As pointed out in the ransom note, they will state that UIGD ransomware virus was able to encrypt every file contained in the computer, inclusive of pictures, documents and various data, while making use of very strong encryption key. Based on that, they will suggest that the only out for the victim will be to pay the ransom fee being demanded by the cybercriminals if they hope to recover their encrypted data. Also included will be two email addresses, namely: support@sysmail.ch and supportsys@airmail.cc ostensibly kept a medium through which the victim should respond to them. In addition to that, decryption service prices will also be listed as well as the conditions attached with it. In hoping to persuade the victim to pay without delay, they will state that if the victim could pay within 72 hours (3 days) of being notified, they will be able to leverage their 50% discount opportunity. Which means, instead of paying the normal $980 ransom fee, they would now be required to pay just $490. However, failure to do so within the 3 days window mean only the full ransom fee would be acceptable. Nevertheless, if the victim decides to respond to them via the email they provided, the cybercriminals will reel out more conditions by saying that the only means of payment acceptable to them is through cryptocurrency. In other words, the victim would have to purchase cryptocurrency worth the ransom fee and transfer same to wallet address that would be provided by them. The reason why they don’t accept other conventional payment methods is to avoid possible tracing and arrest by law enforcement agents who may come after them. To assure the victim of their expertise, they may request that random samples from the encrypted data should be forwarded to them for test decryption. Our in-house cybersecurity experts recommend that victims should follow FBI’s guidelines in respect to ransom payment and the rule is that RANSOM DEMAND MUST NOT BE PAID. There are several apparent reasons for this recommendation, and we have listed them below for your consideration:

There is no guarantee you will recover your lost data even after paying huge sums of money as ransom.The basic reason why cybercriminals involve themselves in such acts is to use inordinate means to extort money from their victims, so paying ransom will only encourage them the more.More funds in their hands will enable them to expand their criminal activities and victimize more people.In certain countries, the laws might be against payment of ransom.

The cybercriminals also use the virus to drop other Trojans that steal sensitive information like AZORULT and VIDAR on the compromised computer with the aim of obtaining personal details such as software login credentials, banking details, passwords, cryptocurrency wallets, browsing history etc. Such sensitive information in the hands of cybercriminals can lead to further crimes. The first thing victims of STOP/DJVU ransomware variants (including the one under review) should do is to remove UIGD ransomware virus from their PC as quickly as possible. The recommended way to go about it is to boot your computer through Safe Mode with Networking prior to running a reliable antivirus or anti-malware software on it. It is important to make use of only strong and genuine software to ensure optimal result. For those who are not sure of which brand to use, we recommend INTEGO Antivirus. On top of that, a good idea is to download RESTORO and use it to repair virus damage on corrupted Windows OS files.

Ransomware Summary

REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE

Ransomware distribution techniques commonly used by cybercriminals

The most prolific way cybercriminals spread STOP/DJVU ransomware variants including UIGD virus is to upload pirated software copies embedded with malware in online torrents platform. These pirated software copies including the so-called “cracks” and key generators are then used to lure unsuspecting users. Once downloaded, they will trigger a ransomware attack on the user. Over the years, several victims have reported about such attacks after visiting downloading fake software contents from online torrent libraries. The most common ones often exploited by cybercriminals are listed below:

AutoCad;Adobe Photoshop;Tenorshare 4ukey;Fifa 20;Opera browser;Corel Draw;VMware Workstation;Cubase;Adobe Illustrator;League of Legends;Internet Download Manager;KMSPico (illegal Windows activation tool).

If you’re among those that indulge in the dangerous habit of visiting online torrents for the purposes of downloading pirated software copies, you should stop it forthwith. Such activity can only get you into trouble and you will end up losing your precious data or money, or even both. You should also remember that aside the aforementioned risk, the illegal downloading of patented software contents is considered copyright infringement and is punishable by law. Instead of facing all these issues, it is a lot better to encourage genuine software producers by obtaining their products through the officially recognized channels and also paying the fee attached to them. Always remember that whatever token you pay to legally obtain such software copies will be insignificant when compared to the outrageous amounts cybercriminals demand as ransom from their victims. Likewise, you won’t be at risk of losing your sensitive data and neither will you waste your time and resources. Another method used by cybercriminals in spreading malware is the use of malicious email attachments. In this case, they would compose highly convincing emails and attach them with custom made documents crafted on DOCX, XLS or PDF etc. They use these particular formats because they allow JavaScript and macro functions, both of which can be used to embed payload from external sources and also trigger same on random PC’s. Last but not the least; it would be in the best interest of STOP/DJVU ransomware victims to avoid certain dubious websites that claim to provide decryption solutions because such hardly exist. Currently, only tools made by Emsisoft and DiskTuna have proven to be capable of repairing them effectively.

More information about the infection

For those that are curious to understand the extent to which their computer was affected following UIGD ransomware attack, this section will explain it in detail. The first action the malware takes is to launch build.exe or build2.exe executables and also follow it up with winupdate.exe (the prompt that displays fake Windows screen). Afterwards, it will connect to https[:]//api.2ip.ua/geo.json before saving the outcome in geo.json file. The malware then proceeds to information gathering of all details about the computer under attack, such as its geolocation, time zone, zip code, latitude and longitude, and would send them to geolocation-related database. Below, you can see examples of several geo.json files collected during research. Another file would also be created where hardware details and installed software list would be processed into i.e. information.txt. At this stage, the malware will make a comparison between the extracted country code and their list of countries exempted from cyber-attack. The countries are: Russian Federation, Ukraine, Syria, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazachstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Once it detects that the computer about to be attacked is domiciled in any of these countries, it will immediately abort its mission, but if otherwise, it will proceed by fetching online encryption key kept in their server, merge it with the victim’s ID and save them in bowsakkdestx.txt file and to PersonalID.txt file. Below are examples of these files. In situations where the malware fails to extract any online encryption key, it will opt for the use of a hardcoded offline key. The difference between the two is that online key is unique to each victim unlike offline key that is uniform to all victims of same virus. You can detect if the ID used is offline if it has t1 characters appearing at the end of the personal ID. From the perspective of the victim, an offline key is preferable because it increases chances of possible decryption going forward. More information about it is provided below. At this point, the virus will commence full encryption by scanning every folder it comes across and encrypting them with Salsa20 before locking them with RSA-2048 key. The files will also be marked with additional extension. Shown below is a screenshot of _readme.txt ransom note earlier discussed in the article. In concluding the attack, the malware will blacklist certain sites by adding them to the Windows HOSTS file and also mapping them to local host IP thereby effectively barring the victim from accessing them. The error message DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN may appear on the screen whenever the victim tries to access them.

Remove UIGD Ransomware Virus and Restore Your Files

In conclusion, those whose computers were infected should remove UIGD ransomware without further delay and also report to relevant local authorities charged with handling such issues. To remove all malware from your computer, rely on trusted security programs such as INTEGO Antivirus. In addition, our team also strongly recommends downloading RESTORO to repair virus damage on Windows operating system files. Once UIGD ransomware virus has been removed, you should also take the following steps as recommended by our team:

Report to the nearest office of government responsible for taking care of such problems.Restore lost data with the use of any backup device available to you.Immediately change all passwords used on 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 UIGD 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 UIGD 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 UIGD files

Fix and open large UIGD 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. UIGD 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 UIGD files, follow the given tutorial.

Meanings of decryptor’s messages

The UIGD 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 UIGD 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 UIGD 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.