How to remove Weqp Ransomware and decrypt .weqp files

What is Weqp Ransomware

Weqp is a recent ransomware infection developed by the STOP/Djvu malware group and appeared in the end of May, 2023. Developers behind it have released a number of very similar infections to encrypt users’ data and blackmail them into paying money for the recovery. Malware primarily uses a combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption algorithms to encrypt victims’ files. The specific encryption algorithms employed by STOP/Djvu have evolved over time as the malware has undergone several variants and updates. However, the most commonly observed encryption algorithm used by STOP/Djvu is the RSA algorithm for asymmetric encryption. Weqp Ransomware barely differs from other previously developed versions. It encrypts all kinds of important files and alters their appearance with the .weqp extension. To illustrate, a file like 1.pdf will change to 1.pdf.weqp and reset its icon under the virus affection. After this, a text file called _readme.txt ends up created to explain how files can be decrypted.

If victims establish contact with cybercriminals within the first 72 hours, it will cost 490$, which is 50% off the initial 980$ price tag. In addition, it is also offered to send 1 file that swindlers will decrypt for free. The important part of this offer is that the file being sent should not contain any valuable information – most likely because it will implode users’ interest in paying the ransom. Unfortunately, due to the strong encryption algorithms used by the virus, it is almost impossible to decrypt files without the help of cybercriminals. It may be possible only if a virus had problems connecting to its online server and was forced to create an offline key identical to all the victims. Even so, this key has to be retrieved by one of the victims from cybercriminals and reported to third-party decryptors. You can give it a try using our suggestions in the article below, however, there is no guarantee that they will help you decrypt your data for free. A better and more effective solution is to recover data via backup copies. It is always recommended to make regular backups of data on external storage devices (cloud services, USB flashcards, etc.) to be able to restore encrypted data after a ransomware attack. Note that prior to trying any manual recovery options which exclude the participation of cybercriminals, it is important to delete the ransomware infection first. Doing so will not restore your data, but discontinue the operation of Weqp Ransomware within the system. You can also do it in our tutorial below.

How Weqp Ransomware infected your computer

Many ransomware infections have been reported to happen through malicious e-mail spam letters, NAS (Network Attached Storage) vulnerabilities, trojans, fake software cracking tools, unreliable freeware programs, and so forth to stretch this list. E-mail spam letters are often delivered under the names of legitimate organizations such as banks, IRS, governmental branches, or famous companies like DHL, FedEx, or DPD. This is only a short list of fake names being exploited so there are much more that victims can witness. The content of such messages often says that some vital action is required of users. This action can be accompanied by appeals to open attachments (Word, Excel, PDF, EXE, JavaScript, ZIP, RAR, etc.) or links redirecting to questionable websites. Once followed, executable scripts will do their work and install malware onto the system. In order to stay protected against ransomware and other internet threats in the future, it is worth keeping an eye on what content you search and interact with. For instance, unknown and totally spontaneous content such as spam messages or phishing pages must be avoided unless you want to risk getting infected with malware. Below, we have some useful advice on practical approaches towards protecting your system against various threats dwelling online.

1. Download Weqp Ransomware Removal Tool
2. Get decryption tool for .weqp files
3. Recover encrypted files with Stellar Data Recovery Professional
4. Restore encrypted files with Windows Previous Versions
5. Restore files with Shadow Explorer
6. Restore media files with Media Repair
7. How to protect from threats like Weqp Ransomware

Virus modifies “hosts” file to block Windows updates, downloading antivirus programs, and visiting sites related to security news or offering security solutions. Weqp Ransomware comes along with AZORult trojan, which was initially created to steal logins and passwords. The process of infection also looks like installing Windows updates, the malware shows a fake window, that mimics the update process.

It uses rdpclip.exe to replace a legal Windows file and to launch an attack on a computer network. After encrypting the files, the encrypter is deleted using the delself.bat command file. Weqp Ransomware virus is propagated via spam attack with malicious e-mail attachments and using manual PC hacking. Can be distributed by hacking through an unprotected RDP configuration, fraudulent downloads, exploits, web injections, fake updates, repackaged, and infected installers. The virus assigns a certain ID to the victims, which is used to name those files and supposedly to send a decryption key. Great tools to protect against Weqp Ransomware are: Emsisoft Anti-Malware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

How to remove Weqp Ransomware manually

It is not recommended to remove Weqp Ransomware manually, for safer solution use Removal Tools instead.

Weqp Ransomware files:

_readme.txt
rdpclip.exe
delself.bat
{randomname}.exe

Weqp Ransomware registry keys:

no information

How to decrypt and restore .weqp files

Use automated decryptors

Download STOP Djvu Decryptor from EmsiSoft (.weqp variations)

IMPORTANT: Read this detailed guide on using STOP Djvu Decryptor to avoid file corruption and time wasting.

STOP Djvu Decryptor is able to decrypt .weqp files, encrypted by Weqp Ransomware. This tool was developed by EmsiSoft. It works in automatic mode, but in most cases works only for files encrypted with offline keys. Download it here:

Download STOP Djvu Decryptor

Dr.Web Rescue Pack

Famous antivirus vendor Dr. Web provides free decryption service for the owners of its products: Dr.Web Security Space or Dr.Web Enterprise Security Suite. Other users can ask for help in the decryption of .weqp files by uploading samples to Dr. Web Ransomware Decryption Service. Analysis of files will be performed free of charge and if files are decryptable, all you need to do is purchase a 2-year license of Dr.Web Security Space worth $120 or less. Otherwise, you don’t have to pay.

If you are infected with Weqp Ransomware and removed it from your computer, you can try decrypting your files. Antivirus vendors and individuals create free decryptors for some crypto-lockers. To attempt to decrypt them manually you can do the following:

Use Stellar Data Recovery Professional to restore .weqp files

1. Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
2. Click Recover Data button.
3. Select type of files you want to restore and click Next button.
4. Choose location where you would like to restore files from and click Scan button.
5. Preview found files, choose ones you will restore and click Recover.

Download Stellar Data Recovery Professional

Using Windows Previous Versions option:

1. Right-click on infected file and choose Properties.
2. Select Previous Versions tab.
3. Choose particular version of the file and click Copy.
4. To restore the selected file and replace the existing one, click on the Restore button.
5. In case there is no items in the list choose alternative method.

Using Shadow Explorer:

1. Download Shadow Explorer program.
2. Run it and you will see screen listing of all the drives and the dates that shadow copy was created.
3. Select the drive and date that you want to restore from.
4. Right-click on a folder name and select Export.
5. In case there are no other dates in the list, choose alternative method.

If you are using Dropbox:

1. Login to the DropBox website and go to the folder that contains encrypted files.
2. Right-click on the encrypted file and select Previous Versions.
3. Select the version of the file you wish to restore and click on the Restore button.

Use Media Repair to decrypt media files encrypted with .weqp

1. Download Media Repair tool.
2. Right-click on the downloaded archive, and select Extract to Media_Repair\.
3. Then double-click on the extracted .exe file to launch the utility.
4. At first, you have to choose which file type you want to decrypt. You can do it from the drop-down menu in the utility.
5. Next, browser the folder with encrypted or reference files. Choose any of them and click on the Test icon located in the top right corner.
6. Media Repair will display a pop-up message with information on whether it can repair the selected file or not.
7. After checking if it is possible or not, select your reference file and click on the icon right under the Test button we used in step #5.
8. If the file pair is properly matched, you can move on and hit the Play button to start repairing. You can also stop the process anytime by clicking on the Stop button.

How to protect computer from viruses, like Weqp Ransomware, in future

1. Get special anti-ransomware software

Use ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

Famous antivirus brand ZoneAlarm by Check Point released a comprehensive tool, that will help you with active anti-ransomware protection, as an additional shield to your current protection. The tool provides Zero-Day protection against ransomware and allows you to recover files. ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware is compatible with all other antiviruses, firewalls, and security software except ZoneAlarm Extreme (already shipped with ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware) or Check Point Endpoint products. The killer features of this application are: automatic file recovery, overwrite protection that instantly and automatically recovers any encrypted files, file protection that detects and blocks even unknown encryptors.

Download ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

2. Back up your files

As an additional way to save your files, we recommend online backup. Local storage, such as hard drives, SSDs, flash drives, or remote network storage can be instantly infected by the virus once plugged in or connected to. Weqp Ransomware uses some techniques to exploit this. One of the best services and programs for easy automatic online backup is iDrive. It has the most profitable terms and a simple interface. You can read more about iDrive cloud backup and storage here.

Download iDrive

3. Do not open spam e-mails and protect your mailbox

Malicious attachments to spam or phishing e-mails are the most popular method of ransomware distribution. Using spam filters and creating anti-spam rules is good practice. One of the world leaders in anti-spam protection is MailWasher Pro. It works with various desktop applications and provides a very high level of anti-spam protection.

Download MailWasher Pro