Rejg Ransomware - How to remove

Rejg is a malicious file-encrypting program. It is a type of Djvu ransomware, a big family of file-encrypting malware that also includes Wrui, Npsk, and dozens of other infections. You may have heard of it, it used to be incredibly widespread.

Rejg’s goal is to get the victims to pay a ransom – hundreds of dollars – to get their files back. However, there’s never a guarantee that you will get your files back, even if you pay.

In short about Rejg:

Type of threat	Ransomware, spyware, adware, trojan.
How Rejg infects computers	It spreads with pirated software, it is installed together with other malware.
Effects of the infection	Broken, renamed files, deleted backups, stolen passwords.
How to get rid of Rejg ransomware	Find and delete all malware (you can use an antivirus program like Spyhunter), reset your passwords.

How Rejg encrypts data

Rejg spreads with other malware

Generally, Djvu ransomware spreads with pirated software (such as “free” Office and Adobe software, games, etc.). Sometimes, the pirates temporarily disable their antivirus protection to stop it from interfering with the cracking process – only to unwittingly allow Rejg or other malware on their devices.

Little is still known about Rejg, as it’s very new. But, in the past, Djvu ransomware spread with AZORult, a password stealer. Once all the malware is removed from your computer, don’t forget to reset your passwords using a clean device. This will prevent criminals and scammers from using passwords they might have stolen from you.

It encrypts user files

Rejg does a lot of harm to the infected computer:

• It disables Task Manager.
• It installs adware and spyware.
• It deletes backups so that you can’t restore the encrypted files.
• It then encrypts various files. It does not disable Windows or installed programs, but encrypts all the files of the most common file types. These files include videos, images, audio recordings, documents, spreadsheets, text files, databases, etc. Rejg marks the encrypted files with file extensions, appending “rejg” to their names.

Most encrypted files don’t open and can’t be read. Encrypted data is, after all, much like corrupted data. (Note that Rejg may encrypt some files only partially, so you can still recover some data.)

Encryption is reversible and the criminals behind Rejg offer to restore your files to normal if you pay the ransom, which ranges from $490 to $980.

Here’s what the extortionists say in their ransom notes:

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.

The ransom note may seem sympathetic and even polite, but don’t forget that the extortionists are responsible for this infection in the first place.

Can you restore your data?

If you don’t have a backup of your data, then getting it back will be tricky or even impossible.

First, scan some of your files with the Emsisoft scanner. It’ll tell you if free decryption is possible. This requires that your version of Rejg ransomware fails to go online during encryption and that someone pays the ransom and gets the decryption key for this specific version of Djvu.

That decryptor was developed by a ransomware expert. No other free decryption options exist. Don’t fall for scammers who promise to fix your files if you pay them.

Paying the ransom to the extortionists is also not advised. There’s no way to know that the criminals behind Rejg will actually recover your files if you pay them. They might do it or they might take your money and ignore you. If you do take the risk, remember to protect your identity so that the extortionists can’t track you down later.

Look into data recovery tools like EaseUS. You might be able to restore something valuable. And check out file repair for files encrypted by Djvu.

How to get rid of Rejg

Antivirus scanners flag Rejg ransomware as a Trojan, Malicious, Unsafe, Ransom, and other labels (Virustotal.com). You can use an antivirus program (such as Spyhunter) to remove the ransomware, as well as all other malware that may have been installed with it. Or just reset your PC, though you should make sure that no malicious files survived.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Rejg 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 Rejg 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 Rejg 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.