Lotej Ransomware - How to remove

Lotej is a virus that’s actually serious. It’s ransomware, but not the type that only locks the screen or hides the user interface. It does more than limit your access to your computer. Lotej accesses nearly all the files that aren’t necessary for Windows to run and encrypts them using a secure algorithm, hiding your own files from you; the only way to decrypt them is to get the password (decryption key) which the criminals then try to sell you. That’s how Lotej takes the valuable technology of cryptography and uses it for criminal profit.

Lotej is a version of STOP/Djvu — a ransomware family that has been developed and improved for a couple of years now. Like Darus, Rumba, Kroput, and others, Lotej’s symptoms are simple: a new, additional extension applied to the locked files and a ransom note (called _readme) which demands a ransom of $490 for a decrypter. This ransom may look small (it is, compared to other cryptoviruses which target businesses and organizations), but it is no less criminal to demand money from us for our own files.

The text in the ransom note from Lotej:

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-2P5WrE5b9f
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.

While a free decrypter independent from the criminals responsible for Lotej has been developed (it’s called STOPDecrypter), it only works in specific situations and hasn’t yet been updated for Lotej. Read more about STOPDecrypter in this post by its creator.

How bad is Lotej?

Just Lotej locking your files is bad enough, but the dangers of this virus don’t end with lost data. There is a reason why some victims of ransomware choose to wipe their disk after such an infection.

Most of the victims of Lotej get this virus from pirated software and unofficial, deceptive downloads. Something like this is an example of an infected installation being distributed as a legitimate program. Cracks and activators are still the most likely to have spread Lotej, though. The problem is that other viruses use the same distribution methods, which means that, if you pirate regularly and carelessly, you’re bound to have a few virus infections already.

Dangers of a Lotej infection:

• Data being locked, potentially lost permanently.
• Antivirus protection software being broken.
• Some websites being blocked (this article talks about how to fix that)
• Money being lost if you pay the ransom.
• Time lost fixing the problems, even if you have backups.
• Stress experienced due to precious data being lost.
• A dangerous trojan (AZORult) being installed:
  • It can steal credentials.
  • It can download more malware.

Even if you have complete, secure, up-to-date backups, it still costs time and effort to fix the damage that Lotej has done. Still, backups are the best answer to being safe from ransomware. Backups do get encrypted when they’re not properly disconnected from the computer, but if you do just keep copies of your files separately, that will save you a lot of grief if you’re even infected again.

If you suspect AZORult of having got any data from you, if you accidentally used the infected computer for sensitive activity, like banking or online shopping, make sure to change your passwords. You should also be very aware of phishing attacks in the near future.

How to remove Lotej

Removing AZORupt and Lotej, as well as whatever other viruses might be lurking on your system, should be done as soon as possible, and it’s necessary before you use your computer normally again. Spyhunter, or another professional antivirus program should be able to do this — this list of detections shows that Lotej fails to slip undetected by many reputable antivirus tools. Don’t forget to use safe mode.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Lotej 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 Lotej Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Lotej 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 Lotej Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Lotej 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 Lotej 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 Lotej 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.