Remove HPJ ransomware

What kind of threat are you dealing with

HPJ ransomware will try to encrypt your files, which is why it is thought to be such a harmful contamination. Ransomware is the classification you’ll run into more frequently, however. There’s a high likelihood that you recently opened a malicious attachment or downloaded from malicious sources, and that’s how the infection entered. We’ll further explain this in a later paragraph. Become familiar with how to prevent ransomware, because an infection could do serious damage. It can be especially surprising to find your files encrypted if it’s your first time running into ransomware, and you have little idea about what it is. When the process is executed, you will get a ransom message, which will explain that you must buy a decryptor. If you consider paying, we need to caution you who you are dealing with, and we doubt they will keep their word, even if they’re given the money. It is much more likely that you won’t get help from them. It should also be pointed out that the money will probably finance more malware. There is a feasibility that a free decryptor has been made, as people specializing in malware could sometimes crack the ransomware. Research other options file recovery, such as a free decryptor, before think about paying. Recovering files should be easy if you had created backup before the ransomware entered, so if you just erase HPJ ransomware, you can access the backup.

Download Removal Toolto remove HPJ ransomware

HPJ ransomware spread ways

If you wish to avoid future infections, we advise you carefully read the following paragraphs. Ransomware tends to use rather simple methods for infection but a more sophisticated method is not out of the question. Many ransomware authors/distributors tend to send out contaminated spam emails and host the ransomware on download pages, as those methods are quite low-level. Ransomware through spam is still probably the most frequent infection method. Cyber criminals would be sold your email address by other criminals, attach the infected file to an email that is made to appear somewhat legitimate and send it to you, hoping you wouldn’t hesitate to open it. If it’s your first time encountering such a spam campaign, you might not see it for what it is, although if you know the signs, it would be quite obvious. You may see certain signs that an email could be harboring ransomware, such as the text being full a grammar errors, or the nonsense email address. Criminals also like to use famous company names to ease people. Even if you think you know the sender, always check whether the email address is right. A red flag ought to also be the sender not addressing you by name in the greeting, or anywhere else in the email for that matter. Senders whose attached files are crucial enough to be opened wouldn’t include general greetings like User, Customer, Sir/Madam, as they would know your name. For example, Amazon automatically includes customer names (or the names users have provided them with) into emails they send, thus if it’s legitimately Amazon, you will see your name.

If you want the shortened version of this section, always check sender’s identity before you open an attachment. And if you’re on a dubious website, avoid advertisements as much as possible. If you do, you might end up with a malicious infection. Even if the advert is advertising something you could find interesting, keep in mind that it may be completely bogus. And stop using download sources that are dangerous. If Torrents are what you use, at least only download torrents that were downloaded by other people. Another contamination method is through flaws that could be found in programs, the ransomware could use those flaws to contaminate a system. Thus keep your software updated. Software vendors on a regular basis release patches for flaws, all you need to do is install them.

How does ransomware behave

As soon as you open the ransomware file, the ransomware launches and starts looking for certain file types to lock. Expect to see documents, photos and videos to become targets since those files are very likely to be crucial to you. The ransomware will use a strong encryption algorithm to lock files as soon as they are found. The ones that have been locked will have an unknown file extension added. You’ll be unable to open them, and soon enough, a ransom message should pop up, in which the cyber criminals will attempt to convince you to pay them the ransom, which would supposedly restore the files. The amount you’re asked depends on the ransomware, some request as little as $50, while others as much as a $1000, in cryptocurrency. We’ve already mentioned why paying is not encouraged, but in the end, this is a choice you have to make yourself. You ought to also look into other ways you could recover your data. Maybe a decryption tool has been released for free by malicious software specialists. Maybe you uploaded your files somewhere, and simply do not remember it. You could also try file restoring via Shadow Explorer, the ransomware may have not touched the copies of your files known as Shadow copies. If you do not want this situation to reoccur, ensure you do routine backups. If you just realized that you did make backup prior to the infection happening, restore files after you terminate HPJ ransomware.

HPJ ransomware uninstallation

The manual elimination option is not encouraged, for one big reason. If you don’t know what you are doing, your device could jeopardized. Instead, you ought to obtain an anti-malware program and have it take care of everything. Those utilities are created to terminate HPJ ransomware and similarly malicious threats, so there shouldn’t be issue. The files will stay locked however, because the software isn’t meant to help you with that. Data restoring will have to be performed by you.

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Learn how to remove HPJ ransomware from your computer

• Step 1. Remove HPJ ransomware using Safe Mode with Networking.
• Step 2. Remove HPJ ransomware using System Restore
• Step 3. Recover your data

Step 1. Remove HPJ ransomware using Safe Mode with Networking.

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.
• b) Step 2. Remove HPJ ransomware.

a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.

For Windows 7/Vista/XP

1. Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options appears.
3. Choose Safe Mode with Networking

For Windows 8/10 users

1. Press the power button that appears at the Windows login screen. Press and hold Shift. Click Restart.
2. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. Choose Enable Safe Mode with Networking.

b) Step 2. Remove HPJ ransomware.

You will now need to open your browser and download some kind of anti-malware software. Choose a trustworthy one, install it and have it scan your computer for malicious threats. When the ransomware is found, remove it. If, for some reason, you can't access Safe Mode with Networking, go with another option.

Step 2. Remove HPJ ransomware using System Restore

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
• b) Step 2. Restore files and settings.

a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

For Windows 7/Vista/XP

1. Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options appears.
3. Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

For Windows 8/10 users

1. Press the power button that appears at the Windows login screen. Press and hold Shift. Click Restart.
2. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. Choose Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

b) Step 2. Restore files and settings.

1. You will need to type in cd restore in the window that appears. Press Enter.
2. Type in rstrui.exe and again, press Enter.
3. A window will pop-up and you should press Next. Choose a restore point and press Next again.
4. Press Yes.

While this should have taken care of the ransomware, you might want to download anti-malware just to be sure no other threats are lurking.  

Step 3. Recover your data

• a) Using Data Recovery Pro to recover encrypted files.
• b) Restore files through Windows Previous Versions
• c) Using Shadow Explorer to recover files

While backup is essential, there is still quite a few users who do not have it. If you are one of them, you can try the below provided methods and you just might be able to recover files.

a) Using Data Recovery Pro to recover encrypted files.

1. Download Data Recovery Pro, preferably from a trustworthy website.
2. Scan your device for recoverable files.
3. Recover them.

b) Restore files through Windows Previous Versions

If you had System Restore enabled, you can recover files through Windows Previous Versions.

1. Find a file you want to recover.
2. Right-click on it.
3. Select Properties and then Previous versions.
4. Pick the version of the file you want to recover and press Restore.

c) Using Shadow Explorer to recover files

If you are lucky, the ransomware did not delete your shadow copies. They are made by your system automatically for when system crashes.

1. Go to the official website (shadowexplorer.com) and acquire the Shadow Explorer application.
2. Set up and open it.
3. Press on the drop down menu and pick the disk you want.
4. If folders are recoverable, they will appear there. Press on the folder and then Export.

* SpyHunter scanner, published on this site, is intended to be used only as a detection tool. More info on SpyHunter. To use the removal functionality, you will need to purchase the full version of SpyHunter. If you wish to uninstall SpyHunter, click here.