Wrui Ransomware - How to remove

Wrui is a dangerous ransomware infection. It breaks user files, making them unreadable and destroying some or all of their data. Its goal is to force its victims to pay money to the people behind this malware. Supposedly, the extortionists will recover the data that Wrui destroyed if they get paid a ransom.

There are a few options that can help you recover some of the data that Wrui broke without having to pay the ransom. Most importantly, Wrui needs to be deleted, as well as any other malware that was installed with it.

About Wrui:

Classification	Trojan, ransomware.
How Wrui works	It spreads with pirated software, it encrypts data and changes file names, it gets installed with other malware.
Can you get your data back?	If possible, restore from backups, contacting the extortionists is risky and dangerous, recover deleted files, repair the data that can be repaired.
How to delete Wrui and other malware	Use antivirus programs (Spyhunter) and/or reset your Windows, reset your passwords to protect your accounts.

What is Wrui ransomware?

Wrui ransomware is a malicious program. It encrypts user files, changes the names of those files to include the suffix “wrui”, and creates text notes called “_readme.txt” in which the creators of Wrui ask for hundreds of dollars in exchange for fixing the files.

The name “Wrui” is a meaningless but distinct combination of letters. It gets added to the name of each file that Wrui ransomware breaks. For example, “picture.jpg” becomes “picture.jpg.wrui”. But it’s not what breaks the files.

Wrui uses encryption, a method for hiding information by scrambling data, to break your files. The only way to undo the encryption requires that you know the decryption key, a unique and complicated code that only the extortionists have. This is where the ransom comes in.

After encrypting your files, Wrui asks you to pay a ransom – to send the extortionists a sum of $490 to $980. In exchange, the cybercriminals promise to help you recover your data.

Wrui is a Djvu type ransomware. It’s closely related to Lmas, Urnb, and other infections. It most likely spreads with pirated software and infected programs that can be found on unofficial websites.

It’s important to note that Wrui might be installed together with other malware: adware infections that cause ads and redirects to hijack your browser, spyware trojans that steal your passwords, and other malicious software.

How to get your files back

There are a few options for fixing the files that were broken by Wrui:

• Restore data from backups (only works if you had backups).
• Use the free decryptor by Emsisoft (very small chance of success).
• Recover deleted files.
• Repair the files.

If you had backups of your files (The Beginners Guide to PC Backup), then recovering from Wrui ransomware should be easy enough. Just make sure your backups are okay before wiping your encrypted data, as misconfigured cloud backups are vulnerable to ransomware.

It’s best to not pay the ransom that Wrui is asking – or to be very careful. The extortionists could fail to send the decryption info, they could just ignore you after getting their ransom (happens often enough with ransomware). And if you reveal any personal information, the extortionists could try and target you in the future.

Scan your Wrui-encrypted files with the decryptor by Emsisoft. It’s a free decryption tool, but it only works with a unique to each victim decryption key. Thanks to some quirks in Wrui ransomware, it’s possible (though very unlikely) that your decryption key is shared with another person – the decryption tool will tell you if it is so.

Also, see if you can get any useful data with a file recovery program (such as EaseUS) or if file repair looks like a viable option.

How to remove Wrui ransomware

Below are instructions for how you can use an antivirus program, such as Spyhunter, to remove Wrui and other malware. Antivirus programs detect Wrui as Suspicious, Malicious, Trojan, Unsafe, Kryptik, and other names.

You can also just reset your Windows, essentially starting over. But it would still be wise to do an in-depth scan of your computer with an antivirus program. There are some malware infections that are quite persistent.

And once your computer is free of malware, it might be good to reset your passwords. This is in case spyware came with Wrui and was able to steal your login data from your apps (browser, email client, chat apps, etc.). If you don’t yet have multi-factor authentication set up for all of your important accounts, set it up as soon as possible. That way, you’ll know if anyone tries to hack those 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 Wrui 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 Wrui Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

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

Step 3. Restore Wrui 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 Wrui 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 Wrui 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.