*Ggwq is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
Ggwq
Ggwq is a recently detected ransomware infection, which may cause you a lot of trouble. Ggwq may prevent you from accessing your most needed files and then blackmail you in a ruthless way in order to extort money from you in exchange for the files’ liberation.
As a typical representative of the ransomware cryptovirus subcategory, Ggwq or Hhwq can secretly scan your entire system and detect your most frequently used file types in order to encrypt them with a complex algorithm which immediately makes them inaccessible. The malware then asks a fixed amount of money every time you try to open or use any of the encrypted files and prompts you to issue a ransom payment to a given crypto-wallet. The hackers behind Ggwq typically promise to send you a secret decryption key in exchange for your money but they may also threaten you that if you don’t fulfill all of their ransom demands, they will destroy that key and will leave your data encrypted for good.
The Ggwq virus
Unfortunately, infections with the Ggwq virus happen in a very sneaky way and, so far, there are not many methods that can prove effective when it comes to dealing with the consequences of the attack. In some cases, you may be able to successfully remove the Ggwq virus, but that won’t guarantee that you’ll be able to restore your encrypted files.
Paying the ransom is a risky course of action which may not free the much-needed files even if you fulfill all the hackers’ demands of sending them the requested money sum. That’s why, instead of risking your money, our suggestion for you is to take a close look at the alternatives that our “How to remove” team has assembled in the removal guide below. There you will find some file-restoration and ransomware removal instructions as well as some helpful tips about protection and prevention.
The Ggwq file encryption
One of the last things that the hackers behind the Ggwq file encryption want you to do is to research alternative file recovery options for. That’s why, the moment the Ggwq file encryption your data, the crooks immediately display a ransom note that gives you a short deadline to pay the money and get back your files.
In many cases, the panic and frustration of the victims work in favor of the criminals and they get richer and richer with every victim that agrees to pay in despair to save the encrypted data. However, all the reputed security experts, including our “How to remove” team, strongly advise against this course of action. Not only can you not really trust the hackers because there is absolutely no guarantee that their key will actually work, but there are also enough cases where the criminals simply disappear without sending any decryption solution in return for the ransom money.
For this reason, we believe that alternative options such as personal backup sources, removal guides, professional ransomware removal tools or system backup extraction tips are worth your attention. They may often have a better chance of helping you remove the infection and recover at least some of your files.
SUMMARY:
Name | Ggwq |
Type | Ransomware |
Detection Tool |
*Ggwq is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
Remove Ggwq Ransomware
To start the removal of Ggwq, two things need to be done first. Once, make sure that the infected machine is disconnected from the Internet, and all external devices (such as USB, and other connected devices) have been unplugged. This will stop the ransomware from receiving new instructions from its servers through the Internet, and will prevent possible damage on the devices that have been disconnected.
Once this is done, a system reboot in Safe Mode will be required. If you don’t know how to boot your system in Safe Mode, please click on this link and follow the instructions from there. Then, come back to this page (you can bookmark it right from the start to access it quickly) and proceed to the instructions in step two.
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
*Ggwq is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
On the machine that has been attacked, you will need to access the Task Manager by hitting the Ctrl, Shift, and ESC keys all at the same time. Make sure that the Processes tab is selected from the list of tabs that appears at the very top of the screen. Next, sort the processes according to how much memory and CPU they are using, go through the results and look for processes that have names that are not usual or that are consuming an excessive amount of resources for no apparent reason.
The next action is to click on Open File Location for the suspect process by right-clicking on it and selecting that option from the context menu that appears. In this way, you will be able to scan the files that are related to the process. You are welcome to use the scanner below in order to determine whether or not these files include any kind of dangerous malware.
Once the scan has been completed, and it has detected that the folder contains threats, it is important that the process that is currently running be ended first. To do this, navigate to the Processes tab, right-click on the process that has those files, and select the End Process option from the context menu. After that, you will need to go back to the files that were found by the scanner and remove them from the folder that contains them.
In the third step, you will need to hit the Winkey and the R key at the same time. Once the Run box opens, you will need to type the following command into it, and then press the Enter key.
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
The immediate opening of a file on the screen named Hosts will be prompted by this action. You may determine whether or not unauthorized changes have been made to your Hosts file by searching for the word “Localhost” within the text of the file and checking for any unusual IP addresses in the list that follows. IP addresses that do not seem to be trusted should be reported in the comments section of this page. This will allow us to have a look at them and offer you a suggestion on the measures that you should do next.
Once you are done with the Hosts file, open a System Configuration window on your computer by typing “msconfig” in the Windows Search box that is found in the Start menu and then pressing the Enter key on your keyboard. The next thing you need to do is choose the “startup” tab. When you get there, investigate the startup items that are indicated under that tab that are part of the starting process. If you find a startup item that you suspect is associated to the ransomware, remove the tick that is put in the checkbox next to it, and then click “OK” to save your settings.
*Ggwq is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
Once a computer is compromised, many system locations are accessible to the malicious software, including the registry, which allows it to hide its components inside. For this reason, a thorough scan of the Registry Editor is a step that you should not skip if you want to remove any files that are linked to Ggwq. You can open the Registry Editor by entering “regedit” in the Windows search bar and clicking the Enter key.
When you’re in the Registry, hold down CTRL and F at the same time to open a Find window. Using this window, you can look for files associated with the infection inside the registry. In the Find box, type the name of the threat you’re looking for, and then click the Find Next button to begin your search.
Attention! Those of you who are not experienced with dealing with malware may find it difficult to remove ransomware-related files from the registry. That’s because deleting anything incorrectly from the registry may seriously damage your PC. So, if you think your computer is still infected with Ggwq-related malware, and it hasn’t been completely eliminated, please use the professional malware removal program linked on this website, or another trusted malware-removal software of your choice.
In addition, the following five places on your computer should be searched for other files that may be linked to the infection:
- %AppData%
- %LocalAppData%
- %ProgramData%
- %WinDir%
- %Temp%
Search for each of the phrases listed above in the Windows search bar, and open them. However, don’t delete any files until you are completely sure that they are linked to the threat. To get rid of potentially dangerous temporary files, select the files in the Temp folder and then hit the Delete key on your keyboard to remove them from your computer.
How to Decrypt Ggwq files
If you’ve never dealt with ransomware before, decrypting your files might be a tricky task since the techniques for decrypting ransomware may vary based on the ransomware type that has infected you. If you’re not sure which ransomware variant has infected your machine, start by looking at the file extensions that have been appended to the end of the encrypted files.
Before beginning any data recovery process, however, make sure to do a complete malware check on your computer using a reliable anti-virus program. You must first see whether your machine is free of viruses before you start looking into file recovery options.
New Djvu Ransomware
STOP Djvu is a new ransomware that has just appeared on the scene, encrypting files and requesting money from victims all over the world. The .Ggwq suffix added to the encrypted files is a typical indicator for victims of this malware. If this is the threat you are faced with, don’t pay the ransom since there are decryptors out there, like one that you can find below, that may be able to help you recover some of your encrypted data if you give it a try.
https://www.emsisoft.com/ransomware-decryption-tools/stop-djvu
The decryption operation will not begin until you have downloaded the STOPDjvu executable file and read the licence agreement and instructions related to it. Keep in mind that if the files were encrypted using online encryption methods or unknown offline keys, this application may be unable to decode them completely.
If removing Ggwq manually isn’t effective enough, and you still have doubts that file related to the ransomware are hiding somewhere on your system, it is best to use the professional anti-virus software linked in the article to get rid of Ggwq quickly and effectively. As a last resort, you may also use our free online virus scanner to do a manual scan on any file you’re concerned about on your computer.
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