAP is the way to go once found in any computer. This should be done safely by setting up the computer through Safe Mode with Networking option before running any reliable antivirus software. We also recommend downloading this tool – RESTORO (see its review here) to repair affected Windows OS files. Lastly, you will also need to take the following steps:

Recover lost files using your backup.If option one above is not available, check for possibilities of recovery through decryption.Let the local police know about the situation.Immediately change all passwords that were entered in the compromised computer.

OUR GEEKS RECOMMEND Our team recommends a two-step rescue plan to remove ransomware and other remaining malware from your computer, plus repair caused virus damage to the system: GeeksAdvice.com editors select recommended products based on their effectiveness. We may earn a commission from affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Learn more. Get INTEGO ANTIVIRUS for Windows to remove ransomware, Trojans, adware and other spyware and malware variants and protect your PC and network drives 24/7. This VB100-certified security software uses state-of-art technology to provide protection against ransomware, Zero-Day attacks and advanced threats, Intego Web Shield blocks dangerous websites, phishing attacks, malicious downloads and installation of potentially unwanted programs. Use INTEGO Antivirus to remove detected threats from your computer. Read full review here. RESTORO provides a free scan that helps to identify hardware, security and stability issues and presents a comprehensive report which can help you to locate and fix detected issues manually. It is a great PC repair software to use after you remove malware with professional antivirus. The full version of software will fix detected issues and repair virus damage caused to your Windows OS files automatically. RESTORO uses AVIRA scanning engine to detect existing spyware and malware. If any are found, the software will eliminate them. Read full review here.

Method 1. Enter Safe Mode with Networking

Before you try to remove OODT Ransomware Virus virus, you must start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking. Below, we provide the easiest ways to boot PC in the said mode, but you can find additional ones in this in-depth tutorial on our website – How to Start Windows in Safe Mode. Also, if you prefer a video version of the tutorial, check our guide How to Start Windows in Safe Mode on Youtube. Instructions for Windows XP/Vista/7 users Instructions for Windows 8/8.1/10/11 users Now, you can search for and remove OODT Ransomware Virus files. It is very hard to identify files and registry keys that belong to the ransomware virus, Besides, malware creators tend to rename and change them repeatedly. Therefore, the easiest way to uninstall such type of a computer virus is to use a reliable security program such as INTEGO Antivirus. For virus damage repair, consider using RESTORO.

Method 2. Use System Restore

In order to use System Restore, you must have a system restore point, created either manually or automatically. Instructions for Windows XP/Vista/7 users Instructions for Windows 8/8.1/10/11 users After restoring the system, we recommend scanning the system with antivirus or anti-malware software. In most cases, there won’t be any malware remains, but it never hurts to double-check. In addition, we highly recommend checking ransomware prevention guidelines provided by our experts in order to protect your PC against similar viruses in the future.

Alternative software recommendations

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Removing spyware and malware is one step towards cybersecurity. To protect yourself against ever-evolving threats, we strongly recommend purchasing a Premium version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which provides security based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Includes ransomware protection. See pricing options and protect yourself now.

System Mechanic Ultimate Defense If you’re looking for an all-in-one system maintenance suite that has 7 core components providing powerful real-time protection, on-demand malware removal, system optimization, data recovery, password manager, online privacy protection and secure driver wiping technology. Therefore, due to its wide-range of capabilities, System Mechanic Ultimate Defense deserves Geek’s Advice approval. Get it now for 50% off. You may also be interested in its full review.

Disclaimer. This site includes affiliate links. We may earn a small commission by recommending certain products, at no additional cost for you. We only choose quality software and services to recommend.

Decrypt OODT files

Fix and open large OODT files easily:

It is reported that STOP/DJVU ransomware versions encrypt only the beginning 150 KB of each file to ensure that the virus manages to affect all files on the system. In some cases, the malicious program might skip some files at all. That said, we recommend testing this method on several big (>1GB) files first.

STOP/DJVU decryption tool usage guide

STOP/DJVU ransomware versions are grouped into old and new variants. OODT Ransomware Virus is considered the new STOP/DJVU variant, just like BPTO, ISWR, ISZA, BPSM, ZOUU, MBTF, ZNSM (find full list here). This means full data decryption is now possible only if you have been affected by offline encryption key. To decrypt your files, you will have to download Emsisoft Decryptor for STOP DJVU, a tool created and maintained by a genius security researcher Michael Gillespie. Note! Please do not spam the security researcher with questions whether he can recover your files encrypted with online key - it is not possible. In order to test the tool and see if it can decrypt OODT files, follow the given tutorial.

Meanings of decryptor’s messages

The OODT decryption tool might display several different messages after failed attempt to restore your files. You might receive one of the following messages: Error: Unable to decrypt file with ID: [example ID] This message typically means that there is no corresponding decryption key in the decryptor’s database. No key for New Variant online ID: [example ID]Notice: this ID appears to be an online ID, decryption is impossible This message informs that your files were encrypted with online key, meaning no one else has the same encryption/decryption key pair, therefore data recovery without paying the criminals 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. If you were informed that an offline key was used, but files could not be restored, it means that the offline decryption key isn’t available yet. However, receiving this message is extremely good news, meaning that it might be possible to restore your OODT extension files in the future. It can take a few months until the decryption key gets found and uploaded to the decryptor. We recommend you to follow updates regarding the decryptable DJVU versions here. We strongly recommend backing up your encrypted data and waiting.

Victims of OODT Ransomware Virus should report the Internet crime incident to the official government fraud and scam website according to their country:

In the United States, go to the On Guard Online website.In Australia, go to the SCAMwatch website.In Germany, go to the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik website.In Ireland, go to the An Garda Síochána website.In New Zealand, go to the Consumer Affairs Scams website.In the United Kingdom, go to the Action Fraud website.In Canada, go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.In India, go to Indian National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.In France, go to the Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information.

If you can’t find an authority corresponding to your location on this list, we recommend using any search engine to look up “[your country name] report cyber crime”. This should lead you to the right authority website. We also recommend staying away from third-party crime report services that are often paid. It costs nothing to report Internet crime to official authorities. Another recommendation is to contact your country’s or region’s federal police or communications authority.