Znsm Virus

7-day Free Trial w/Credit card, no charge upfront or if you cancel up to 2 days before expiration; Subscription price varies per region w/ auto renewal unless you timely cancel; notification before you are billed; 30-day money-back guarantee; Read full terms and more information about free remover.

*Znsm is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.

Znsm

Znsm is a form of Windows malware known for its ability to take users’ files hostage with the help of an encryption process. Znsm comes from the Ransomware family and its goal is to blackmail the attacked victims for money.

Errz
The Znsm ransomware will leave a _readme.txt file with instructions

If this virus infects your computer and manages to place its encryption on your files before you manage to detect and intercept it, most (if not all) of your files will become unavailable, meaning that you won’t be able to open, edit, or use them during the time the Znsm file encryption remains on them.

According to the criminals responsible for the development and distribution of this virus and others like Iswr, Isza your files can only be released through the use of a secret decryption key that is located on their servers. Within a ransom-demanding message that the virus displays automatically at the end of the encryption process, the victims are told that they can get the matching decryption key for their files by sending a set amount of money to the hackers, following the instructions provided in the message. Once the money is paid, the user would be sent the needed key and would once again be able to access their files, or so the blackmailers say.

The truth, however, is that there is no certainty with regard to what would happen after the payment is completed. The criminals might keep their promise and send the decryption key but they could just as easily disappear and leave their victims with no working solution for their data’s encryption. That is why you must think really hard about what your next step should be if you have been attacked by a threat such as Znsm.

The Znsm virus

The Znsm virus is an advanced form of malware that blocks access to the most important data located on its victims’ computers. The aim of the Znsm virus is to blackmail the attacked victims who must pay ransom to recover their data.

As we mentioned earlier, paying might not always yield the expected results and might instead turn out to be an utter waste of a significant amount of money. That is why you need to find another way to handle this situation – one that won’t require you to risk your money while, at the same time, inadvertently sponsoring the illegal blackmailing scheme of the hackers behind this virus. Our suggestion is to follow the guide you will find at the bottom of this article and see if it helps you solve the Ransomware-related problem.

The .Znsm file extension

The .Znsm file extension is the filename extension suffix that is placed at the end of the names of all encrypted files. The .Znsm file extension is unrecognizable to any program you might have in your computer because it doesn’t represent an actual data format.

Znsm File

Only through decryption can one remove the unrecognizable extension from their files. However, there may be other ways to recover Ransomware-encrypted data that could allow you to circumvent the extension problem. To learn more about some of those potential recovery methods, be sure to visit the second part of our guide, as it is focused on data recovery.

SUMMARY:

NameZnsm
TypeRansomware
Danger LevelHigh (Ransomware is by far the worst threat you can encounter)
Data Recovery ToolNot Available
Detection Tool

anti-malware offerOFFER Read more details in the first ad on this page, EULA, Privacy Policy, and full terms for Free Remover.

*Znsm is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.

Remove Znsm Ransomware


Step1

To make it easier to complete all the steps from this guide, you may want to save this page’s uninstallation instructions as a bookmark in your browser. In this way, you won’t have to go searching for the Znsm removal guide every time you restart your computer, since the instructions will already be there.

The next step is to start the compromised computer in Safe Mode, which allows you to see what programs and applications (aside from the most necessary ones) are running on the system and whether they are potentially harmful to your computer.

Step2

WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!

*Znsm is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.

To open the Task Manager, press the CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys on your keyboard at the same time. On the Processes tab, you should look for processes with unusual names or processes that are consuming a lot of resources. Right-click on any process that seems to be suspicious to you and choose Open File Location from the pop-up menu that will appear.

malware-start-taskbar

Next, scan the files associated with that process to see if any malicious code has been included. A free virus detection program is given below.

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.
Drag and Drop File Here To Scan
Drag and Drop File Here To Scan
Loading
Analyzing 0 s
Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
    This scanner is based on VirusTotal's API. By submitting data to it, you agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and to the sharing of your sample submission with the security community. Please do not submit files with personal information if you do not want them to be shared.

    If there are files that the scanner detects as dangerous, you may need to first end the suspicious process in Task Manager by right-clicking on it and selecting End Process before proceeding to the files and successfully removing them.

    When a system is infected, an attacker has the ability to change the Hosts file. As a result, the next step is to manually search the “Localhost” section of the file for potentially problematic IP addresses (like those on the image below). You may open the Hosts file by pressing the Windows key and the R key at the same time, and then typing the following command in the Run box:

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

    To run the command you’ve just typed, press the Enter key on your computer, and then search for any unusual IP addresses in the Localhost section of the file. Please let us know if you come across anything suspicious by posting a comment in the comments space provided below. If we find that the IP addresses you’ve published are dangerous, we will reply to you with advice on what to do next.

    hosts_opt (1)

     

    In the next step, enter msconfig in the Windows search field and hit Enter. The System Configuration dialog box will appear on the screen as a result of this action. Look for Znsm startup items in the startup tab of the task manager. If you find any, remove their checkmarks and then hit the “OK” button to save your changes. Keep in mind, however, that you should not remove the checkmark from any genuine startup items that are part of your computer’s operating system.

    msconfig_opt

    Step4

    To avoid detection and to achieve long-term persistence, an increasing number of malware applications secretly insert malicious entries in the system’s registry. For this reason, if you want to successfully removed Znsm, in this step, you need to use the Registry Editor to search for and remove any Znsm-related files that may have been added there. This may be accomplished by typing regedit in the Windows search field and pressing Enter. Following that, you should be able to view the Registry Editor on your computer’s screen. Search for files that may have been added by the ransomware by pressing the CTRL and F keys at the same time. Enter the ransomware’s name in the Find box and click the Find Next button to begin a search for the malware.

    Carefully remove any ransomware-related files that show in the search results. Repeat the search as many times as required until there are no more results to remove.

    Attention! If you attempt to manually remove the malware-related files from your registry, you should be aware that there is always the possibility of accidentally removing something else that is not linked to the malware problem. When it comes to safety, using an anti-virus software is the best option since it removes potentially harmful applications and unsafe registry entries without removing critical system files.

    Malicious ransomware-related files may also be present in the following five locations. Therefore, you should double-check your system by typing each of the search phrases listed below in the Windows search bar and pressing Enter.

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

    Any questionable files that you come across should be deleted. Holding down the CTRL and A keys simultaneously and pressing the Del key on your computer will remove all temporary files from your computer’s Temp directory.

    Step5

    How to Decrypt Znsm files

    It is possible that non-professionals will have difficulty recovering data that has been encrypted by ransomware. Moreover, the decryption processes that may be used to recover the data may differ depending on the variant of ransomware that was used to encrypt it. It is possible to distinguish between different ransomware variants based on the file extensions that are attached to the encrypted data.

    A thorough scan of your computer using a professional virus removal program (such as the one available on our website) is the most important thing you can do before trying any data restoration steps. After the scan has shown that there are no threats on the system, it will be safe for you to experiment with the various file recovery options that are available.

    Next Djvu Ransomware

    According to security experts, the STOP Djvu ransomware is a new variant of the Djvu ransomware that has been found. The files encrypted by this new threat carry the extension .Znsm at the end of their names. In certain cases, using a decryptor such as the one found at https://www.emsisoft.com/ransomware-decryption-tools/stop-djvu, you may be able to recover your encrypted data.

    Before you can begin the decryption procedure, you must first download the STOPDjvu.exe software from the specified URL. To run the file as an administrator, right-click on it and choose “Run as Administrator”, then confirm. You’ll also want to make sure you understand the license agreement and any accompanying instructions. However, it is vital to remember that this tool will not be able to decrypt data that has been encrypted with unknown offline keys or with online encryption.

    If you encounter any issues when removing the Znsm ransomware, the anti-virus software available on our website may be of assistance. You may also use our free online virus scanner to check for any strange files that you come across.

    blank

    About the author

    blank

    Brandon Skies

    Brandon is a researcher and content creator in the fields of cyber-security and virtual privacy. Years of experience enable him to provide readers with important information and adequate solutions for the latest software and malware problems.

    Leave a Comment

    We are here to help! Use SpyHunter to remove malware in under 15 minutes.

    Not Your OS? Download for Windows® and Mac®.

    * See Free Trial offer details and alternative Free offer here.

    ** SpyHunter Pro receives additional removal definitions and manual fixes through its HelpDesk in cases where they are needed.

    Spyware Helpdesk 1