WantToCry Ransomware

WantToCry

WantToCry is a threatening virus program of the Ransomware variety that will lock the data you store on your computer. Threats like WantToCry usually cannot be stopped by conventional security software because they don’t cause direct harm to anything in the infected computer.The files that viruses like this one lock do not get harmed by the Ransomware. They simply become inaccessible to the user. If WantToCry manages to lock up your files, there is no program that will be able to open them until they get decrypted.

Speaking of decryption, even though this is the main method for bringing back files that have been locked by Ransomware, we must warn you that the decryption of your data cannot be guaranteed. There is a matching key for each computer that has been infected by WantToCry, Rocklee or Water that the virus has created and saved on the hackers’ servers. This key is what you will need to decrypt your files, but in order to get it, you are required to pay ransom to the criminals behind this virus. They give strict instructions on how the payment must be made within a note that the virus creates on every computer it infects, right after the encryption process is over. According to the message written in the note, you will be granted the matching key for your computer once you complete the transfer of the ransom. Needless to say, trusting this statement is not very wise or practical – it is not uncommon for people to send their money to the blackmailers only to never hear from the hackers again and be left without a working solution for the lockdown on their files.

The WantToCry virus

The WantToCry virus is a highly dangerous piece of malware that locks personal user data and shows almost no symptoms during the infection. After the WantToCry virus has finished locking up the user’s files, not even removing the malware will release them.That is not to say that there is absolutely no hope of restoring the encrypted files but one must realize that when it comes to Ransomware each situation is different and what might help in some instances may turn out to be utterly ineffective in others. The general rule we advise you to follow is to never go for the ransom payment as your first response to the Ransomware infection. Instead, give yourself some time to research the potential alternatives and then try them to see if they work.

Text in this ransom note and the “!want_to_cry.txt” file:

All your data has been encrypted by –WantToCry– r@n50mw@re
You can buy decryption of all files for 300 USD.
For this:
Visit https://tox.chat/download.html
Download and install qTOX on your PC.
Open it, click “New Profile” and create profile.
Click “Add friends” button and search our contact –
963E6F7F58A67DEACBC2845469850B9A00E20E4000CE71B35DE789ABD0BE2F70D4147D5C0C91
Send a message with this string:
285CD8A145AB428DB581DE190510DFA9
Send 3 test files. These should be files of no more than 20-30 MB each. We do not accept download links from third-party resources. We do not accept very large files, such as database files.
In response, we will send payment instructions and decrypted files. Payment is made in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

The Want_To_Cry file extension

The want_to_cry file extension is a filename suffix that is placed at the end of the name of files encrypted by this virus. If the want_to_cry file extension is added to a file, no program would be able to open that file. The only way to make the want_to_cry file extension disappear is through decrypting the locked data. However, there might be ways to circumvent the whole need for decrypting the files, as well as ways to decrypt some of the data without having the decryption key. You will learn more about this in the WantToCry removal guide we will give you next.

SUMMARY:

Remove WantToCry

Some of the steps will likely require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.

Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).

WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time and go to the Processes Tab. Try to determine which processes are dangerous. 

Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:

Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy

This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.

This file is not matched with any known malware in the database. You can either do a full real-time scan of the file or skip it to upload a new file. Doing a full scan with 64 antivirus programs can take up to 3-4 minutes per file.

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After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders. 

Note: If you are sure something is part of the infection – delete it, even if the scanner doesn’t flag it. No anti-virus program can detect all infections.

 

Hold the Start Key and R –  copy + paste the following and click OK:

notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts

A new file will open. If you are hacked, there will be a bunch of other IPs connected to you at the bottom. Look at the image below:

 

If there are suspicious IPs below “Localhost” – write to us in the comments.

Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:

 

Go in Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer.

• Please note that ransomware may even include a fake Manufacturer name to its process. Make sure you check out every process here is legitimate.

 

Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter. Once inside, press CTRL and F together and type the virus’s Name. 

Search for the ransomware  in your registries and delete the entries. Be extremely careful –  you can damage your system if you delete entries not related to the ransomware.

Type each of the following in the Windows Search Field:

1. %AppData%
2. %LocalAppData%
3. %ProgramData%
4. %WinDir%
5. %Temp%

Delete everything in Temp. The rest just check out for anything recently added. Remember to leave us a comment if you run into any trouble!

 

How to Decrypt WantToCry files

We have a comprehensive (and daily updated) guide on how to decrypt your files. Check it out here.

If the guide doesn’t help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!