Mpaj Ransomware - How to remove

Mpaj ransomware breaks files and renames them by adding “.mpaj” as a second extension. Besides encrypting files, Mpaj also breaks the antivirus program, installs some adware, and some people have even experienced the blue screen of death because of it. Worst of all, there’s no way to break Mpaj, so the files that it encrypted may be unfixable.

In short about Mpaj:

Classification	Ransomware.
Mpaj infection symptoms	Files have the extension “.mpaj” and refuse to open, some websites are blocked, pop-up ads start showing up, _readme.txt files asking for money.
How to fix the files	Restore from backups, use the free decryptor, use data recovery, repair the files.
Removing Mpaj	Unblock websites, use an antivirus program (Spyhunter or others) to find and remove malware, delete the file that downloaded Mpaj onto your computer, change your passwords.

Mpaj file locker

Mpaj is a file-encrypting program. To encrypt just means to turn meaningful text into gibberish, but in a way that it’s theoretically reversible. The people who made Mpaj spread it online together with ransom notes that tell victims to send money if they want their files fixed.

Mpaj is a type of Djvu ransomware, although it is much improved from the early versions of Djvu. Mpaj is related to but newer than Jope, Mado, Npsk, and other ransomware.

Mpaj ransomware encrypts a lot of user files (it doesn’t touch system files so as to not brick your computer) and then renames them on top of that – by adding a second file type extension, “.mpaj”. Then Mpaj creates _readme.txt files that include the ransom message and scatters them in your folders.

The _readme.txt file tells you to send money if you want to get your files back:

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.

…

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.

Really, it’s best to stay away from cybercriminals like these. They will take your money but nothing guarantees that they’ll keep their end. Plus, if you accidentally reveal to them any information about yourself, they might use it against you later.

Additionally, Mpaj:

• breaks your antivirus program,
• blocks a ton of cybersecurity sites,
• disables Task Manager,
• deletes backups, such as file shadow copies,
• installs adware and spyware,
• can cause stability issues and even crash the computer.

Overall, quite a bad infection. It’s possible to recover from it, and there may even be a chance to get some of your files back, but there are some people who just decide to start over from scratch.

How to remove Mpaj and restore the files

If you don’t have backups of the files that Mpaj broke, then there are a few possibilities ahead of you:

• a few people may have success with Emsisoft’s free decryptor (link here) when/if the offline decryption key is shared,
• some files (archives, sound, video, image, database files) may be partially reparable (link to the blog post),
• data recovery programs (programs that restore deleted files; when a file is deleted, its data is not immediately wiped from the disk, so it may be possible to recover some of it) help in some cases.

File fixing options are discussed more in the last section.

Unfortunately, it’s not realistic to hope for real decryption. Mpaj can’t be broken. The only possible solution to decrypting the files is to wait for the cybercriminals behind Mpaj to be arrested – or for them to release the keys themselves. Neither is likely to happen.

If you do hope for decryption, though, make backups of the encrypted files. The smallest edit could make a file undecryptable.

To remove Mpaj (and the adware/spyware that came with), scan your computer with an antivirus program, such as Spyhunter or any other decent antivirus tool. Don’t forget to delete the file that infected your computer with Mpaj. Mpaj lurks in pirated files, such as cracking tools, “free” versions of Office, Windows, Adobe, and other programs.

Finally, you may have to set new passwords for your online accounts. If the spyware that Mpaj installed (Azorult) stole any, they could be used to hack your accounts later.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Mpaj 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 Mpaj 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 Mpaj 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.