Zqqw Ransomware - How to remove

Zqqw is a malicious program. When it attacks a computer, it encrypts documents, photos, and other files. As a result, files can no longer be opened.

The people who made the Zqqw malware then ask the victims to pay hundreds of dollars to restore their files. This is why Zqqw is called “ransomware”.

While antivirus programs can delete Zqqw and other malware, they can’t fix the encrypted files. There are some file recovery options, but there’s no guaranteed way to fix your files after Zqqw encrypted them.

Zqqw ransomware in short:

Threat type	Ransomware, trojan.
Zqqw infection symptoms	File names ending with “zqqw”, files not opening, ransom notes called _readme.txt being placed in some folders.
Can you recover your files?	Restore from backups, check if all files were encrypted, try the free decryptor, look into file repair.
How to delete Zqqw	If needed, backup the encrypted files, find and delete malware with antivirus tools (Spyhunter, others), secure your online accounts.

How does Zqqw ransomware work?

You might recognize Zqqw ransomware by a few symptoms:

• your files having a second extension “zqqw” and a file type “ZQQW”,
• most of these files not opening or showing junk content when opened,
• text files called _readme.txt being placed in your folders.

Zqqw is a malicious program, part of the Djvu ransomware family. Other Djvu variants include Qscx, Pooe, Ddsg, etc. Unlike the ransomware attacks that you might see in the news, Djvu preys on individual PC users. It spreads via pirated software and fake or infected software download pages. If you recently downloaded a “free” program to install on your PC, this is how Zqqw might have got on your system.

When Zqqw gets on a computer, it deletes file backups and messes with system settings. It disables Task Manager and it might block some websites (including cybersecurity blogs like this one) by adding malicious entries to the hosts file.

Finally, Zqqw starts encrypting files: documents, photos, text files, archives, etc.

Encrypted files can’t be read. They need to be unlocked with a password or a decryption key. In the case of Zqqw, this decryption key is unique to each victim (with some exceptions). This is the thing that the extortionists behind Zqqw are asking to be paid for.

Can you recover your data?

Zqqw ransomware uses encryption to break files. This essentially turns file contents into random noise.

Can you undo this encryption and get back your files without paying the ransom to the criminals?

If you had backups of your data and if they weren’t affected by the Zqqw attack, you can restore them. Just make sure to remove all malware from your computer first.

Check the decryptor by Emsisoft. Use it to scan some of your Zqqw-encrypted files. It will tell you if there’s hope that the files can be decrypted by using non-unique (offline) decryption keys.

It’s likely that there’s no hope of free decryption, but even then, there are a couple more things you can try:

• Zqqw might have failed to encrypt some files. Go through your files and folders and see if any of them got skipped by the ransomware.
• Some of the files that Zqqw ransomware encrypted may only be partially corrupted. You might be able to still open some audio, video, archive, and other files.
• Even if partially corrupted files don’t open, it may be possible, with a lot of work, to partially repair them.

How to remove Zqqw

Here’s what to do to delete Zqqw:

1. if needed, make backups of the encrypted files,
2. delete all malicious files and programs,
3. reset your passwords.

If you don’t have a backup of your files, you might hope to try and decrypt them using Emsisoft’s decryptor or repair them in other ways. If yes, then you must put the Zqqw-encrypted files on a backup. Before making any changes to an encrypted file, always create a backup copy.

Delete Zqqw and other malware. You can use antivirus programs like Spyhunter. You can also format your drive and start over. Be careful when restoring your computer – it’s important not to repeat the things that caused Zqqw to infect your PC in the first place.

It’s possible that spyware or adware was installed together with Zqqw. It’s not unusual for ransomware to spread in groups. To be safe, you can reset the passwords of your online accounts and/or make sure that 2-factor authentication is on.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Zqqw 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 Zqqw 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 Zqqw 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.