WANTTOCRY Ransomware (.WANT_TO_CRY File) — Removal Guide

The Wanttocry virus falls within the ransomware type of infection. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (photos, documents, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, creating the !want_to_cry.txt files in each directory which contains the encrypted files.

What is known about the Wanttocry virus?

Wanttocry appends its specific .want_to_cry extension to the title of each encrypted file. For instance, an image named “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.want_to_cry”. Just like the Excel file with the name “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.want_to_cry”, and so on.

In every directory that contains the encrypted files, a !want_to_cry.txt text document will be found. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information on the ways of paying the ransom and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the racketeers. You can get this decryptor after contacting Tox chat in TOR browser. That is basically the scheme of the felony.

Wanttocry Overview:

The !want_to_cry.txt file coming in package with the Wanttocry ransomware states the following:

All your data has been encrypted by --WantToCry-- r@n50mw@re

You can buy decryption of all files for 300 USD.

For this:

Visit hxxps://tox.chat/download.html

Download and install qTOX on your PC.

Open it, click \"New Profile\" and create profile.

Click \"Add friends\" button and search our contact -

963E6F7F58A67DEACBC2845469850B9A00E20E4000CE71B35DE789ABD0BE2F70D4147D5C0C91

Send a message with this string:

-

Send 3 test files. These should be files of no more than 20-30 MB each. We do not accept download links from third-party resources. We do not accept very large files, such as database files.

In response, we will send payment instructions and decrypted files. Payment is made in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Wanttocry looks like. Each filename has the “.want_to_cry” extension added to it.

How did Wanttocry ransomware end up on my PC?

There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for hackers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer networks.

• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse scheme. A Trojan is a program that gets into your PC pretending to be something else. Imagine, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some program. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that corrupts your data. As the update package can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the things you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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. So you’d better be using trustworthy websites. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is complete.

How do I get rid of ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Wanttocry virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

How to avert ransomware infiltration?

Wanttocry ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can defend yourself from its infiltration taking three easy steps:

• Ignore any emails from unknown senders with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, check all elements of the suspicious email with caution. A fake email will always contain mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojans are often distributed as an element of cracked software, possibly under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. Understandably, untrusted programs are difficult to distinguish from trustworthy ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try to find information about this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such software.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.want_to_cry” files?Are the “.want_to_cry” files accessible?

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

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

If the “.want_to_cry” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 What to do if the Wanttocry malware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted data can be found elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or family members. Simply ask them to post those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, mobile, external storage, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can use data recovery utilities¹ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the virus with an antivirus program.

1. Here’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2024.