Ntuseg Cryptovirus - How to remove

Ntuseg is a file-encrypting virus that works on Windows computers. It’s recent and it’s created to target individual users. The victims have their files held for a ransom of $490 or $980 and often they lose their data even if they pay the extortion.

Ransomware is one of the scariest viruses around and they use so many different distribution strategies that they’re difficult to avoid. V6cye, Aef, Adame, and many other cryptoviruses are out there and anyone who does not have a backup of their data is in danger of losing their files. But Ntuseg is even more dangerous than just locking the data: it cripples the installed antivirus program and endangers your private data.

How dangerous is Ntuseg?

The harm that Ntuseg causes includes these:

• Locked files don’t have their old content visible.
• Files have “.ntuseg” appended as a new extension.
• Ntuseg installs AZORult which steals passwords and other private data.
• Ntuseg comes in software activators that hide various other malware, so Ntuseg might not be the only infection.
• The virus edits the browsing and security settings on the infected computer.
• Ntuseg deletes the System Restore files.

Cryptography is a technology that’s useful for masking the meaning of a message in situations where the message can’t be sent secretly. Encrypting a message allows it to be exposed to anyone and still not have the content revealed because the ciphertext looks like gibberish. When Ntuseg uses the algorithm on your files, you still have the files, but their old content can’t be read. Since the only way to reverse the encryption is by using the decryption key on the locked files and only the developers of Ntuseg know the keys of their victims, they try to sell those keys for money, making Ntuseg an extortion scheme. Your own files are being held for ransom.

The trojan AZORult being bundled with STOP ransomware means that your private data is in danger, too. Using the infected computer for any sensitive tasks could result in your data, such as passwords, being exposed to criminals. Saved passwords are in danger even if you don’t log in anywhere while infected.

The disabled antivirus software makes the infected computer vulnerable to even more malware. It also doesn’t help that Ntuseg is usually distributed in keygens, cracking software that is often involved in the distribution of other malware, such as miners. A Ntuseg infection could make your computer more vulnerable to other viruses. Until you remove the malware and fix the damage to your security settings, it’s quite dangerous to go online using the infected machine.

The solutions to a Ntuseg infection

The criminals want to be contacted on [email protected], [email protected], or @datarestore (on Telegram) and sent money for decryption. But since, on top of being criminals, ransomware developers are notoriously untrustworthy, it’s a really bad idea to send them money.

Instead, run STOPDecrypter on your locked files. While this free decryption tool only works on files encrypted in specific circumstances and doesn’t work for most people on most of their files, it’s still worth trying. At the moment, though, Ntuseg is not supported by STOPDecrypter, so just keep the encrypted files — they’re not dangerous. You can store the locked files for as long as you want, just don’t edit them if you hope to decrypt them.

You don’t need that if you have backups, of course. Data backups are useful in many situations, including ransomware. If you didn’t have backups before Ntuseg, it’s a good idea to start keeping them.

Change your passwords after removing AZORult. Make sure they’re complex.

How to remove Ntuseg

While removing the viruses (Ntuseg, AZORult, other suspicious malware) won’t fix your files, it’s still important to get rid of them so that they can’t cause any more problems. Any professional antivirus program, such as Spyhunter, can see and recognize these viruses. Stop the malware from interfering with your antivirus tools — scan from another device without booting the infected disk or use safe mode.

Check the below guide for options of restoring files without relying on decryption.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Ntuseg Cryptovirus encrypted files and remove the virus

Step 1. Restore system into last known good state using system restore

1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt:

for Windows 7 / Vista/ XP

• Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
• Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
• Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

for Windows 8 / 10

• Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart.
• Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings and click Restart.
• When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings.

 

2.Restore System files and settings.

• When Command Prompt mode loads, enter cd restore and press Enter.
• Then enter rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
• Click “Next” in the windows that appeared.
• Select one of the Restore Points that are available before Ntuseg Ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Ntuseg Cryptovirus

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter and remove all malicious files related to Ntuseg Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Ntuseg Cryptovirus affected files using Shadow Volume Copies

If you do not use System Restore option on your operating system, there is a chance to use shadow copy snapshots. They store copies of your files that point of time when the system restore snapshot was created. Usually Ntuseg Ransomware tries to delete all possible Shadow Volume Copies, so this methods may not work on all computers. However, it may fail to do so. Shadow Volume Copies are only available with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. There are two ways to retrieve your files via Shadow Volume Copy. You can do it using native Windows Previous Versions or via Shadow Explorer. a) Native Windows Previous Versions Right-click on an encrypted file and select Properties → Previous versions tab. Now you will see all available copies of that particular file and the time when it was stored in a Shadow Volume Copy. Choose the version of the file you want to retrieve and click Copy if you want to save it to some directory of your own, or Restore if you want to replace existing, encrypted file. If you want to see the content of file first, just click Open.

b) Shadow Explorer It is a program that can be found online for free. You can download either a full or a portable version of Shadow Explorer. Open the program. On the left top corner select the drive where the file you are looking for is a stored. You will see all folders on that drive. To retrieve a whole folder, right-click on it and select “Export”. Then choose where you want it to be stored.

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover Ntuseg Cryptovirus encrypted files

There are several data recovery programs that might recover encrypted files as well. This does not work in all cases but you can try this:

• We suggest using another PC and connect the infected hard drive as slave. It is still possible to do this on infected PC though.
• Download a data recovery program.
• Install and scan for recently deleted files.

Note: In many cases it is impossible to restore data files affected by modern ransomware. Thus I recommend using decent cloud backup software as precaution. We recommend checking out Carbonite, BackBlaze, CrashPlan or Mozy Home.