Ldhy Virus Ransomware (.ldhy File)

What is Ldhy ransomware?

Ldhy ransomware busts the myth that you will never get a virus until you try to launch something dubious. This invades your system, encrypts the files, and then asks you to pay money to get your files back. Besides the fact that you cannot get your files, it also makes your security tools inaccessible.

The encryption this malware uses to cipher your files is pretty strong, and it becomes even more assertive because the decryption key is kept on the remote server. Unfortunately, the fraudsters control this server, and the only way to get the key from this server is to pay the ransom (about $1000). Other forms of file decryption may help you, but the chances are pretty low, as statistics say.

Besides the ciphering, Ldhy ransomware also does some damage to other system elements. Nothing severe, but these changes are making your computer difficult to use. Inability to open specific sites, failures at the attempt to install antivirus programs - even some of the networking elements inside other programs may be corrupted. It is better to revert all these alterations as soon as possible.

Ldhy ransomware is usually spread through third-party websites that are offering to get some paid programs for free. Other parts of these sites are the so-called hack tool - cheat engines, keygens, and other things used to change the gaming process. Implementing the malware into these programs is effortless: people who create it have full access to the executable code. Adding the virus is just a question of who pays the hacker means more.

Encryption process

The Ldhy ransomware uses the Salsa20 encryption algorithm. That is not the strongest method, but it still provides an overwhelming amount of possible decryption keys. To brute force the 78-digit number of keys, you need 3.5 unvigintillion years (1*10^65), even if you use the most powerful regular PC. Quantum computers can show a bit better results, but it is still too slow to get your files back while you are alive.

The exact algorithm of encryption is next: malware scans each folder for the files it is able to encrypt. Then, when it finds the target, it makes a copy of your file, removes the original one, encrypts the copy and leaves it instead of the removed original. Such a procedure is done to prevent the situation when you have already opened the file, so ransomware is not able to read it because of the Windows restrictions. To each encrypted copy, the virus adds the specific extension - ".ldhy". Then, ransomware creates a _readme.txt file in the folder where the encrypted file is located, and goes to the next folder.

Such an encryption method can be exploited for file recovery. Since the original file is deleted, you may try to recover it using the file recovery tools. The less time is passed - the bigger the chance to get your files back, so hurry up!

Another specific moment that can help you to use the files even after the encryption is the fact that Ldhy ransomware encrypts only the first 150KB of each file. Hence, you can try to run a big file, such as video or music, without the encryption. Similar feature also works with other ransomware families - Dharma, Conti and Makop encrypt the same 150KB.

Ransom note: _readme.txt

Ransom note is the same for the whole ransomware family. In fact, it is one of the main signs of to which family the certain ransomware belongs. Here is the typical note for STOP/Djvu family:

External Links:

🔗 HowToFix.Guide: How To Decrypt .ldhy Files?

Indicators of Compromise(IOC)

File Name	MD5	File Size
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	c4580e8db0c3dbc88891842fd8a31158	5804544
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	8f927d78bf1aca031ad40891e66d895b	7044174
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	daed939964324eb515c247bb9f889fd0	813056
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	f00099b65782df55429a6580751f9dac	302080
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	db6b310f6f2641e8ab313eacbcd826e0	1928192
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	10e03ad7de31da1e5b81bb812d1abe43	249856
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	d98f1b0c8587f9328f7b352ea252311b	791040
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	2faf5694f072c19c701355ee65d53c61	249344
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	8694156f1526da4d187a55b39b0d6ba2	791552
📜 SAMPLE.EXE	2cdd09abf14b25b90e88827b08dfc86f	249344