Zaqi
Zaqi is a ransomware virus created to extort money from web users through blackmail. Zaqi completes its agenda by secretly encrypting valuable files found on the infected computer and demanding a ransom payment for their decryption.
The malware programs of the Ransomware group are the most dangerous cyber threats known to users today. The specific version we will be elaborating on in the following article, the Zaqi virus, is no exception. This new Ransomware representative is a dangerous cryptovirus that causes some of your files to become encrypted with the intention to blackmail you further. Once it encodes your most valuable information, Zaqi asks for a ransom payment in exchange for the restoration of the encrypted files. It is especially difficult to handle such programs. Whether you pay for the requested ransom or not, there is never a guarantee that you will recover the encrypted files to their previous state. In the removal guide below, however, we have tried our best to come up with some instructions that could help you remove Zaqi and potentially regain access to some of your information for free.
The Zaqi virus
The Zaqi virus is a money-extorting infection of the Ransomware class that specializes in file-encryption. In order to make its victims pay, the Zaqi virus locks their most valuable data and keeps it hostage for ransom.
The Zaqi virus can infect your computer in many ways. For example, Trojans are sometimes used to deliver the Ransomware inside the computer by locating and exploiting an existing vulnerability of the operating system or an already installed computer program. The so-called malvertising is another possible distribution method. This is a method where fake pop-ups and links are used to lead to web locations full of malware and to trick web users into downloading a harmful payload directly to their machine. Ransomware such as Zaqi, Nqhd, Miia might also come from infected web pages, malicious torrents, spam emails, and similar sketchy content. In some cases, the virus can be injected into your system once you open the malicious link or file.
The .Zaqi file encryption
The .Zaqi file encryption is a malicious method for money extortion which aims to encode user files and keep them inaccessible until a certain amount of money is paid as ransom. The .Zaqi file encryption is a stealthy process that runs without visible symptoms and can go unnoticed by most security programs.
All starts by compiling a list of all the files you currently use. The encryption then begins and each and every file in the list gets secured with a complex encryption code. The entire process ends with a special message being generated on the screen. That message typically informs you about the ransom required and warns you about your files’ future if you don’t pay. Sadly, there is no tool or method that can ensure that your files will be completely recovered. Paying the ransom isn’t very smart either, since it doesn’t ensure that the hackers will decrypt your data. It can only encourage them to encrypt other information and ask for more money. Therefore, a possible alternative to giving your money to the crooks behind Zaqi is to try to remove the virus yourself. For that, you can use a special removal guide like the one below, for example. We certainly cannot guarantee that this will magically fix everything, but it will cost you nothing to give it a try and at least remove the Ransomware from the infected computer.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Zaqi |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Danger Level | High (Ransomware is by far the worst threat you can encounter) |
| Data Recovery Tool | Not Available |
| Detection Tool | Some threats reinstall themselves if you don't delete their core files. We recommend downloading SpyHunter to remove harmful programs for you. This may save you hours and ensure you don't harm your system by deleting the wrong files. |
Remove Zaqi Ransomware
Save this page to your browser’s bookmarks for easy access to the Zaqi removal instructions.
Following the bookmarking of the Zaqi removal guide, you will need to restart your computer in Safe Mode. Please go to this URL for detailed instructions on how to restart your computer in Safe Mode.
When the computer restarts, type msconfig into the Windows search box at the bottom of the Start menu and press Enter.
The System Configuration window will appear next. Disable anything Zaqi may have added to the list by unchecking its checkmark in the Startup tab. After you’ve finished configuring the startup items, click OK to exit.
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
A number of damaging activities begin as soon as the ransomware infection is activated. If you believe Zaqi’s behavior is linked to a specific Task Manager process, the next step is to locate and terminate that process.
To access the Task Manager, simply press CTRL, SHIFT, and ESC on your keyboard. Select the Processes tab, carefully search for a process that is dangerous or linked to the ransomware, right-click on it and select Open File Location from the context menu.
After that, scan the files associated with that process for malware using the free virus scanner provided below:
It is vital that any potentially hazardous files detected by the scanner be removed as quickly as possible, but in order to do so, you must first end the corresponding process that is currently running in Task Manager.
To end a dangerous process, right-click it and select the “End Process” option from the quick menu.
If your computer has been infected with malware like Zaqi, the Hosts file could be one of the places where dangerous alterations appear. As a result, we recommend that you open and thoroughly inspect your Hosts file, looking for changes under Localhost in the text to ensure that everything is in working order.
To do so, press the Windows Key and R at the same time on the keyboard to open a Run dialog box, and paste the following command into it:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
When you click OK, the following file should appear on your screen:
If you notice any IP addresses that look questionable, as shown in the image above, please let us know by leaving a comment after this guide. We’ll look into the IPs that look suspicious and give you some recommendations.
Dangerous files are frequently introduced to your computer’s Registry as a result of a ransomware infection. What’s more crucial is that you search the Registry for malicious entries and delete anything you think is linked to the infection.
Type Regedit in the Windows search field and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. Then, by clicking CTRL and F at the same time, open the Editor’s Find dialog box and type the ransomware’s name in it. Then, to see whether any entries with that name exist, click the Find Next button and start a search. Because the malware could be linked to anything found in the search results, it’s better to get rid of it.
Attention! Regular users may cause major damage to the system if they don’t know which files to delete from the registry. For this reason, a professional removal program should be used to remove any threats and hazardous files from the system and the registry.
After you’re sure the Registry is clean, you can close it and use the Windows search field to manually search for harmful items in the following five places:
- %AppData%
- %LocalAppData%
- %ProgramData%
- %WinDir%
- %Temp%
Type each of the following lines into the search area (including the percent sign) and click Enter to access them. After that, in each of them, search for new files or folders with unusual names.
If you notice anything questionable, remove it immediately. Select and delete all temporary files stored in Temp. This action will delete any temporary files created by the malware.
How to Decrypt Zaqi files
Victims may need to use a variety of tools and methods in order to decrypt Ransomware-encrypted data. The first thing that you need to do if you have been infected is to make sure you know which variant of ransomware has encrypted your data. Look at the file extensions that have been applied to the encrypted files to figure this out.
New Djvu Ransomware
STOP Djvu ransomware is the most recent Djvu ransomware variant that is actively attempting to infect systems all around the world. The .Zaqi suffix is added at the end of all files encrypted by this ransomware variant. The only chance to decode STOP Djvu-encoded files right now is if they were encrypted with an offline key. To assist you with decrypting your data, we’ve included a link to a decryptor tool that you might find useful:
https://www.emsisoft.com/ransomware-decryption-tools/stop-djvu
To save the STOPDjvu.exe file to your computer, open the URL and click the Download button in the top right corner of the window.
Select Run as an administrator and then press the Yes button to open the file. After reading the license agreement and the brief instructions for use, you may begin the decrypting process by clicking on the Decrypt button. To be maximum accurate, we should note that this decryptor does not support decryption of files encrypted with unknown offline keys or online encryption, so please keep this in mind.
A professional anti-virus tool or a sophisticated online virus scanner can be used to eliminate Zaqi and other malware from your computer. If you have any questions or concerns while completing the steps in this guide, please do not hesitate to write to us in the comments.
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