How to remove Qmam4 Ransomware and decrypt .qmam4 files

What is Qmam4 Ransomware

Qmam4 is a high-risk infection categorized as a cryptovirus. The reason why it is named that way lies in its after-attack behavior – the virus demands victims to pay a sum of money in cryptocurrency upon blocking access to data. Such infections are also known as ransomware. They encrypt personal data and blackmail victims into paying the ransom. During encryption, Qmam4 attaches a string of random characters and the new .qmam4 extension to each affected file. For instance, 1.pdf will change to 1.pdf.{random sequence}.qmam4 becoming no longer accessible. Following this, Qmam4 creates a text file called D4RT_HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt that illustrates how victims can unlock their data.

It is said victims can decrypt and prevent important data from being sold on dark web resources. To do this, victims are instructed to contact cyber criminals using the Tor link. After getting in touch with the developers, they will supposedly tell you to send money in cryptocurrency and retrieve a special decryption tool afterward. Should victims refuse to follow instructions, the collected data will be leaked to the hands of third-party figures. Unfortunately, collaboration with cybercriminals might be the only way to decrypt your data and avoid publicly exfiltrated data. It is less likely that some third-party tool will be able to decrypt your data for free without the help of attackers. You can definitely restore your data using backup copies, however, this will not stop the attackers from manipulating your data to their personal benefit. Note that it is important to delete the infection before recovering data without cybercriminals. Otherwise, it may continue encryption and impact other devices that will be connected to the system. To do this and learn more about recovery methods, follow the guidelines below.

How Qmam4 Ransomware infected your computer

Ransomware infections are mainly distributed via email phishing messages, trojans, fake software updates/installers, exploits, web-injects, backdoors, keyloggers, and various other vectors. Email phishing is simply when cybercriminals set up bots to send spam letters containing malicious attachments. These letters are likely to be disguised as something legitimate and trick users into opening files or links. The attached files are usually macro-based Word, Excel, PDF, EXE, or Javascript files capable of executing the installation of malware. Beware of such messages and do not download software from unofficial resources. You may also be bombarded by dubious ads on third-party pages offering to download an antivirus because your system is allegedly infected. However, instead of delivering an actual antimalware utility, such websites promote trojans that are meant to install different malware. We encourage you to follow our tutorial below and learn how one can protect himself against such threats in the future.

1. Download Qmam4 Ransomware Removal Tool
2. Get decryption tool for .qmam4 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. How to protect from threats like Qmam4 Ransomware

Qmam4 Ransomware files:


C3QW_HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt
{randomname}.exe


Qmam4 Ransomware registry keys:

no information

How to decrypt and restore .qmam4 files

Use automated decryptors

Download Kaspersky RakhniDecryptor

Use following tool from Kaspersky called Rakhni Decryptor, that can decrypt .qmam4 files. Download it here:

There is no purpose to pay the ransom because there is no guarantee you will receive the key, but you will put your bank credentials at risk.

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 .qmam4 files by uploading samples to Dr. Web Ransomware Decryption Service. Analyzing 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 Qmam4 Ransomware and removed from your computer you can try to decrypt 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 .qmam4 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.

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.

How to protect computer from viruses, like Qmam4 Ransomware, in future

1. Get special anti-ransomware software

Use ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Dashboard

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Alert

ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware Blocked

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.

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. Qmam4 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.

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.