Category: Ransomware

Articles about ransomware – malware encrypting your personal files or stopping you from accessing your computer – and ways to remove it

How to remove Gaze ransomware

What is Gaze ransomware?

Gaze is a ransomware virus. Viruses of this type encrypt all files on the victim’s computer and demand ransom to decrypt them. Hence, the name.
Gaze is not a unique virus; it was made using the STOP/Djvu template. Each day, hackers create new viruses using this template, altering them slightly in hopes of bypassing antivirus protection. As a result, thousands of STOP/Djvu viruses exist: Gapo, Xaro, and Xash are several recent examples.
But, although Gaze is similar to other viruses in the STOP/Djvu family, there is still a reliable way to identify it. All STOP/Djvu viruses rename the victim’s files after encryption and give them a new four-letter extension – .gaze file extension, in our case.
The hackers’ demands remain the same in each STOP/Djvu iteration – evidently, they see no need to alter them. They are communicated via a ransom note – always called “_readme.txt” – and are pretty simple. The victim must pay $980 to receive their files back, or $490 if they pay within 72 hours (3 days) of infection.
The hackers insist that paying is the only way to restore your files, but this is a lie. There are, in fact, other ways to remove Gaze ransomware and decrypt .gaze files – read about them in the article below.

How to remove Gapo ransomware

What is Gapo ransomware?

Gapo is a malicious program – that is to say, a virus – that extorts money out of its victims by encrypting their files and demanding payment to decrypt them. Viruses that generate money for the hacker in this manner are classified as ransomware.
Generally speaking, there are two types of ransomware attacks. There are carefully crafted viruses out there, made to attack one specific target (typically a large company); these can demand millions of dollars in ransom. The other kind are mass-produced viruses that target the general public and demand much less money.
Gapo is the latter kind of virus. It shares many similarities with other viruses, as it was made using a template. However, files encrypted by this virus have .gapo file extension, so it’s still possible to distinguish it from others.
As Gapo virus targets an average person, its demands aren’t astronomically high. The ransom note created by the virus, a text file called “_readme.txt”, states that each victim must pay $980 (or $490 if they pay quickly) to get their files back.
This, of course, is still pretty expensive, especially if you live in a developing country. But paying is not your only option. In the guide below, you can find a list of alternative ways to remove Gapo ransomware and decrypt .gapo files.

How to remove Xaro ransomware

What is Xaro ransomware?

Xaro is one of the latest computer viruses. It is classified as ransomware, which means that this virus encrypts the victims’ files and demands payment to decrypt them.
Xaro belongs to the STOP/Djvu family of ransomware, which includes many viruses that are very similar to each other. However, all files encrypted by Xaro receive .xaro file extension, so it shouldn’t be difficult to identify this specific virus.
Once it has finished encrypting the files, tne virus creates a ransom note – a text file named “_readme.txt”. The note contains the hackers’ contact information and their demands. It states that each victim must pay $980 (or $490 if they pay within 3 days) to receive their files back.
These demands are obviously quite unacceptable – who wants to lose a thousand dollars? Thankfully, paying the criminals isn’t the only option. We’ve compiled a list of alternative ways to remove Xaro ransomware and decrypt .xaro files; read it in the article below.

How to remove Xash ransomware

What is Xash ransomware?

Xash is a harmful program that encrypts files on your computer, then demands money to give them back. This behavior is the defining characteristic of ransomware, a category of viruses.
There are many other viruses similar to Xash out there, like Gatz and Qopz. Despite this, it is easy to determine which virus encrypted your files – almost all ransomware, Xash included, gives encrypted files a new extension (in this case, .xash file extension).
As you may already know, the hackers want $980 or $490 for decryption – this is mentioned in the “_readme.txt” file left by the virus. For most people, this price is not acceptable; since you’re reading this article, this likely includes you.
So, we have some good news. It is indeed possible to remove Xash ransomware and decrypt .xash files without paying the cybercriminals. Not all files may be recoverable, but it’s still a lot better than losing almost a thousand dollars. Read the guide below to learn which options are available to you.

How to remove Gatz ransomware

What is Gatz ransomware?

Gatz is the newest computer virus in the STOP/Djvu ransomware family. The virus, just like every other ransomware program, encrypts all files it can reach. After doing this, it proceeds to demand payment for the decryption of the files.
STOP/Djvu viruses are incredibly similar to one another, so there aren’t many ways to confirm that your computer has been infected by Gatz specifically. The only reliable method is to check the extension of the encrypted files – they should have .gatz file extension.
To communicate with its victims, the virus creates a file named “_readme.txt”. This file is a ransom note; it contains the hackers’ contact information and their demands. As you can read on the image above, the hackers order the victims to pay $980 to get their files back. To discourage hesitation, the hackers also provide a 50% “discount” to those who pay within 3 days of infection.
Of course, this is still a bad deal. And to make the matters worse, the hackers will often cut communications with the victim after getting paid, without decrypting any files. This is why you should consider alternate ways to remove Gatz ransomware and decrypt .gatz files; read the article below to learn more about them.

How to remove Gash ransomware

What is Gash ransomware?

Gash is a recently-developed virus in the STOP/Djvu ransomware group. As you may already know, ransomware-type viruses encrypt files on the attacked computer and then demand money for their decryption.
This is exactly what Gash does; after infecting the computer, it encrypts all the files and gives them .gash file extension. Then, it creates a text file called “_readme.txt” – the ransom note. It describes the hackers’ demands and contains their contact information.
The demands, unsurprisingly, are very straightforward – the hackers want 980 US dollars. The hackers also offer a 50% discount to those who pay quickly; this is a trick designed to get money out of hesitant victims. If you take a moment to think, you’ll realize that $490 is still a fairly sizeable sum of money.
Price alone is a sufficient reason to investigate alternative ways to remove Gash ransomware and decrypt .gash files. But it is not the only one. Often, the criminals don’t bother decrypting the files even after receiving the payment. So, read our guide to learn how to avoid paying the hackers.

How to remove Qopz ransomware

What is Qopz ransomware?

Qopz is a new virus that operates under the ransomware principle; it encrypts your files and demands payment to decrypt them. Often, ransomware programs also install additional viruses, such as keyloggers and information stealers. Whether Qopz does so or not is unknown; it may depend on how the computer was infected.
Still, we do know quite a lot about this virus. It belongs to the STOP/Djvu ransomware family, and is similar to other such viruses as a result. It creates a ransom note called “_readme.txt”, which contains the hackers’ demands. It can be read on the image above, though this is unnecessary; we will summarize it in the next paragraph.
The hackers want $980 to decrypt the files. As a way to pressure the victim into paying, they also offer a 50% discount which only lasts 3 days after encryption. This is fairly expensive, so you may be wondering whether there’s another way to remove Qopz ransomware and decrypt .qopz files.
Well, wonder no further, because we are here to tell you – there is. In fact, there are several different methods which may be able to restore your files. Read the guide below to learn about them.

How to remove H3r ransomware

H3r ransom note: write email herozerman@tutanota.com or herozerman@proton.com or kollooria@xyzmailpro.com This is the end of the note. Below you will find a guide explaining how to remove H3r ransomware and decrypt .h3r files.

What is H3r ransomware?

H3r is an actively spreading computer virus that behaves as a ransomware program. These programs encrypt files on the infected computers, which makes them impossible to open. To reverse the procedure, the hackers demand money.
H3r belongs to the Dharma ransomware family, which means it shares many behaviors with other viruses in this group. Notably, it renames the files using a special pattern, appending the victim’s ID, an e-mail address that belongs to the hackers, and .h3r file extension to the original filename. To illustrate, a file that was named “image.png” before infection will be renamed to “image.png.id-D17EACA3.[herozerman@tutanota.com].h3r”.
Another behavior shared across all Dharma viruses is their ransom notes. There are two of them: one is displayed as a pop-up and another is a text file. Neither note mentions much – they simply the victim to contact the hacker and little else. However, the pop-up note does mention that payment will have to be made in Bitcoin.
That said, you should not pay the hackers. For one, it incentivizes the hackers to carry out further attacks, which may once again affect you. But also, it is simply a bad idea because very often, the criminals behind ransomware don’t bother with decrypting the victim’s files after receiving payment.
Instead of doing that, why not read our guide? It will explain how to remove H3r ransomware and decrypt .h3r files without paying the hacker – and that’s something you should be interested in.

How to remove Saba ransomware

What is Saba ransomware?

Saba is a computer virus classified as ransomware. These viruses encrypt files on victims’ computers with the intent of demanding money for decryption.
In this particular case, encrypted files receive .saba file extension to differentiate them from files encrypted by other similar viruses.
Saba virus leaves a ransom note, “_readme.txt”, to let the victim know what the hackers want for decryption. The sum is quite significant – 980 US dollars – and even the fact that the hackers offer a 50% discount doesn’t make it better. The “discount” is just a trap, after all; it’s in effect for the first three days after infection, to motivate the victims to hurry and pay.
The note (which can be read on the image above, by the way) attempts to convince the victim that paying the hackers is the only way to retrieve the files, but this is not entirely true. There are, in fact, other ways to remove Saba ransomware and decrypt .saba files. You can read about these methods in the guide below.

How to remove Sato ransomware

What is Sato ransomware?

Sato is a recent strain of the STOP/Djvu ransomware virus. This type of computer viruses generates money by encrypting all data on the infected computer and demanding money for decryption.
In order to pay the hackers, the victim needs to know their contact information. This is why these viruses always leave a ransom note – typically a simple text file. In this case, this file is called “_readme.txt”. It can be read on the image above.
To summarize, the hackers demand $490 or $980 to decrypt the files. How much the victim has to pay depends on how quick they are; those that pay within the first three days get the lower price. In this manner, hackers hope to incentivize rash and thoughtless behavior from the victims.
It is worth noting that paying the hackers is seldom a good idea. More often than not, criminals who create ransomware programs don’t bother actually decrypting any files – they simply take the money and stop responding. Instead, consider learning about other ways to remove Sato ransomware and decrypt .sato files. The guide below is a good place to start.

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