What is Pig4444 ransomware? And how does it carry out its attack?
Pig4444 ransomware is a new variant of GlobeImposter ransomware. This new malware strain follows the same digital pattern (4444) as with other latest variants of GlobeImposter. Aside from that, it still follows the same pattern when it carries out its attack. It first starts to attack the computer by looking for certain file types to encrypt. At the time of writing, it isn’t yet known which file types this ransomware encrypts, but it might target popular file types that are mostly user-generated such as:
.3dm, .3g2, .3gp, .7zip, .aaf, .accdb, .aep, .aepx, .aet, .ai, .aif, .as, .as3, .asf, .asp, .asx, .avi, .bmp, .c, .class, .cpp, .cs, .csv, .dat, .db, .dbf, .doc, .docb, .docm, .docx, .dot, .dotm, .dotx, .dwg, .dxf, .efx, .eps, .fla, .flv, .gif, .h, .idml, .iff, .indb, .indd, .indl, .indt, .inx, .jar, .java, .jpeg, .jpg, .js, .m3u, .m3u8, .m4u, .max, .mdb, .mid, .mkv, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .mpa, .mpeg, .mpg, .msg, .pdb, .pdf, .php, .plb, .pmd, .png, .pot, .potm, .potx, .ppam, .ppj, .pps, .ppsm, .ppsx, .ppt, .pptm, .pptx, .prel, .prproj, .ps, .psd, .py, .ra, .rar, .raw, .rb, .rtf, .sdf, .sdf, .ses, .sldm, .sldx, .sql, .svg, .swf, .tif, .txt, .vcf, .vob, .wav, .wma, .wmv, .wpd, .wps, .xla, .xlam, .xll, .xlm, .xls, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xlt, .xltm, .xltx, .xlw, .xml, .xqx, .xqx, .zip
Pig4444 ransomware applies a sophisticated encryption algorithm in encrypting its targeted files. After it’s done encrypting the files, it drops its ransom note in a “HOW TO BACK YOUR FILES.txt” file that contains the following message:
“YOUR FILES ARE ENCRYPTED !!!
TO DECRYPT, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS:
To recover data you need a decrypt tool.
To get the decrypt tool you should:
1. In the letter include your personal ID! Send me this ID in your first email to me!
2. We can give you a free test for decrypting a few files (NOT VALUE) and assign the price for decryption of all files!
3. After we send you instructions on how to pay for the decrypt tool and after payment, you will receive a decryption tool!
4. We can decrypt few files in quality the evidence that we have the decoder.
DO NOT TRY TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR FILES BY YOURSELF YOU WILL BREAK YOUR DATA !!! ONLY WE ARE CAN HELP YOU! CONTACT US:
[email protected]
[email protected]
ATTENTION !!! THIS IS YOUR PERSONAL ID WHICH YOU HAVE TO SEND IN THE FIRST LETTER:”
No matter how convincing these crooks can get, don’t even think about contacting them for most cybercriminals tend to ignore their victims once they get what they want. And besides, they might only pressure you into paying more money. To put it simply, paying these crooks won’t guarantee your files’ recovery. The best way to deal with Pig4444 ransomware and other ransomware infection is to have them removed from your computer as soon as possible and then try other recovery options to restore your files.
How does Pig4444 ransomware spread over the web?
Pig4444 ransomware infiltrates the system through spam emails. According to researchers, Pig4444 ransomware makes use of the most common distribution method as some computer users are not cautious enough in opening suspicious-looking emails. Cyber crooks usually disguise the email as an important document like invoices or receipts from well-known companies like DHL, UPS, and more. That’s why you have to be cautious in opening emails even if they came from well-known companies. It would also be better if you keep both your system and antivirus program updated all the time to increase your computer’s resistance against ransomware infections and other cyber threats.
Make sure to follow the removal instructions laid out below to obliterate Pig4444 ransomware from your computer effectively.
Step_1: First, you have to stop the malicious process of Pig4444 ransomware by opening the Task Manager. To do that, simply tap Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on your keyboard.
Step_2: Under the Task Manager, switch to the Processes tab and find a process named svhost.exe as well as any suspicious-looking process that takes up most of your CPU’s resources and is most likely related to Pig4444 ransomware.
Step_3: After that, close the Task Manager.
Step_4: Tap Win + R, type in appwiz.cpl and click OK or tap Enter to open Programs and Features under Control Panel.
Step_5: Under the list of installed programs, look for Pig4444 ransomware or anything similar, and then uninstall it.
Step_6: Next, close the Control Panel and tap Win + E keys to launch File Explorer.
Step_7: Navigate to the following locations below and look for Pig4444 ransomware’s malicious components such as HOW TO BACK YOUR FILES.txt, and [random].exe, as well as other suspicious files, then delete all of them.
- %TEMP%
- %WINDIR%\System32\Tasks
- %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\
- %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
- %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
Step_8: Close the File Explorer.
Before you proceed to the next steps below, make sure that you are tech-savvy enough to the point where you know exactly how to use and navigate your computer’s Registry. Keep in mind that any changes you make will highly impact your computer. To save you trouble and time, you can just use Restoro, this system tool is proven to be safe and excellent enough that hackers won’t be able to hack into it. But if you can manage Windows Registry well, then by all means go on to the next steps.
Step_9: Tap Win + R to open Run and then type in Regedit in the field and tap enter to pull up Windows Registry.
Step_10: Navigate to the following path:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\
- HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop\
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
Step_11: Delete the registry keys and sub-keys created by Pig4444 ransomware.
Step_12: Close the Registry Editor and empty the Recycle Bin.
Try to recover your encrypted files using the Shadow Volume copies
Restoring your encrypted files using Windows Previous Versions feature will only be effective if Pig4444 ransomware hasn’t deleted the shadow copies of your files. But still, this is one of the best and free methods there is, so it’s definitely worth a shot.
To restore the encrypted file, right-click on it and select Properties, a new window will pop up, then proceed to Previous Versions. It will load the file’s previous version before it was modified. After it loads, select any of the previous versions displayed on the list like the one in the illustration below. And then click the Restore button.
Congratulations, you have just removed Pig4444 Ransomware in Windows 10 all by yourself. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit fixmypcfree.com daily.
Now that’s how you remove Pig4444 Ransomware in Windows 10 on a computer. On the other hand, if your computer is going through some system-related issues that have to get fixed, there is a one-click solution known as Restoro you could check out to resolve them.
This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For a complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below
Perform a full system scan using Restoro. To do so, follow the instructions below.
