What is known about the 7j45qvirus?

The renaming will be executed according to the following scheme: **random_string**.7j45q. As a part of encryption, a file named, for instance, “report.docx” will be changed to “report.docx.GUTX568F8C4SX56870K9090H423AFPJMOU.7j45q”.

In each folder with the encoded files, a Bdfn_HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the 7j45q developers. That is it.

Name	7j45q Virus
Extension	.**random_string**.7j45q
Ransomware note	Bdfn_HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt
Detection1	UDS:Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Blocker.vho, VHO:Trojan-Ransom.MSIL.Convagent, BScope.Trojan.Blamon
Symptoms	Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .**random_string**.7j45q extension and you can’t open them.
Fix Tool	GridinSoft Anti-MalwareSee If Your System Has Been Affected by 7j45q virus

In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the 7j45q looks like. Each filename has the “.**random_string**.7j45q” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .**random_string**.7j45q files.

How did 7j45q ransomware end up on my PC?

There are currently three most popular methods for evil-doers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.

If you access your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a malicious file attached to them. So it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model². A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your PC pretending to be something legal. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that compromises your data. Since the installation wizard can have any title and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software developers’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How to remove the 7j45q virus?

Often tamperers would decrypt several of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. As 7j45q virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the anti-ransomware instruments are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.

Sure thing, if the hackers succeed in encrypting victim’s critical data, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. Nevertheless, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still dangerous. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the injured party. There were reports about hackers just vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The optimal solution against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud storage or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be not enough. Your most crucial thing could be that one you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also wise to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS is rolled back.

7j45q is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Xcmb, Hudf, Yjqs, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the 7j45q are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in every directory containing encoded files.

Some fortunate people were able to decrypt the blocked files with the help of the free software provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.

How сan I avert ransomware infiltration?

You can armour your computer from its attack in three easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (how can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter with caution. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
• Never use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the best solution is not to use such software.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a perfect defense for your personal computer.

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft">⁴.

Download Removal Tool.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your computer.

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your system for 7j45q infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has finished, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Is it possible to open “.**random_string**.7j45q” files?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.**random_string**.7j45q” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.**random_string**.7j45q” files ASAP. How can I do that?

It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the 7j45q virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?

Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual threats. The virus that has attacked your computer is must be still functional and running scans from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the 7j45q virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide hackers with easy access to your PC in the future.

🤔 What should I do if the 7j45q virus has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to do the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To suppress this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Some of the blocked files can be located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to give those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use file recovery programs⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can see how to use PhotoRec for such a recovery, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus with an antivirus program.

Also, you can contact the following governmental fraud and scam sites to report this attack:

• In the United States: On Guard Online;
• In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
• In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
• In Australia: SCAMwatch;
• In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
• In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
• In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
• In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;

To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.

References

1. Encyclopedia of threats.
2. You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
3. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site:
4. More information about GridinSoft products:
5. Here’s the list of the top 10 file recovery tools of 2021.