Geek's Advice

HHQA ransomware aims to restrict access to your personal files using encryption

HHQA ransomware is a variant of file-encrypting virus coming from STOP/DJVU malware family. Once launched on victim’s computer, it scans all folders and encrypts personal files using  RSA Salsa20 algorithms and leaves ransom-demanding notes called _readme.txt in every directory. Additionally, the program marks files with .hhqa extension, so a file originally called 1.jpg will appear as 1.jpg.hhqa after encryption and become impossible to open. The point of this attack is to force the victim to pay a ransom to get file decryption tools. The ransom note contains a message from the criminals who explain that it costs $490 to decrypt .hhqa files if paid within 72 hours, or $980 later. In order to get further details regarding the transaction, the note invites to contact the criminals via provided emails: manager@mailtemp.ch or helpmanager@airmail.cc.

The sole aim of HHQA ransomware is to temporarily lock victim’s work files, study material or simply personal memories with military-grade encryption algorithms typically used to secure information so that only the person who holds the private decryption key could access it. To be precise, this ransomware is designed to encrypt the first 150 KB of each file, which makes the whole file inaccessible yet keeps the whole encryption procedure speedy. In this case, the attackers have the decryption tools, and suggest selling them for the victim for a hefty ransom. However, considering the encryption method used, some files such as videos or audio files may be repaired with some data loss at the beginning of the file as explained in this guide.

HHQA decryption tool price ranges from $490 to $980 depending on how quickly the victim writes to the criminals and pays the ransom to them. According to the note, if paid within 72 hours from the infection timestamp, the victim gets a 50% discount, however if paid later the price jumps back to the initial amount which is $980. Of course, once contacted via email, the attackers explain that the victim has to purchase Bitcoins or other cryptocurrency for the said amount and transfer it to the attacker’s virtual wallet. This transaction type keeps the crooks anonymous and prevents authorities from tracing them down. Additionally, the note suggests that the victim can send one small encrypted file for test decryption.

Geek’s Advice team experts do not recommend paying the ransom. FBI also doesn’t encourage such practice. There are more than enough reasons why you shouldn’t:

• Keep in mind that if you decide to pay the criminals, it doesn’t automatically guarantee that you will recover your files. You might end up wasting your hard-earned money and receive a faulty decryption tool or no response from the criminals at all;
• Cybercrime actors earn millions of US dollars each year from ransomware attacks. Please, do not contribute to the growth of this number as this simply encourages the criminals to continue their activities, plus lures other people to join this criminal world.
• Paying a ransom can be as illegal as asking for it. Check your local laws regarding it;
• Viruses that belong to STOP/DJVU ransomware family such as HHQA virus run AZORULT Trojan on compromised computers. It is a stealthy malware that can grab sensitive details that can be used to blackmail you later and demand more money. Do you really want to spend your money on attackers who will potentially try to extort you again?

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Ransomware damage in detail

At the beginning of the attack, HHQA ransomware runs a set of processes, each designed for a different purpose. For example, this malware runs a fake Windows update prompt under a disguised name winupdate.exe. The aim of this process is to trick the victim into thinking that sudden system slowdown is caused by Windows update components being downloaded and installed; unfortunately, it simply conceals work done by another 4-character named executable file which scans computer and connected drives and encrypts them. Additionally, the virus runs a Command-Line task to delete Volume Shadow Copies from the computer:

^{vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet}

This prevents the victim from using System Restore points to restore files for free. Next, the virus attempts to restrict a set of online websites on a computer so that the victim could not access them for ransomware attack-related information and help. For this, it modifies Windows HOSTS file by adding a list of domains and mapping them to localhost IP. Therefore, whenever the computer user attempts to access one of blocked websites, DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error will appear in browser. It must be said that the victim won’t be able to access these domains directly and via other sources such as search engines. Therefore, to be able to access all websites again, HOSTS file must be reset back to default.

The ransomware also drops a set of files that helps to keep information about the victim. One of such files is called bowsakkdestx.txt (which holds victim’s public encryption key and personal ID string) and PersonalID.txt (contains victim’s identification number only).

Ransomware drops information-stealing Trojan

Another important detail to mention is that HHQA virus, just like other variants from STOP/DJVU strain, has a tendency to arrive in tandem with AZORULT Trojan. It is a well-known information stealer that falls into Remote Access Trojans (RAT) category. In other words, malicious actors may use it to perform illegal actions on your computer remotely, including, but not limited to:

• Dropping more malware to the computer and executing it;
• Stealing cryptocurrency wallets;
• Stealing Steam, Telegram login credentials;
• Viewing or deleting files on victim’s computer;
• Stealing browser cookies, saved passwords, visited websites list and more.

Due to reasons listed above, we strongly recommend you to remove HHQA ransomware virus using professional antivirus of your choice. Our team recommends INTEGO Antivirus, which is VB100 certified security software that provides real-time protection against malicious downloads and stops you from entering deceptive websites. Once you remove the malware, consider scanning with RESTORO, a highly-rated tool to repair virus damage on Windows OS files.

Ransomware Summary

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File-encrypting virus distribution in a nutshell

File-encrypting computer viruses are distributed using traditional malware proliferation tactics. When it comes to STOP/DJVU ransomware variants such as HHQA virus, they tend to hide in illegal torrent downloads, mostly various software cracks, keygens and similar. Victims infected with previous versions from this ransomware strain report downloading infectious cracks for these programs:

• Adobe Photoshop;
• Corel Draw;
• Cubase;
• Adobe Illustrator;
• Windows activation tools such as KMSPico.

While all of them (except KMSPico) are legitimate and well-known programs, attempts to activate their licenses in illegal ways can result in severe computer infection. Cybercriminals know that many computer users head to various file-sharing websites only to look for cracked software variants. It is an ideal environment to place disguised ransomware there as common peer-to-peer download clients typically do not check for malware in the files. What is even worse, users tend to ignore their security software warnings when opening such downloads.

For this reason, we strongly encourage you to get software licenses legally and from trusted sources only. Otherwise, you might end up infected with severe malware that will try to swindle much more money than a legitimate software license would have cost to you.

Malicious email spam is yet another ransomware distribution technique used nowadays. The attackers compose convincing messages accompanied with attachments called as invoice, missing/pending payment, delivery tracking details or similar that come in popular file formats such as DOCX, XLS, PDF or others. Since these formats allow execution of scripts, opening them can simply activate a code that will connect to a remote domain, download and execute a malicious file on your computer. For this reason, we suggest that you look for these red flags in a message and generally only open emails that you EXPECTED to receive:

• Urgent message tone and suggestions to open attached contents immediately;
• The sender claims to be someone from a well-known company
• Spoofed email address;
• Your email box provider marks the letter as spam.

Final distribution technique that you should know especially if you’re already a victim of a ransomware attack is that criminals use fake decryption tools to disguise other ransomware strains. In other words, desperate attempts to download so-called decryption tools from shady websites can result in a second attack and consequently your files will be double-encrypted. Onevirus example that’s been known for usage of such distribution technique is ZORAB malware which hides in fake STOP/DJVU ransomware decryption tools.

Remove HHQA ransomware and decrypt your files

We recommend you to remove HHQA ransomware virus without any delay. For that, we have prepared a removal guide which you can find down below. We suggest using a 2-step rescue plan: first, remove the malware from your computer using professional security software such as INTEGO Antivirus, which provides robust real-time protection. Next, we recommend downloading RESTORO to scan your PC and repair virus damage on Windows OS files.

Once HHQA ransomware virus is gone, consider taking the following actions:

• Report cybercrime incident to your local authority responsible for handling such cases. You can find some references below the article.
• Use data backups to restore files (if you have them).
• Try instructions to decrypt or repair files affected by STOP/DJVU versions.
• We also recommend changing your passwords, especially for sites that you chose to save login credentials for in your browser.

OUR GEEKS RECOMMEND

Our team recommends a two-step rescue plan to remove ransomware and other remaining malware from your computer, plus repair caused virus damage to the system:

STEP 1. REMOVE AUTOMATICALLY WITH ROBUST ANTIVIRUS

REMOVE & PROTECT WITH INTEGO

Get INTEGO ANTIVIRUS for Windows to remove ransomware, Trojans, adware and other spyware and malware variants and protect your PC and network drives 24/7.. This VB100-certified security software uses state-of-art technology to provide protection against ransomware, Zero-Day attacks and advanced threats, Intego Web Shield blocks dangerous websites, phishing attacks, malicious downloads and installation of potentially unwanted programs.

Use INTEGO Antivirus to remove detected threats from your computer.

Read full review here.

STEP 2. REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER

DOWNLOAD RESTORO

RESTORO provides a free scan that helps to identify hardware, security and stability issues and presents a comprehensive report which can help you to locate and fix detected issues manually. It is a great PC repair software to use after you remove malware with professional antivirus. The full version of software will fix detected issues and repair virus damage caused to your Windows OS files automatically.

RESTORO uses AVIRA scanning engine to detect existing spyware and malware. If any are found, the software will eliminate them.

Read full review here.

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Norbert Webb

Norbert Webb is the head of Geek’s Advice team. He is the chief editor of the website who controls the quality of content published. The man also loves reading cybersecurity news, testing new software and sharing his insights on them. Norbert says that following his passion for information technology was one of the best decisions he has ever made. “I don’t feel like working while I’m doing something I love.” However, the geek has other interests, such as snowboarding and traveling.