Geek's Advice

VFGJ ransomware locks your personal files for a ransom

VFGJ ransomware is a new file-encrypting computer malware that belongs to the STOP/DJVU ransomware family. This malicious virus works by encrypting data contained in all folders within any computer it infects thereby automatically rendering them useless. Once it encrypts a file, it will append .vfgj extension after its original extension. Here is an example; a file that was initially saved as 1.jpg becomes renamed to 1.jpg.vfgj and the same process is repeated on all others. After initiating the attack, this notorious ransomware will start dropping ransom notes known as _readme.txt in all the folders. Contained in the ransom notes are messages sent by the cybercriminals explaining what has happened and why the victim should contact them in order to pay ransom that will make them eligible to receive VFGJ decryption tool.

They will point out that all critical data contained in the computer system, including documents, pictures, vital data, personal details etc. have all been made unusable and considering the fact that very strong encryption algorithm was used, the victim has no other alternative they can leverage to reverse the process except by paying ransom t them. For communication purposes, they will also include two email addresses, namely: support@sysmail.ch and helpsupportmanager@airmail.cc.

The cybercriminals will also mention how much the so-called decryption service is going to cost as well as the terms of payment. In order to pressurize the victim into paying immediately, they will give a condition that the victim will earn a 50% ransom fee price slash if they can pay within 72 hours/3 days, in essence, they would have to pay $490 instead of the initial asking fee of $980. However, they would threaten that once 3 days elapses, only the full amount will be acceptable.

If the victim decides to get in touch with them, they will inform him that payment can’t be made with liquid cash or bank transfer, rather only cryptocurrency will be accepted. So, they will provide a wallet address where the victim would be expected to transfer the cryptocurrency equivalence of the ransom fee. They make use of this medium in order to hide their identity and prevent possible detection and arrest by law enforcement agents. They may equally suggest for excerpts of the encrypted file to be sent to them for test decryption, as a way of assuring the victim of their expertise.

Just like the FBI’s guidelines as regards to ransom payment, our company’s cybersecurity experts equally advise victims of ransomware not to comply with the demands made by cybercriminals. Therefore, DO NOT PAY RANSOM REGARDLESS OF THE PRESSURE! Always have it in mind that there is no guarantee of recovering your lost data even after paying ransom. Also, when victims pay ransom to cybercriminals, they’re helping them to grow their capacity, employ more hands, and make profits. However, if everyone refuses to pay the ransom, they will have no incentive to continue in their criminal activities.

Worse still, the virus is also known to drop to Trojans like AZORULT and VIDAR that are infamous for stealing information from an already infected host. They can covertly steal vital personal information such as banking details, software credentials/account login details, browsing history, cryptocurrency details and passwords etc. Such sensitive details in the hands of cybercriminals can lead to further blackmail and theft.

Individuals whose computers were compromised with STOP/DJVU ransomware should endeavor to remove VFGJ ransomware virus without delay. You can get rid of it with the use of any strong and reliable antivirus software while setting up your computer in the Safe Mode with Networking option. However, you should ensure that the antivirus software you’re using is genuine.

Ransomware Summary

REMOVE MALWARE & REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE

Ransomware distribution techniques used by cybercriminals

There are various ways by which computer systems can get infected with variants of ransomware, including VFGJ virus, but one of the most common is through downloading malicious torrents. The rogues that create such malware often hide them in fake key generators, “cracks,” and similar pirated software copies. Once unsuspecting users download them in their computers, they unknowingly trigger a ransomware attack. Information gathered over the years has shown that certain software copies are often used by cybercriminals who upload them to diverse online torrent libraries. Some of the most popular ones are listed below:

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

For those that have a tendency of visiting online torrents libraries to acquire software illegitimately, now is the time to put a stop to such dangerous and illegal activity. Do not give cybercriminals the chance to prey on you and extort huge sums of money from you while you also stand to lose potentially important data. In addition to the above-mentioned risks, downloading of copyrighted software products without the permission of the content owners or paying the requisite fee is tantamount to stealing and is subject to prosecution in the court of law. Instead, computer users should always visit the official pages or their endorsed third-party agent sites and pay the cost of the software copies they need. The token you pay will always be little compared to the huge amount cybercriminals will demand from you when you eventually become their victim.

Another popular way they distribute ransomware is through malicious email attachments. Cybercriminals often create fake but believable messages alongside attachments created on platforms like XLS, DOCX or PDF. They make use of these particular platforms simply because macro functions and JavaScript can be applied on them, thus making it possible for payloads to be attached to them.

The worrisome aspect of it is that trying to decipher if a particular email is genuine or not can be quite difficult sometimes. The cybercriminals are increasingly becoming more sophisticated in their gimmicks and now make their emails to appear so “real”. They often claim the identity of popular brands such as DHL, Amazon or eBay while giving the attachment compelling names like Invoice, Tracking Details or Order Summary, etc. Conversely, they may even opt for the use of email spoofing methods to disguise the actual originating address. When faced with such uncertainty, it is best to err on the side of caution because opening a malware-carrying attachment is enough to cause irreversible damage.

Nevertheless, victims of STOP/DJVU ransomware should not think they can afford to be careless while believing that the worst has been done already. Avoid any website that claim to have decryption solutions because such rarely exist. Most of them are dubious and their intention is to distribute other variants of ransomware disguised as STOP/DJVU decryptors. The end result could be double-file encryption of your files and theft of sensitive data.

More details concerning the infection

If you’re at a loss about the extent of damage that may have occurred to your computer due to VFGJ ransomware attack, then this section will come in handy. The first thing the malware does following the infection is to establish build.exe or maybe build2.exe executables while also setting up winupdate.exe. Note that winupdate.exe is responsible for the display of a dummy Windows update screen. The virus then makes a connection with https[:]//api.2ip.ua/geo.json while saving the result in geo.json file. The malware then begins information gathering of every detail concerning your computer such as its geolocation, zip code, time zone, latitude, longitude and sends them to their database. Shown in the image below is how a typical geo.json file appears.

The virus also gathers computer name, operating system as well as hardware and software details and list of active processes into information.txt file and transfers them to C&C server as well. You can see a screenshot of this file down below.

There are a group of countries, particularly in the former USSR and Middle East, the cybercriminals exempted from their encryption campaign, they’re namely; Russia, Tajikistan, Syria, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kazachstan, and Kyrgyzstan. With the geolocation of the computer, they will determine if it is located in any of these countries. If yes, they will abort operation immediately, but if otherwise, they will move to the next stage where it extracts the online encryption key from their database, merges it with the victim’s ID before saving them in the bowsakkdestx.txt file and also in the PersonalID.txt file. Screenshots of these files are presented below.

In situations where the virus couldn’t extract any online encryption ID, it will opt for the use of an offline ID. The striking difference is that online ID is peculiarly created for each victim, while an offline ID is common to all victims of that particular variant. You can detect if an offline key was used if it t1 characters appear at the end of the personal ID. If that is the case, you can possibly decrypt .vfgj files going forward. More information about this is provided below or in this guide.

The ransomware now begins to scan every folder while also encrypting the files using Salsa20 before locking the encryption key using the RSA-2048 key.

Here is a screenshot of the _readme.txt ransom note that would be left in all the folders.

The virus will, at this point, delete Volume Shadow Copies using Command Prompt task as shown here:

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

As it concludes, a list of domains will be added to the Windows HOSTS File before tagging them to the local host IP. Once this is complete, the victim will be prevented from having access to any of those blacklisted websites. Any attempt will only bring up the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error message. Their aim is to preempt any possible attempt by the victim to seek help online.

Remove VFGJ Ransomware Virus and Recover Your Lost Files

The two most important moves to make following any malware attack is to remove VFGJ ransomware as quickly as possible and, secondly, to inform the local regulatory agency mandated to handle such issues. Please go through the steps outlined below for a more detailed approach.

• Remove VFGJ ransomware virus as quickly as possible.
• Determine the nearest law enforcement agency mandated to handle such issues and report to them right away.
• Make use of your backup device to restore your lost data.
• Search for tutorials to learn possible ways to repair/decrypt files damaged by STOP/DJVU variants.
• Replace all your passwords that were used on the compromised computer.

Victims of STOP/DJVU ransomware must have learned their lessons the hard way, but just like non-victims, it is important for everyone to always be on guard because it can happen to anyone.

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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:

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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.