Ddsg Ransomware - How to remove

After a Ddsg infection, files use the blank page icon and refuse to open while their types appear as “DDSG”. Ddsg is a malicious program that encrypts files and then asks for money in exchange for decrypting them. It can cause a lot of harm – it can destroy documents, spreadsheets, photographs, and other important content. The best way to protect yourself from Ddsg and other ransomware is to backup your data as there is no easy and simple way to reverse the harm that Ddsg does.

Ddsg in short:

Type of threat	Trojan, ransomware.
How Ddsg works	It’s downloaded from the internet, it encrypts files and changes their names.
Can your files be restored?	Restore files from backups, try the free decryptor, look into file repair,
How to delete Ddsg ransomware	Use antivirus software like Spyhunter to find and remove malicious programs and files, protect your login information.

What is Ddsg?

Ddsg is file-encrypting ransomware. A malicious program that breaks files and then demands money to fix them.

Ddsg encrypts files and then labels them with its second extension “.ddsg”. This causes Windows to give the files blank page icons.

Changed icons and file name extensions aren’t the real problem. Ddsg scrambles the contents of these files and corrupts them. For example, if you open a text “txt” file that was encrypted by Ddsg, you’d see random symbols instead of whatever contents the file used to say.

This corruption is reversible. The criminals responsible for Ddsg have the decryption keys – unique strings of text that can reserve the encryption. Unfortunately, the criminals are asking to be paid hundreds of dollars, from $490 to $980. And since the decryption key is unique to each victim (with rare exceptions), victims can’t just share the extortion – each person has to pay the full price.

If possible, it’s best to not pay the ransom. Paying rewards the extortionists and encourages them to continue their crimes. Already, Ddsg is part of a big family of ransomware called Djvu that has lasted for years now. Before Ddsg, there was Sspq, Iqll, Pahd, and many others.

Ddsg ransomware spreads online

Ddsg ransomware is one that preys on individual PC users. So, rather than use phishing emails or remote access protocol, it is distributed online, uploaded on certain websites and disguised as wanted programs.

Just like other Djvu ransomware, Ddsg is uploaded on pirating sites as various cracked programs, keygens and cracks, and game cheats. In addition, it might be disguised as free programs and game mods, so it’s not just pirates who could accidentally download Ddsg.

Some pirated programs ask you to disable your antivirus before installing them, but this is very dangerous. Ddsg ransomware could be allowed on like this. Ddsg gets flagged by antivirus programs as Malware, Trojan, Ransom, Filecoder, Unsafe, Downloader, etc.: Virustotal.com.

The ransom note by the people behind Ddsg asks for money:

Can you get your files back?

Restore backups.

If you don’t have backups, check out the Emsisoft decryptor. Scan your files with it and it’ll tell you whether your files could be decrypted for free.

Review your folders and see if Ddsg skipped any files. Maybe it failed to encrypt some data.

When Ddsg encounters certain bigger files, it only encrypts them partially. For instance, you can open some archives and recover some of the files packed in them. Or you can repair some photographs and audio recordings and only lose a bit of data. Just make sure to backup your files before doing anything to them.

How to delete Ddsg ransomware

It’s very possible that Ddsg ransomware was downloaded with other malware, such as adware. Keep this in mind as you might need to delete more than one malicious program.

You can use antivirus scanners to find and delete malicious programs, as well as the files that infected your computer originally. The problem is that Ddsg attempts to cripple running antivirus tools by quitting them and deleting their updates. You might need to repair/verify your antivirus installation or reinstall it.

You can also reformat your drives to get rid of Ddsg, other malware, and all of your programs. This should get rid of Ddsg, but you have to make sure that all the malicious files, such as those that originally downloaded and installed Ddsg, are gone.

The files that were encrypted by Ddsg are not dangerous – you can keep them if you want (for instance, if they’re encrypted with the Offline key and you’re hoping for the decryption key).

Once all malware is gone, you can use your computer normally again. Just one more thing: if any spyware was discovered on your PC, then it may have stolen your credentials, such as those saved in the browser. Consider resetting your passwords.

Important -- edit the hosts file to unblock security websites

TL DR : The hosts file is edited to block security sites Before the virus can be removed, it's necessary to fix the hosts file (the file which controls which addresses connect to which IPs). That is the reason the majority of security websites is inaccessible when infected with this particular parasite. This infection edits this file to stop certain websites, including anti-malware download sites, from being accessed from the infected computer, making browsers return the "This site can't be reached" error. Luckily, it's trivial to fix the file and remove the edits that were made to it.

Find and edit the hosts file

The hosts file can be found on C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts. If you don't see it, change the settings to see hidden files.

1. In the Start Menu, search for Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, find Appearance and Personalization.
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Open the View tab.
5. Open Advanced settings.
6. Select "Show hidden files...".
7. Select OK.

Open this file with administrator privileges.

1. Open the Start Menu and enter "notepad".
2. When Notepad shows up in the result, right-click on it.
3. In the menu, choose "Run as administrator"
4. File->Open and browse for the hosts file.

The hosts file should look like this: Delete additional lines that they connect various domain names to the wrong IP address. Save the file.

Download and run the antivirus program

After that, download antivirus programs and use them to remove the ransomware, the trojan, and other malware. Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/reviews/spyhunter/dwnld/).

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Ddsg Ransomware encrypted files and remove the virus

Step 1. Restore system into last known good state using system restore

1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt:

for Windows 7 / Vista/ XP

• Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
• Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
• Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

for Windows 8 / 10

• Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart.
• Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings and click Restart.
• When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings.

 

2.Restore System files and settings.

• When Command Prompt mode loads, enter cd restore and press Enter.
• Then enter rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
• Click “Next” in the windows that appeared.
• Select one of the Restore Points that are available before Ddsg Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Ddsg Ransomware

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter and remove all malicious files related to Ddsg Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Ddsg Ransomware affected files using Shadow Volume Copies

If you do not use System Restore option on your operating system, there is a chance to use shadow copy snapshots. They store copies of your files that point of time when the system restore snapshot was created. Usually Ddsg Ransomware tries to delete all possible Shadow Volume Copies, so this methods may not work on all computers. However, it may fail to do so. Shadow Volume Copies are only available with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. There are two ways to retrieve your files via Shadow Volume Copy. You can do it using native Windows Previous Versions or via Shadow Explorer. a) Native Windows Previous Versions Right-click on an encrypted file and select Properties → Previous versions tab. Now you will see all available copies of that particular file and the time when it was stored in a Shadow Volume Copy. Choose the version of the file you want to retrieve and click Copy if you want to save it to some directory of your own, or Restore if you want to replace existing, encrypted file. If you want to see the content of file first, just click Open.

b) Shadow Explorer It is a program that can be found online for free. You can download either a full or a portable version of Shadow Explorer. Open the program. On the left top corner select the drive where the file you are looking for is a stored. You will see all folders on that drive. To retrieve a whole folder, right-click on it and select “Export”. Then choose where you want it to be stored.

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover Ddsg Ransomware encrypted files

There are several data recovery programs that might recover encrypted files as well. This does not work in all cases but you can try this:

• We suggest using another PC and connect the infected hard drive as slave. It is still possible to do this on infected PC though.
• Download a data recovery program.
• Install and scan for recently deleted files.

Note: In many cases it is impossible to restore data files affected by modern ransomware. Thus I recommend using decent cloud backup software as precaution. We recommend checking out Carbonite, BackBlaze, CrashPlan or Mozy Home.