Moqs Ransomware - How to remove

Moqs is ransomware that spreads on pirating sites and attacks Windows computers. It’s dangerous to small businesses and individual PC users. Once on a computer, Moqs encrypts files, essentially breaking them. Then, it asks for payment to fix them.

Moqs can be deleted with security programs or simply by resetting your PC, but this won’t bring back the lost data. There are ways to recover some data, though they’re not guaranteed to work.

About Moqs ransomware:

Classification	Ransomware.
How Moqs ransomware works	It encrypts files, it deletes backups and changes PC settings, it asks victims to pay money, it may be installed together with other malware.
The harm caused by ransomware	Lost time and possibly lost data, other malware installed with Moqs.
How to remove Moqs ransomware	Find and delete malware with antivirus programs (Spyhunter, others), protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication.

How does Moqs ransomware work?

Moqs ransomware asks for hundreds of dollars

Moqs is a malicious program whose main purpose is to encrypt files, making them unreadable and unusable. Pictures, spreadsheets, and other files are found and locked by Moqs ransomware.

Encryption is reversible, but for that, you need the decryption program and key/password.

The cybercriminals who operate Moqs are selling these decryption tools. They’re asking victims to pay hundreds of dollars to get their files back. And as the decryption password is unique to each case, the extortionists can expect to make a lot of money from desperate victims.

To ask for money, Moqs ransomware creates text files – ransom notes called “_readme”. These notes include the email addresses to contact the attackers ([email protected], [email protected]) and a threat that if you delay contacting them, they’ll raise your ransom.

File names are changed

To label the encrypted files, Moqs appends “.moqs” to their names. As a result, your file explorer should display them as being of type “MOQS” and use the blank page icon for them.

If your Windows is set to show file extensions, your files might have names like this:

Picture.jpg.moqs

Besides changing file names, Moqs makes a few other changes to the infected computer:

• it disables Task Manager to stop users from killing malicious processes,
• it deletes backups to make file recovery harder,
• it blocks some websites, mostly cybersecurity vendor sites and blogs.

Can you restore your data?

The greatest hard done by a Moqs ransomware attack is encrypting files, basically destroying them. If you were ready for this sort of thing and had backups, then you protected yourself from Moqs and other ransomware attacks. But if you weren’t so ready, then is your data completely lost?

A few options for recovering files after a ransomware attack are mentioned in this post, including file repair.

Specific to Moqs and all Djvu-type ransomware is the Emsisoft decryptor. Normally, the extortionists behind Moqs ask victims to pay from $490 to $980 to get a decryptor to fix their files. But occasionally (rarely), a few victims of each Djvu variant share the same decryption key, which means that if one victim pays the ransom and gets the key, the others can use the same key. Emsisoft facilitates this sharing of keys, so try its decryptor on your files and see if free decryption may be possible in the future.

How to delete Moqs

Moqs can be deleted with antivirus tools, such as Spyhunter. As the ransomware may have been installed together with other malware, an antivirus scan can help find those other threats.

Another option is to reformat and reinstall Windows. If you don’t mind having to reinstall your programs, then you can do this.

After deleting Moqs, it’s important to avoid reinfecting your PC. Is the malicious file still on your PC? Do you know where you downloaded it from? Normally, Djvu-type ransomware (including Moqs, Ufwj, Wwka, Zqqw, etc.) spreads with pirated software (for instance, on sites like Cyberspc.com). Make sure to avoid getting the same malware on your device. Check out this new website by the American government – it has resources to help people learn more about ransomware and how to avoid it.

Finally, protect your private information. Moqs ransomware might have been downloaded together with spyware and other infections. These can be difficult to notice, but they’re able to steal credentials that are saved in web browsers and some online apps (such as email clients and chat apps), and even cryptocurrency wallet data. You might want to make sure that you’re using multi-factor authentication to protect your accounts and change passwords if you suspect that they might have been stolen.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Moqs 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 Moqs 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 Moqs 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.