They will emphasize in the ransom notes that HAJD ransomware has successfully encrypted all the victim’s files contained in the compromised computer, including important documents, pictures and various other data. The cybercriminals will also brag that since they made use of strong and unique encryption key in the process, the victim is left with no other choice than to comply with their demand. To facilitate further communication between them, the cybercriminals will also include two email addresses i.e. support@sysmail.ch and supportsys@airmail.cc. which they expect the victim to reply them with. The note will further break down the decryption prices and the conditions of payment attached with them. They will state that paying without delay comes with benefit such as 50% discount. In other words, if the victim can pay the ransom fee within 72 hours/3 days of being notified, they would be required to pay half of the amount which is $490 but once the “grace period” elapses, they would be mandated to pay the full ransom fee of $980. If peradventure the victim decides to reach out to them via any of the email they provided, they will make more demands like asking the victim to buy cryptocurrency that is worth the ransom fee and transfer same to a specific wallet address that would be provided by them. The discernable reason why they usually opt for such anonymous payment method is to ensure they won’t be tracked down and arrested by law enforcement agents that may be informed about it. In order to convince the victim about their ability to restore the encrypted files, they may request for parts of the encrypted files be forwarded to them for test decryption but will be quick to warn that such part must not contain pieces of information they may perceive as important to the victim. Regardless of the situation, our cybersecurity experts’ advice that victims should only follow FBI’s guidelines in such situation and it clearly states that ransom must not be paid. Many factors were considered before arriving at this conclusion and they include the following facts; paying ransom to cybercriminals does not guarantee the victim will recover their lost data, it will encourage criminality since the rogues will find it financially rewarding, it will put more funds in their hands thus enabling them to expand their operations and victimize more people, and lastly the law made it illegal to pay ransom. Worse still, this virus is notorious for dropping certain types of Trojans like AZORULT and VIDAR that covertly pilfer sensitive information such as banking details, passwords, software account credentials, and cryptocurrency wallets etc. Such loss of sensitive data can result in further problems including blackmails and theft. For those that are unfortunate to have been infected with this STOP/DJVU ransomware variant, you’re advised to remove HAJD ransomware virus as fast as possible. The best way to go about it is to set up your computer in Safe Mode with Networking before starting a good antivirus scan. On top of that, you may want to download this software – RESTORO for repairing virus damage on Windows OS files.

Ransomware Summary

REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE

Ransomware distribution methods explained

The most typical way through which computer users become infected with STOP/DJVU ransomware virus including HAJD virus is when they download software contents online malicious torrents. Cybercriminals often embed pirated software copies with malware therefore any attempt to make use of “cracks” or key generators among other such illegal software contents could result in severe virus infection and cyber-attack. Some of the victims over the years have reported about their experience and how their computers became infected after they downloaded of those illegal license activation tools and pirated software copies. Some of the common ones often uploaded to diverse malicious online torrents are listed below:

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

Computer users who often visit such dangerous platforms where pirated software contents are illegally shared are hereby advised to desist from doing so otherwise, they may end up as cyber-attack victims, thereby losing either their vital data or money as well as having their work disrupted. It should also be noted that such inappropriate download and use of copyrighted software is illegal and punishable by law. Instead of risking all that computer users should rather purchase such software copies legitimately through the websites of the original content creators or their authorized agents. Whatever fee they charge will always be little when compared to the insane ransom fees usually demanded by cybercriminals. Ransomware is also distributed through malicious email attachments whereby the cybercriminals would create believable messages that would be accompanied by attachments crafted with formats like XLS, DOCX, and PDF. These particular files allow macro activities and JavaScript, which can be leveraged in uploading payloads and also triggering them in diverse end-user computers. Finally, those whose computers are already infected with any of the STOP/DJVU ransomware should avoid any website that claims to offer decryption solutions because they’re likely to be fraudsters. So far, only two brands namely Emsisoft and DiskTuna have proven capable of repairing STOP/DJVU damaged files. You should beware of others because many of them are known for spreading other ransomware versions like ZORAB and downloading their deceptive tools can lead to more problems.

More information about the infection

If you’re wondering about how your computer was affected or the extent of damage down to it during the HAJD ransomware attack, this section will be of help because it explains the technical aspect of the virus. The first thing the virus does during the attack is to launch build.exe or build2.exe as well as winupdate.exe. (i.e. the prompt that shows fake Windows update). Next would be to connect with https[:]//api.2ip.ua/geo.json before saving the outcome to geo.json file. The malware uses this method for gathering of all details concerning the computer’s geolocation, time zone, zip code, longitude and latitude. Shown in the image below are two samples of the geo.json file found in two infected computers. Likewise, the compilation of installed software list, hardware details and other active processes will be stored in information.txt file as shown below. The virus sends it along victim’s computer’s desktop screenshot to its Command&Control server. Going forward, the malware will profile the country code it extracted against a group of countries they designated as encryption-exempted, namely; Armenia, Belarus, Russian Federation, Syria, Tajikistan, Kazachstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Once it decipher that the computer is located in any of the aforementioned countries, it would instantly abort its mission. However, if it scales through i.e. not located in any of the countries, it would collect an online encryption key from the server and would combine it with the victim’s ID and send them to the bowsakkdestx.txt file. Another file named PersonalID.txt file is used for the ID safekeeping, as its name suggests. Shown below is an example of these files. In situations where the malware couldn’t get online encryption key normally stored in their server, it will automatically resort to the use of hardcoded offline key as an alternative. The offline key will always be the same for all victims of a particular variant, unlike the online key that is unique to every victim. The presence of t1 characters appearing at the end of a personal ID is an indication of an offline key and it means there is a possibility of having the .hajd files decrypted one day. Please check below for more details on this. The ransomware will now commence full data encryption by scanning all folders and encrypting them with Salsa20 before it will eventually make use of RSA-2048 key in securing the encryption. The virus also appends additional extension to each file. You can see an example of affected data folder in the screenshot provided below. Below is a screenshot of _readme.txt ransom note that is usually left in all the folders. In completing the entire process, the malware will blacklist a number of sites by adding them to Windows HOSTS file as well as to localhost IP thereby preempting any possible attempt by the victim to seek help from any of those websites. The error message DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN will appear any time the victim makes attempt.

Remove HAJD Ransomware Virus and Restore Lost Files

Computer users whose files were encrypted following a ransomware attack are advised to report the incident to relevant government authorities and also remove HAJD ransomware virus as quickly as possible. The reason is to limit the damages done to their computer and also to prevent further problems that may arise. The recommended way of doing this as earlier stated is to boot the infected system using Safe Mode with Networking option before running a strong and genuine antivirus on it. You should also consider downloading RESTORO if necessary for the purpose of repairing damaged OS files. Now that HAJD ransomware virus removal is done, you can do the following:

Report the cyber-attack incident to the appropriate government authorities responsible for handling such.Make use of data backup to restore lost files but ensure that no trace of virus is left before doing so.Consider possible ways of repairing files damaged by the STOP/DJVU ransomware variant.Now is time to change all passwords that were used on the compromised computer.Above all, always remember to be proactive in avoiding risk factors that could lead to a ransomware attack.

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 HAJD 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 HAJD 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 HAJD files

Fix and open large HAJD 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. HAJD 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 HAJD files, follow the given tutorial.

Meanings of decryptor’s messages

The HAJD 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 HAJD 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.

Victims of HAJD 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.