How to remove Weui ransomware, Decrypt .weui files.

What is Weui file extension

.Weui file extension is an extension that is used by a new variant of the STOP ransomware. Like other ransomware, Weui virus is created to encrypt the victim’s files, and then demand a ransom for decrypting them. Fortunately, there is a free Weui File Decrypt Tool, which in some cases can decrypt the encrypted files. Weui File Decrypt Tool is a free software that can help ransomware victims decrypt .weui files. In addition to the decryptor, there are several more methods, each of which can help restore the contents of encrypted files. Read more about this, as well as how to remove Weui ransomware and protect your computer from such ransomware below.

Screenshot of files encrypted by Weui virus (‘.weui’ file extension)

What is Weui ransomware

Weui ransomware is new malware that belongs to the category of STOP (Djvu) ransomware. According to security researchers, this malware is not much different from previous versions of STOP ransomware, such as Lisp and Sglh that were discovered earlier. The ransomware virus is spread by websites offering to download freeware, key generators, activators, cracked games, torrents and so on.

Upon execution, Weui creates a folder in the Windows system directory where it places a copy of itself and changes some Windows settings so that it starts up every time the computer is restarted or turned on. The virus collects information about the victim’s computer and then tries to establish a connection with its command server (C&C). If the connection has been established, then it sends information about the infected computer to the server, and in response receives the encryption key (the so-called ‘online key’) and additional commands and malware that must be executed on the victim’s computer. If the virus could not establish a connection with its command server, then it uses a fixed key (the so-called ‘offline key’).

Weui virus encrypts files using a strong encryption algorithm and a long key (‘offline key’ or ‘online key’, as described above). The virus tries to encrypt as many files as possible, for this it only encrypts the first 154kb of the contents of each file and thus significantly speeds up the encryption process. Weui has the ability to encrypt files on all drives connected to the computer: internal hard drives, flash USB disks, network storage, and so on. It skips without encryption: files located in the Windows system directories, files with the extension .dll, .lnk, .ini, .bat, .sys and files with the name ‘_readme.txt’. The remaining files located on the victim’s computer can be encrypted. For example, the following file types may be the target of ransomware attack:

.mcmeta, .bik, .gho, .layout, .lbf, .wp, .wbmp, .xld, .3fr, .iwi, .t12, .wpl, .indd, .pst, .wma, .wp6, .bc7, .x3d, .odm, .zdc, .docm, .css, .xyw, .eps, .pptx, .wpt, .cer, .ppt, .mdbackup, .xlgc, .wbm, .wmv, .rofl, .wp5, .kf, .wmo, .rgss3a, .wpd, .hplg, .sidd, .wm, .sid, .dmp, .nrw, .rw2, .tor, .xmind, .xlsm, .wma, .m2, .xdl, .mrwref, .fpk, .m3u, .wmv, .vpp_pc, .wdp, .ntl, .xxx, .z, .snx, .xar, .z3d, .wmf, .cdr, .litemod, .dwg, .wpg, .wbk, .jpeg, .0, .lrf, .arw, .csv, .ysp, .bsa, .hvpl, .sav, .wbz, .syncdb, .mdb, .wb2, .txt, .jpe, .x3f, .3dm, .wdb, .wps, .wp7, .wri, .x3f, .odp, .ff, .mov, .rim, .d3dbsp, .wpe, .x, .p12, .wpa, .bkp, .png, .kdb, .wbd, .wpw, .7z, .r3d, .zip, .re4, .dba, .js, .webdoc, .srf, .m4a, .pef, .kdc, .das, .wotreplay, .rtf, .xbplate, .zip, .big, .xml, .bkf, .mddata, .xll, .xyp, .xlk, .zabw, .docx, .y, .ibank, .xlsx, .qic, .blob, .epk, .hkdb, .xdb, .bc6, .wpd, .pem, .iwd, .p7c, .doc, .sie, .bay, .pdf, .ltx, .odb, .dbf, .icxs, .ztmp, .ai, .wsc, .crt, .db0, .dcr, .mef, .vtf, .3ds, .qdf, .map, .xbdoc, .xx, .sr2, .esm, .itm, .fos, .slm, .crw, .sidn, .sum, .fsh, .itdb, .xy3, .svg, .webp, .pkpass, .sql, .cfr, .zi, .w3x, wallet, .zdb, .upk, .sis, .cr2, .odt, .wot, .accdb, .gdb, .erf, .sb, .psd, .wp4, .rwl, .wmd, .avi, .dxg, .mdf, .cas, .asset, .py, .srw, .bar, .desc, .pdd, .ws, .wps, .apk, .xlsm, .hkx, .wsd, .arch00, .menu, .vdf, .xmmap, .mlx, .vcf, .orf, .yml, .wpb, .ptx, .1, .t13, .ncf, .mpqge, .xls, .wgz, .1st, .raf, .odc, .flv, .wn, .pak, .wire, .rar, .mp4, .xf, .vfs0, .2bp, .p7b, .wsh, .xls, .xpm, .wbc, .itl, .pptm, .xlsb, .jpg, .forge, .zif, .psk, .xwp, .dng, .ybk, .raw, .rb, .der, .yal, .vpk, .wcf, .wav, .lvl, .pfx, .dazip, .tax, .xlsx

The Weui ransomware encrypts file-by-file. Each file that has been encrypted will be renamed, the .weui extension will be added at the end of its name. Thus, it marks all encrypted files. In every directory where there is at least one encrypted file, the virus places a file named ‘_readme.txt’. The file contains a message from Weui authors. An example of the contents of this file is given below.

Screenshot of the contents of ‘_readme.txt’ file (Weui ransom note)

This message says that all files on the computer are encrypted and the only way to decrypt them is to buy a key and a decryptor from the authors of Weui virus. That is, criminals demand a ransom for unlocking the victim’s files. The size of the ransom is $980, but if the victim is ready to pay the ransom within 72 hours, then its size is halved to $490. Attackers offer victims to verify that encrypted files can be decrypted. To do this, the victim must send them a small file to one of the email addresses specified in the ‘_readme.txt’ file. Of course, it is obvious that a single decrypted file cannot guarantee that after paying the ransom, the criminals will provide the victim with a working key and decryptor.

Text presented in the Lisp ransom note:

ATTENTION!

Don’t worry, you can return all your files!
All your files like pictures, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.
The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.
This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.
What guarantees you have?
You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.
But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.
You can get and look video overview decrypt tool:
https://we.tl/t-jydQMZP2Ie
Price of private key and decrypt software is $980.
Discount 50% available if you contact us first 72 hours, that’s price for you is $490.
Please note that you’ll never restore your data without payment.
Check your e-mail “Spam” or “Junk” folder if you don’t get answer more than 6 hours.

To get this software you need write on our e-mail:
helpmanager@mail.ch

Reserve e-mail address to contact us:
restoremanager@airmail.cc

Your personal ID:

Threat Summary

How to remove Weui ransomware; Recover, Decrypt .weui files

Security researchers confirm the words of the Weui ransomware authors. All files with the extension ‘.weui’ are encrypted and thus cannot be read and used. The only way to decrypt them is to use the key and the decryptor. Fortunately, there is some good news. As we already reported above, Weui virus belongs to STOP ransomware family, which means that you can use the free decryptor (Weui File Decrypt Tool) created by Emsisoft to decrypt the encrypted files. Even if the decryptor does not help, there are some alternative ways that can help restore the contents of the encrypted files. To learn more about decrypting files, simply scroll down to section ‘How to decrypt .weui files’. Read the entire manual carefully. To make it easier for you to follow the instructions, we recommend that you print it or open it on your smartphone.

1. How to remove Weui ransomware virus
2. How to decrypt .weui files
3. How to restore .weui files
4. How to protect your PC from Weui ransomware

How to remove Weui ransomware virus

Before you start decrypting or recovering .weui files, you need to remove Weui ransomware and its autostart entries. This must be done since otherwise the ransomware may re-encrypt the restored files. You can stop the ransomware from working, as it is not difficult to do. Another option is to perform a full system scan using free malware removal tools capable of detecting and removing ransomware infection.

It is very important to scan the computer for malware, as security researchers found that spyware could be installed on the infected computer along with the Weui ransomware. Spyware is a very dangerous security threat as it is designed to steal the user’s personal information such as passwords, logins, contact details, etc. If you have any difficulty removing the Weui virus, then let us know in the comments, we will try to help you.

To remove Weui ransomware, follow the steps below:

1. Kill Weui ransomware
2. Disable Weui ransomware Start-Up
3. Delete Weui ransomware Task
4. Delete Weui virus file
5. Scan computer for malware

Kill Weui ransomware

Press CTRL, ALT, DEL keys together.

Click Task Manager. Select the “Processes” tab, look for something suspicious that is the Weui ransomware then right-click it and select “End Task” or “End Process” option. If your Task Manager does not open or the Windows reports “Task manager has been disabled by your administrator”, then follow the guide: How to Fix Task manager has been disabled by your administrator.

It is not difficult to detect a process related to the Weui ransomware. When looking for a malicious process, pay attention to the process icon and its name. Most often, this ransomware has a process name in the following format: 4-characters.tmp.exe or 4-characters.exe. For example: 7533.tmp.exe, A4b1.exe, CD15.tmp.exe, 19b2.exe. The process name can also contain “(32 bit)”. If you do not find a process with a similar name in the list of processes, then most likely the Weui ransomware has finished working. But keep in mind, if you do not remove the ransomware autostart entries, as demonstrated below, and do not delete its file, then after a while it may start again, and if it finds unencrypted files, immediately encrypt them.

Disable Weui ransomware Start-Up

Select the “Start-Up” tab, look for something similar to the one shown in the example below, right click to it and select Disable.

Close Task Manager.

Delete Weui ransomware Task

Type “Task Scheduler” in the search bar. Click Task Scheduler app in the search results. Click “Task Scheduler Library” in the left panel. On the right panel, right-click to “Time Trigger Task” and select Delete.

Close Task Scheduler.

Delete Weui virus file

Run Task Manager and select the “Start-Up” tab. Right click to the Weui ransomware Start-Up entry and select Open File Location as shown below.

A directory containing one file will open in front of you, this file is the Weui ransomware. It needs to be removed. If you try to delete it immediately, then you will not succeed, since this file is protected from deletion.

To delete this file, you need to do the following. Right-click on the file, select Properties. In the window that opens, select Security tab. Next, click the Advanced button below. A window will open as shown in the following example.

Click Disable inheritance. In the Block inheritance dialog box that opens, select the first item (Convert inherited permissions…) as shown below.

In the Permission entries list, select “Deny Everyone”, click Remove button and then OK. Close the file properties window. You should now be able to remove the Weui ransomware File. Right-click on the file and select Delete.

Scan computer for malware

Zemana Anti Malware is a malware removal utility that performs a scan of the computer and displays if there are existing trojans, ransomware, adware, spyware, worms and other malicious software residing on your computer. If malware is detected, Zemana can automatically remove it. Zemana doesn’t conflict with other anti malware and antivirus programs installed on your PC system.

Visit the page linked below to download Zemana Free. Save it on your Desktop.

Zemana AntiMalware
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019

After the downloading process is done, close all software and windows on your PC system. Double-click the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed on the screen below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana Free on your PC. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is done successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown in the figure below.

Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana application will scan through the whole system for the Weui ransomware virus related folders,files and registry keys. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. While the Zemana Anti-Malware is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malware.

When Zemana is complete scanning your computer, a list of all threats detected is produced. In order to delete all items, simply press “Next” button. The Zemana will start to uninstall Weui ransomware virus and other security threats. When the clean up is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.

In order to be 100% sure that the computer no longer has the Weui malware, we recommend using the Kaspersky virus removal tool (KVRT). This utility, as its name suggests, is created by the Kaspersky lab and uses the core of the Kaspersky Antivirus. Unlike the Kaspersky Antivirus, KVRT has a smaller size and, most importantly, it can work together with an already installed antivirus. This utility has great capabilities and therefore we suggest using KVRT in the last turn to be sure that the Weui crypto virus has been removed.

Download Kaspersky virus removal tool (KVRT) by clicking on the following link.

Kaspersky virus removal tool
129082 downloads
Author: Kaspersky® lab
Category: Security tools
Update: March 5, 2018

When the download is done, double-click on the Kaspersky virus removal tool icon. Once initialization procedure is done, you’ll see the KVRT screen as displayed on the image below.

Click Change Parameters and set a check near all your drives. Click OK to close the Parameters window. Next click Start scan button . KVRT program will scan through the whole personal computer for the Weui crypto virus and other malicious software. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the tool is scanning, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned.

After that process is finished, a list of all items found is produced like below.

You may remove threats (move to Quarantine) by simply press on Continue to begin a cleaning task.

How to decrypt .weui files

As we already reported above, files with .weui extension are files that have been encrypted by the Weui ransomware. Their contents will remain locked until decrypted using the decryptor and the key. Fortunately, there is a free Weui File Decrypt Tool that can decrypt .weui files. Below we provide instructions on where to download and how to use Weui File Decrypt Tool.

Weui File Decrypt Tool (STOP Djvu decryptor)

To decrypt .weui files, use Weui File Decrypt Tool

• Download Weui File Decrypt Tool from the following link.
  STOP Djvu decryptor
• Scroll down to ‘New Djvu ransomware’ section.
• Click the download link and save the decrypt_STOPDjvu.exe file to your desktop.
• Run decrypt_STOPDjvu.exe, read the license terms and instructions.
• On the ‘Decryptor’ tab, using the ‘Add a folder’ button, add the directory or disk where the encrypted files are located.
• Click the ‘Decrypt’ button.

Weui File Decrypt Tool is a free program that helps everyone to decrypt .weui files for free. Unfortunately, at the moment, this tool is able to decrypt only files encrypted with an offline key, as Emsisoft found a way to obtain this key. Files encrypted with an online key cannot yet be decrypted. The online key is unique to each infected computer, and at the moment there is no way to find this key. Of course, the Weui ransomware authors own this key, but we do not think that paying a ransom is the right way to decrypt .weui files. In the case when the files are encrypted with an online key, there is a chance to restore the encrypted files using alternative methods, which are described below.

How to find out which key was used to encrypt files

Since Weui File Decrypt Tool only decrypts files encrypted with the offline key, each ransomware victim needs to find out which key was used to encrypt the files. Determining the type of key used is not difficult. Below we give two ways. Use any of them. We recommend using the second method, as it is more accurate.

Personal ID is highlighted here

Find out the type of key using ‘_readme.txt’ file

• Open the ransom demand message (‘_readme.txt’ file).
• Scroll down to the end of the file.
• There you will see a line with the text ‘Your personal ID’.
• Below is a line of characters – this is your personal id.

Find out the type of key using ‘PersonalID.txt’ file

• Open disk C.
• Open directory ‘SystemID’.
• Open file named ‘PersonalID.txt’. This file lists “Personal ID”s that match the keys that the virus used to encrypt files.

The ‘Personal ID’ is not a key, it is an identifier related to a key that was used to encrypt files. If the ID ends with ‘t1’, then the files are encrypted with an offline key. If the ID does not end with ‘t1’, Weui ransomware used an online key. If you could not figure out how to determine which key was used to encrypt files, then we can help. Just write a request here or in the comments below.

Weui File Decrypt Tool : “No key for New Variant online ID”

If, when you try to decrypt .weui files, Weui File Decrypt Tool reports:

No key for New Variant online ID: *
Notice: this ID appears to be an online ID, decryption is impossible

It means that your files are encrypted with an ‘online key’ and their decryption is impossible, since only the weui authors have the key necessary for decryption. In this case, you need to use alternative methods listed below to restore the contents of encrypted files.

Weui File Decrypt Tool : “No key for New Variant offline ID”

If, during decryption of .weui files, Weui File Decrypt Tool reports:

No key for New Variant offline ID: *t1
Notice: this ID appears be an offline ID, decryption MAY be possible in the future.

It means the following: your files are encrypted with an ‘offline key’, but the key itself has not yet been obtained by security researchers, in this case, you need to be patient and wait a while, in addition, you can also use alternative ways for recovering encrypted data.

If for some reason you were unable to decrypt the encrypted files, then We recommend to follow the news on our Facebook or YouTube channels. So you ‘ll know right away that it ‘s possible to decrypt .weui files.

This video step-by-step guide will demonstrate How to remove Weui ransomware, Decrypt/Recover .weui files.

How to restore .weui files

As we mentioned above, in addition to using the Weui File Decrypt Tool, there are several more methods for recovering encrypted files. These methods do not require the use of a decryptor and a key, and therefore are suitable for all cases when the virus used an online key, and for the case when the virus used an offline key. It is very important to check your computer for malware before you try to recover encrypted files. You must be 100% sure that Weui virus is completely removed. To scan your computer for ransomware, use free malware removal tools

Use shadow copies to restore .weui files

The Microsoft Windows has a feature called ‘Shadow Volume Copies’ that can help you to recover .weui files encrypted by the ransomware. A small tool called ShadowExplorer will allow you to easily access the Shadow copies and restore the encrypted files to their original state. Unfortunately, the ransomware can delete these Shadow copies before it starts encrypting files. Therefore, if ShadowExplorer did not help you, then try another method, which is given below.

Please go to the following link to download the latest version of ShadowExplorer for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your Desktop.

ShadowExplorer
438819 downloads
Author: ShadowExplorer.com
Category: Security tools
Update: September 15, 2019

When downloading is complete, open a directory in which you saved it. Right click to ShadowExplorer-0.9-portable and select Extract all. Follow the prompts. Next please open the ShadowExplorerPortable folder like below.

Double click ShadowExplorerPortable to start it. You will see the a window like the one below.

In top left corner, select a Drive where encrypted files are stored and a latest restore point as displayed in the following example (1 – drive, 2 – restore point).

On right panel look for a file that you want to recover, right click to it and select Export as shown on the image below.

Restore .weui files with PhotoRec

The last chance to restore .weui files to their original state is using data recovery tools. We recommend a program called PhotoRec. It has all the necessary functions to restore the contents of encrypted files. It helped many victims recover data when it seemed like there was no more hope.

Download PhotoRec from the following link. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.

PhotoRec
220677 downloads
Author: CGSecurity
Category: Security tools
Update: March 1, 2018

When the download is done, open a directory in which you saved it. Right click to testdisk-7.0.win and choose Extract all. Follow the prompts. Next please open the testdisk-7.0 folder such as the one below.

Double click on qphotorec_win to run PhotoRec for MS Windows. It will show a screen as displayed below.

Choose a drive to recover as on the image below.

You will see a list of available partitions. Choose a partition that holds encrypted personal files as displayed in the figure below.

Click File Formats button and choose file types to recover. You can to enable or disable the restore of certain file types. When this is done, press OK button.

Next, click Browse button to select where recovered files should be written, then click Search. We strongly recommend that you save the recovered files to an external drive.

Count of recovered files is updated in real time. All recovered documents, photos and music are written in a folder that you have chosen on the previous step. You can to access the files even if the recovery process is not finished.

When the recovery is done, click on Quit button. Next, open the directory where recovered photos, documents and music are stored. You will see a contents as displayed on the screen below.

All restored files are written in recup_dir.1, recup_dir.2 … sub-directories. If you’re searching for a specific file, then you can to sort your restored files by extension and/or date/time.

This video step-by-step guide will demonstrate How to recover encrypted files using PhotoRec.

How to protect your PC from Weui ransomware

Most antivirus programs already have built-in protection system against the crypto virus. Therefore, if your system does not have an antivirus program, make sure you install it. As an extra protection, run the HitmanPro.Alert. All-in-all, HitmanPro.Alert is a fantastic tool to protect your system from any ransomware. If ransomware is detected, then HitmanPro.Alert automatically neutralizes malware and restores the encrypted files. HitmanPro.Alert is compatible with all versions of MS Windows operating system from Windows XP to Windows 10.

HitmanPro Alert can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Desktop.

HitmanPro.Alert
6829 downloads
Author: Sophos
Category: Security tools
Update: March 6, 2019

After the downloading process is done, open the directory in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.

Double click the HitmanPro.Alert desktop icon. When the tool is started, you’ll be displayed a window where you can select a level of protection, like below.

Now press the Install button to activate the protection.

Finish words

This guide was created to help all victims of Weui ransomware virus. We tried to give answers to the following questions: how to remove ransomware; how to decrypt .weui files; how to recover files, if the Weui File Decrypt Tool does not help; what is an online key and what is an offline key. We hope that the information presented in this manual has helped you.

If you have questions, then write to us, leaving a comment below. If you need more help with Weui related issues, go to here.