TUGA Virus 🔐 (.TUGA Files) — How to Remove?

The Tuga virus belongs under the ransomware type of malicious agent. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its own extension to every file, leaving the README.txt files in each folder with the encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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Tuga virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A scientifically accurate designation for the Tuga is “a ransomware-type infection”.

Tuga appends its own .TUGA extension to the name of every encrypted file. For instance, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be renamed to “photo.jpg.TUGA”. In the same manner, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be altered to “table.xlsx.TUGA”, and so forth.

In each folder with the encrypted files, a README.txt text document will appear. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this decryptor after contacting t.me/hell2cat (Telegram) via email. That is how they do it.

Tuga outline:

The README.txt file coming in package with the Tuga ransomware states the following:

You\'ve been hacked
t.me/hell2cat
Pay me 1000$ and I\'ll give you the decryption key!
Or you will join a terrorist network list :C

In the picture below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Tuga looks like. Each filename has the “.TUGA” extension added to it.

An example of encrypted .TUGA files.

How did Tuga ransomware end up on my PC?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware injection.

There are currently three most exploited methods for criminals to have the Tuga virus acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer-to-peer networks.

If you access your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are most likely to have a viral item attached to them. So it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.

Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme. A Trojan is a program that infiltrates into your machine disguised as something else. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that corrupts your data. As the update package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software developers’ official websites.

As for the peer networks like torrents or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How to remove the Tuga virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Tuga virus will most likely deploy Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Sometimes racketeers would decode several of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Tuga virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decryption tools are frequently updated, so the solution may soon be available.

Of course, if the criminals succeed in encoding victim’s essential files, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. Despite that, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your data back. It is still dangerous. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports about criminals just disappearing after getting the ransom without even writing back.

The best 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. Obviously, that might be not enough. The most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also wise to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.

Tuga 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, Neqp, Ahgr, Ahtw, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Tuga are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become blocked, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in every folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky people were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decoding key to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But obviously, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a tamperers’ tool to pull the money out of their victims.

How do I avoid ransomware infection?

Tuga ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from ransomware attack within several easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown mailers with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are expecting, check all elements of the dubious letter with caution. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
• Do not use cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy software, as trojans may also have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such software.
• And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect shield for your PC.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft¹

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft².

Download Removal Tool.

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

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 system.

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 Tuga 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 completed, 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

🤔 How can I open “.TUGA” files?Is it possible to open“.TUGA” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.TUGA” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.TUGA” 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

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

Of course not. Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will delete the threats from your system. The ransomware that has infected your PC is must be still functional and running scans every so often to encrypt any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Tuga virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your system in the future.

🤔 What should I do if the Tuga malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.

If that happened, you need to prepare a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or imported into your machine. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to give those images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, external storage, etc.

HINT: You can employ data recovery programs³ to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests 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 be advised: you can do it only after you kill the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following official 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.

1. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
2. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
3. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.