Geek's Advice

UIGD ransomware encrypts all files on a computer, asks for a ransom

UIGD ransomware is an emergent file-encrypting virus that belongs to the infamous STOP/DJVU ransomware group. This highly dangerous virus is known to encrypt all files contained in any computer it infiltrates and also appends .uigd extension to each filename. Take, for instance, a file that was known as 1.jpg prior to the attack will now be known as 1.jpg.uigd and the same will be applicable on all other files. While the attack is still ongoing, ransom notes known as _readme.txt will be dropped in all the folders. Contained in these notes are pieces of information sent by the cybercriminals explaining the situation and why the victim would have to reach out to them in order to pay a certain amount of money as ransom so they could receive UIGD decryption tool.

As pointed out in the ransom note, they will state that UIGD ransomware virus was able to encrypt every file contained in the computer, inclusive of pictures, documents and various data, while making use of very strong encryption key. Based on that, they will suggest that the only out for the victim will be to pay the ransom fee being demanded by the cybercriminals if they hope to recover their encrypted data. Also included will be two email addresses, namely: support@sysmail.ch and supportsys@airmail.cc ostensibly kept a medium through which the victim should respond to them.

In addition to that, decryption service prices will also be listed as well as the conditions attached with it. In hoping to persuade the victim to pay without delay, they will state that if the victim could pay within 72 hours (3 days) of being notified, they will be able to leverage their 50% discount opportunity. Which means, instead of paying the normal $980 ransom fee, they would now be required to pay just $490. However, failure to do so within the 3 days window mean only the full ransom fee would be acceptable.

Nevertheless, if the victim decides to respond to them via the email they provided, the cybercriminals will reel out more conditions by saying that the only means of payment acceptable to them is through cryptocurrency. In other words, the victim would have to purchase cryptocurrency worth the ransom fee and transfer same to wallet address that would be provided by them. The reason why they don’t accept other conventional payment methods is to avoid possible tracing and arrest by law enforcement agents who may come after them. To assure the victim of their expertise, they may request that random samples from the encrypted data should be forwarded to them for test decryption.

Our in-house cybersecurity experts recommend that victims should follow FBI’s guidelines in respect to ransom payment and the rule is that RANSOM DEMAND MUST NOT BE PAID. There are several apparent reasons for this recommendation, and we have listed them below for your consideration:

• There is no guarantee you will recover your lost data even after paying huge sums of money as ransom.
• The basic reason why cybercriminals involve themselves in such acts is to use inordinate means to extort money from their victims, so paying ransom will only encourage them the more.
• More funds in their hands will enable them to expand their criminal activities and victimize more people.
• In certain countries, the laws might be against payment of ransom.

The cybercriminals also use the virus to drop other Trojans that steal sensitive information like AZORULT and VIDAR on the compromised computer with the aim of obtaining personal details such as software login credentials, banking details, passwords, cryptocurrency wallets, browsing history etc. Such sensitive information in the hands of cybercriminals can lead to further crimes.

The first thing victims of STOP/DJVU ransomware variants (including the one under review) should do is to remove UIGD ransomware virus from their PC as quickly as possible. The recommended way to go about it is to boot your computer through Safe Mode with Networking prior to running a reliable antivirus or anti-malware software on it. It is important to make use of only strong and genuine software to ensure optimal result. For those who are not sure of which brand to use, we recommend INTEGO Antivirus. On top of that, a good idea is to download RESTORO and use it to repair virus damage on corrupted Windows OS files.

Ransomware Summary

REMOVE MALWARE & REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE

Ransomware distribution techniques commonly used by cybercriminals

The most prolific way cybercriminals spread STOP/DJVU ransomware variants including UIGD virus is to upload pirated software copies embedded with malware in online torrents platform. These pirated software copies including the so-called “cracks” and key generators are then used to lure unsuspecting users. Once downloaded, they will trigger a ransomware attack on the user. Over the years, several victims have reported about such attacks after visiting downloading fake software contents from online torrent libraries. The most common ones often exploited by cybercriminals are listed below:

• AutoCad;
• Adobe Photoshop;
• Tenorshare 4ukey;
• Fifa 20;
• Opera browser;
• Corel Draw;
• VMware Workstation;
• Cubase;
• Adobe Illustrator;
• League of Legends;
• Internet Download Manager;
• KMSPico (illegal Windows activation tool).

If you’re among those that indulge in the dangerous habit of visiting online torrents for the purposes of downloading pirated software copies, you should stop it forthwith. Such activity can only get you into trouble and you will end up losing your precious data or money, or even both. You should also remember that aside the aforementioned risk, the illegal downloading of patented software contents is considered copyright infringement and is punishable by law. Instead of facing all these issues, it is a lot better to encourage genuine software producers by obtaining their products through the officially recognized channels and also paying the fee attached to them.

Always remember that whatever token you pay to legally obtain such software copies will be insignificant when compared to the outrageous amounts cybercriminals demand as ransom from their victims. Likewise, you won’t be at risk of losing your sensitive data and neither will you waste your time and resources.

Another method used by cybercriminals in spreading malware is the use of malicious email attachments. In this case, they would compose highly convincing emails and attach them with custom made documents crafted on DOCX, XLS or PDF etc. They use these particular formats because they allow JavaScript and macro functions, both of which can be used to embed payload from external sources and also trigger same on random PC’s.

The biggest challenge facing computer users now is how to decipher if a particular email is genuine or sent by cybercriminals. The reason is because these guys have devised various means of catching their victims unawares. They may pretend to be acquaintances or even impersonate popular brands such as DHL, eBay, Amazon or UPS just to mention a few, and would also use compelling names like Invoice, Tracking Details, and Order Summary etc. all in a bid to influence their victims and make them open the attachments embedded with malware. Alternatively, they may even make use of email spoofing methods to obfuscate the real originating address. Whatever be the case, you should avoid opening any email you’re not convinced about its source.

Last but not the least; it would be in the best interest of STOP/DJVU ransomware victims to avoid certain dubious websites that claim to provide decryption solutions because such hardly exist. Currently, only tools made by Emsisoft and DiskTuna have proven to be capable of repairing them effectively.

More information about the infection

For those that are curious to understand the extent to which their computer was affected following UIGD ransomware attack, this section will explain it in detail. The first action the malware takes is to launch build.exe or build2.exe executables and also follow it up with winupdate.exe (the prompt that displays fake Windows screen). Afterwards, it will connect to https[:]//api.2ip.ua/geo.json before saving the outcome in geo.json file.

The malware then proceeds to information gathering of all details about the computer under attack, such as its geolocation, time zone, zip code, latitude and longitude, and would send them to geolocation-related database. Below, you can see examples of several geo.json files collected during research.

Another file would also be created where hardware details and installed software list would be processed into i.e. information.txt.

At this stage, the malware will make a comparison between the extracted country code and their list of countries exempted from cyber-attack. The countries are: Russian Federation, Ukraine, Syria, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazachstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Once it detects that the computer about to be attacked is domiciled in any of these countries, it will immediately abort its mission, but if otherwise, it will proceed by fetching online encryption key kept in their server, merge it with the victim’s ID and save them in bowsakkdestx.txt file and to PersonalID.txt file. Below are examples of these files.

In situations where the malware fails to extract any online encryption key, it will opt for the use of a hardcoded offline key. The difference between the two is that online key is unique to each victim unlike offline key that is uniform to all victims of same virus. You can detect if the ID used is offline if it has t1 characters appearing at the end of the personal ID. From the perspective of the victim, an offline key is preferable because it increases chances of possible decryption going forward. More information about it is provided below.

At this point, the virus will commence full encryption by scanning every folder it comes across and encrypting them with Salsa20 before locking them with RSA-2048 key. The files will also be marked with additional extension.

Shown below is a screenshot of _readme.txt ransom note earlier discussed in the article.

In concluding the attack, the malware will blacklist certain sites by adding them to the Windows HOSTS file and also mapping them to local host IP thereby effectively barring the victim from accessing them. The error message DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN may appear on the screen whenever the victim tries to access them.

Remove UIGD Ransomware Virus and Restore Your Files

In conclusion, those whose computers were infected should remove UIGD ransomware without further delay and also report to relevant local authorities charged with handling such issues. To remove all malware from your computer, rely on trusted security programs such as INTEGO Antivirus. In addition, our team also strongly recommends downloading RESTORO to repair virus damage on Windows operating system files.

Once UIGD ransomware virus has been removed, you should also take the following steps as recommended by our team:

• Report to the nearest office of government responsible for taking care of such problems.
• Restore lost data with the use of any backup device available to you.
• Immediately change all passwords used on the compromised computer.

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.