The cybercriminals would emphasise that all files including documents, pictures, various data etc., and every other piece of important information as contained in the computer has become compromised and unsuitable for use in any form. Therefore, if the computer user desires to retrieve them, one would have to communicate to the ransomware operators using any of the two emails provided i.e. support@sysmail.ch and helprestoremanager@airmail.cc. Additionally, they would be emphatic in telling the victim about the exact amount to pay and how payment would have to be made. They will state that price of the so-called decryption tool would depend on how soon they are able to make payment. For instance, victims would be entitled to 50% price slash provided they are able to pay the requested fee i.e. $490 within 72 hours/three days of being notified. However, failure to do so within that period means that means they would have to pay the full fee of $980. Nevertheless, when the victim contacts the cybercriminals, he will be informed that payment can only be through purchase of cryptocurrency and transfer of same to a wallet address they would make available. The obvious reason why they only accept this medium of payment is due to fear of being tracked down by law enforcement agents should they use any other means. To encourage the victim and influence them to pay the ransom, they often request for parts of the encrypted files so they could offer test decryption services but will warn that no important information should be found in it. Whatever be the case, our experts advise that victims should abide to FBI’s guidelines as regards to ransom payments which states that on no account should ransom be paid. This decision was taken for various reasons but the main ones are listed below:
There is no guarantee that encrypted files would be decrypted even after paying huge sums of money as ransom.Paying ransom is an endorsement of cybercriminals and their illegal activities.More illegal funds in the hands of cybercriminals will enable them to expand their operations and victimize more people.
Worse still, the virus is notorious for releasing some types of Trojans like AZORULT and VIDAR on the already compromised computer for the purposes of stealing crucial information such as banking details, passwords saved on browser, software login details, and cryptocurrency wallets etc. Stealing of such sensitive pieces of information can lead to further problems like blackmails and loss of money. Once you realize that this variant of STOP/DJVU has infiltrated your computer, the most important step you should take is to remove EUCY ransomware virus without any further delay. This should be done while the infected computer is set up in Safe Mode on Networking to ensure optimal result. It is very important to make use a strong antivirus and if the victim is not sure of any, we advise going for INTEGO Antivirus. If you want, you can also additionally download RESTORO to repair virus damage on Windows OS files automatically.
Ransomware Summary
REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE
Ransomware distribution techniques every computer should know about
The most common way STOP/DJVU ransomware variants such as EUCY virus are spread is when users try to download software contents from online malicious torrents. The cybercrimnals are known to load malware in certain types of pirated software copies which they upload to online malicious torrents. When unsuspecting users download such dangerous software copies which could be in the form of fake cracks or so-called key generators, they end up triggering ransomware attack. Therefore, it is important for computer users to always stay away from online torrents libraries and never to download such deceptive cracks and other fake license activation tools, some of which are listed below:
VMware Workstation;AutoCad;Tenorshare 4ukey;Fifa 20;Opera browser;Corel Draw;Adobe Photoshop;Cubase;Adobe Illustrator;League of Legends;Internet Download Manager;KMSPico (illegal Windows activation tool);Various AV software.
For those that have formed the habit of going to online torrent platforms to download pirated software contents illegally, it would be in your best interest to desist from doing so because you’re only making yourself vulnerable for cybercriminals to prey on. Such software contents are harbingers of malware that would eventually make you a victim of ransomware attack. Also, why involve in such dangerous illegality when you can simply pay a token and obtain it genuinely thereby helping the IT industry to grow. Always bear in mind that victims of ransomware often end up losing huge amounts of money as well as important/sensitive data. Another method used by cybercriminals in distributing ransomware is through malicious email attachments. In this method, they would craft documents using PDF, XLS or DOCX among other similar ones that enable JavaScript or macro functions, and thereafter use them to attach payloads that could be triggered externally in random computers. Nevertheless, those that are victims already should avoid visiting certain dubious websites that often claim to offer decryption services. Most of such platforms offering STOP/DJVU ransomware are fake and their promoters have ulterior motives to further scam victims of ransomware by distributing other versions like ZORAB. Only the duo of Emsisoft and DiskTuna has decryption tools that have shown promising results in decrypting already encrypted files.
More technical details about the malware
This section provides more information about the technical aspect of EUCY ransomware attack and how much your computer was affected. The first step malware takes following a ransomware attack is to set up build.exe or build2.exe executables and would be accompanied with winupdate.exe (the prompt that displays fake Windows screen). Afterwards, it would make connection with https[:]//api.2ip.ua/geo.json before it saves it in geo.json file. At this point, it will commence information gathering on details concerning the computer, including its geolocation, time zone, zip code, latitude and longitude, and would save them in its geolocation database. Provided in the image below are examples of geo.json file. It would also create another file that would contain hardware details, software list and related details, and processes them into information.txt. At this point, the virus will make a comparison using the country code it just extracted to decipher if it would tally with any of their encryption-exempted countries listed as Russia, Syria, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Kazachstan, and Belarus. If it establishes that such code belongs to any of the countries in their list, it would immediately abort its mission. However, if it scales through without matching any of them, the ransomware would now extract online encryption key from their server and would merge it with the victims ID before forwarding them to bowsakkdestx.txt file and to PersonalID.txt file. The screenshot displayed below is a typical example such files. In situations whereby the virus couldn’t extract any online encryption key from their server, it will resort to the use of hardcoded offline key instead. The difference between the online and offline keys is that while the former makes use of unique keys for each victim, the latter would be uniform for all provided they’re victims of same variant of STOP/DJVU ransomware virus. The appearance of t1 characters suffixed to the personal ID of the victim is an indication that offline keys were used and would brighten the chances of decrypting .eucy files someday. Further information about this is provided below. The ransomware would now commence total data encryption process by scanning every folder and encrypting each file with Salsa20 before locking the encryption using RSA-2048 key. Shown in the screenshot below is _readme.txt ransom note that would be left in all the folders. The virus would at this point delete Volume Shadow Copies by making use of the command prompt: vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet In completing the process, the virus will blacklist certain domains in the Windows HOSTS file and map them to the localhost IP in order to prevent the victim from having any access to them when seeking for help. Any attempt by the victim to open them will bring up DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error message in the web browser.
Remove EUCY Ransomware Virus and Restore Your Files
Victims of ransomware attack are advised the follow the steps outlined below once they discover that any variant of STOP/DJVU ransomware has infected their computer.
Remove EUCY ransomware from your PC as soon as possible.Report to the nearest government office or regulatory agency responsible for handling such issues.Use any backup device to restore lost data.Learn possible ways encrypted files could be restored.Change all passwords that were used on the compromised PC.
Ensure your computer is set up using the Safe Mode with Networking option before installing any antivirus software to ensure optimal result. Also endeavor to make use of genuine antivirus software at all times. If you’re not sure of which brand to use, you can go for INTEGO Antivirus because it is tested and trusted by our team. However, always remember that being proactive and avoiding habits that would put your computer at risk of being infected with malware is the best measure to take. Additionally, we recommend ransomware victims to download RESTORO and scan the system to identify and repair virus damage inflicted on operating system files. 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: GeeksAdvice.com editors select recommended products based on their effectiveness. We may earn a commission from affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Learn more. 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. 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.
Method 1. Enter Safe Mode with Networking
Before you try to remove EUCY Ransomware Virus virus, you must start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking. Below, we provide the easiest ways to boot PC in the said mode, but you can find additional ones in this in-depth tutorial on our website – How to Start Windows in Safe Mode. Also, if you prefer a video version of the tutorial, check our guide How to Start Windows in Safe Mode on Youtube. Instructions for Windows XP/Vista/7 users Instructions for Windows 8/8.1/10/11 users Now, you can search for and remove EUCY Ransomware Virus files. It is very hard to identify files and registry keys that belong to the ransomware virus, Besides, malware creators tend to rename and change them repeatedly. Therefore, the easiest way to uninstall such type of a computer virus is to use a reliable security program such as INTEGO Antivirus. For virus damage repair, consider using RESTORO.
Method 2. Use System Restore
In order to use System Restore, you must have a system restore point, created either manually or automatically. Instructions for Windows XP/Vista/7 users Instructions for Windows 8/8.1/10/11 users After restoring the system, we recommend scanning the system with antivirus or anti-malware software. In most cases, there won’t be any malware remains, but it never hurts to double-check. In addition, we highly recommend checking ransomware prevention guidelines provided by our experts in order to protect your PC against similar viruses in the future.
Alternative software recommendations
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Removing spyware and malware is one step towards cybersecurity. To protect yourself against ever-evolving threats, we strongly recommend purchasing a Premium version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which provides security based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Includes ransomware protection. See pricing options and protect yourself now.
System Mechanic Ultimate Defense If you’re looking for an all-in-one system maintenance suite that has 7 core components providing powerful real-time protection, on-demand malware removal, system optimization, data recovery, password manager, online privacy protection and secure driver wiping technology. Therefore, due to its wide-range of capabilities, System Mechanic Ultimate Defense deserves Geek’s Advice approval. Get it now for 50% off. You may also be interested in its full review.
Disclaimer. This site includes affiliate links. We may earn a small commission by recommending certain products, at no additional cost for you. We only choose quality software and services to recommend.
Decrypt EUCY files
Fix and open large EUCY files easily:
It is reported that STOP/DJVU ransomware versions encrypt only the beginning 150 KB of each file to ensure that the virus manages to affect all files on the system. In some cases, the malicious program might skip some files at all. That said, we recommend testing this method on several big (>1GB) files first.
STOP/DJVU decryption tool usage guide
STOP/DJVU ransomware versions are grouped into old and new variants. EUCY Ransomware Virus is considered the new STOP/DJVU variant, just like BPTO, ISWR, ISZA, BPSM, ZOUU, MBTF, ZNSM (find full list here). This means full data decryption is now possible only if you have been affected by offline encryption key. To decrypt your files, you will have to download Emsisoft Decryptor for STOP DJVU, a tool created and maintained by a genius security researcher Michael Gillespie. Note! Please do not spam the security researcher with questions whether he can recover your files encrypted with online key - it is not possible. In order to test the tool and see if it can decrypt EUCY files, follow the given tutorial.
Meanings of decryptor’s messages
The EUCY decryption tool might display several different messages after failed attempt to restore your files. You might receive one of the following messages: Error: Unable to decrypt file with ID: [example ID] This message typically means that there is no corresponding decryption key in the decryptor’s database. No key for New Variant online ID: [example ID]Notice: this ID appears to be an online ID, decryption is impossible This message informs that your files were encrypted with online key, meaning no one else has the same encryption/decryption key pair, therefore data recovery without paying the criminals is impossible. Result: No key for new variant offline ID: [example ID]This ID appears to be an offline ID. Decryption may be possible in the future. If you were informed that an offline key was used, but files could not be restored, it means that the offline decryption key isn’t available yet. However, receiving this message is extremely good news, meaning that it might be possible to restore your EUCY extension files in the future. It can take a few months until the decryption key gets found and uploaded to the decryptor. We recommend you to follow updates regarding the decryptable DJVU versions here. We strongly recommend backing up your encrypted data and waiting.
Report Internet crime to legal departments
Victims of EUCY Ransomware Virus should report the Internet crime incident to the official government fraud and scam website according to their country:
In the United States, go to the On Guard Online website.In Australia, go to the SCAMwatch website.In Germany, go to the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik website.In Ireland, go to the An Garda Síochána website.In New Zealand, go to the Consumer Affairs Scams website.In the United Kingdom, go to the Action Fraud website.In Canada, go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.In India, go to Indian National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.In France, go to the Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information.
If you can’t find an authority corresponding to your location on this list, we recommend using any search engine to look up “[your country name] report cyber crime”. This should lead you to the right authority website. We also recommend staying away from third-party crime report services that are often paid. It costs nothing to report Internet crime to official authorities. Another recommendation is to contact your country’s or region’s federal police or communications authority.