Ufwj Ransomware - How to remove

Ufwj is ransomware that encrypts files and then tries to get the victims to pay for decryption. The criminals behind this scheme ask for hundreds of dollars from each victim.

Ufwj is different from the ransomware attacks that usually get media attention, as this infection preys on smaller victims – individual PC users. It infects Windows computers with installers and files downloaded from unsafe websites.

About Ufwj ransomware:

Threat type	Ransomware, trojan.
How Ufwj infects PCs	It’s downloaded from the internet, it might be installed together with other malware, it encrypts files and changes their names.
How to restore your data	Recover files from backups, try the free decryptor, consider other file recovery options.
How to remove Ufwj ransomware	Find and delete malicious files and programs with antivirus tools (Spyhunter), reset your passwords.

How Ufwj ransomware works

Ufwj spreads with pirated software

This is not always true, but if your computer got infected with Ufwj, it’s likely that it came from a shady file download, crack, or torrent.

It might come together with other malware, such as malicious browser extensions and trojans. If adware was installed, you might notice your browser behaving strangely.

You would probably not notice the infection right away. Ufwj begins its work in the background by disabling the Task Manager and deleting backups (if you have any). It also might try to kill antivirus processes. Finally, it kills programs that might be using your files (such as Word) to make sure they can’t interfere with it encrypting files (if a file is being edited, Ufwj can’t mess with it).

It changes file names

Ufwj ransomware breaks files so that they can’t open. It breaks them by scrambling their contents into nearly random noise – encrypting them.

Ufwj doesn’t necessarily encrypt whole files; sometimes it only locks part of a file’s content. But that’s still enough to make it so that the files do not open.

To mark the files as encrypted, Ufwj changes their names and adds extensions “.ufwj” (How to make Windows show file extensions).

Document.docx.ufwj

Note that the extensions are only there to mark which files Ufwj encrypted. Removing the extensions doesn’t fix the files.

Ufwj encrypts many file types, including documents and spreadsheets, music, audio, etc. It locks them very quickly – it might only take a few minutes.

After all that, Ufwj creates ransom notes in which it asks you to contact the extortionists – the people who are responsible for the Ufwj infection. These notes are text files called _readme and they are placed into multiple folders.

How to remove Ufwj ransomware

Can you get your files back?

If you had backups of your data (make sure that they’re alright), then you don’t need to worry about the encrypted files. You can delete them and replace them with those from your backups.

The extortionists who operate Ufwj are asking for money (from $490 to $980). In exchange, they promise to fix the encrypted files. They say they will send the decryption tool and the unique key (a sort of password) required to restore the files.

These are probably the same criminals who are responsible for the other Djvu variants, like Wwka and Gujd. And some people have paid the ransom and got their files back. But it’s expensive, helps criminals, and there really is no guarantee that the criminals will keep their promise.

Emsisoft maintains a decryptor for Djvu-type ransomware. Use it to scan your files. While the decryption key is unique to all victims, in practice, some victims share keys. If your key is not unique, someone else pays the ransom for the same key, and they share the key, then your files could be decrypted for free.

For more file recovery options, such as file repair and undeletion, check this post – How to Recover Files Encrypted By Ransomware.

Delete Ufwj and other malware

Use antivirus programs (Spyhunter, others) to delete ransomware and other malicious programs.

Or reset your Windows if you’re okay with having to reinstall your programs. Although, if you keep any of your files, I would still recommend that you scan them with an antivirus program. In case the ones that caused the Ufwj infection are still around.

In addition, avoid whatever site you got Ufwj from. It happens that people who already suffered a ransomware infection accidentally download the ransomware again.

After your computer is clean, you might want to reset your passwords. Variants of Djvu ransomware (the family that Ufwj belongs to) have been known to spread with password-stealing spyware before. So, just in case, change your passwords. For added security, make sure to use 2-factor authentication to protect your accounts.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Ufwj 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 Ufwj 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 Ufwj 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.