LEZP Virus (.lezp File) – DECRYPT & REMOVAL TOOL

What is “Lezp” virus?

Ransomware is a kind of virus that encrypts your documents and then forces you to pay to restore them. DJVU (aka STOP) ransomware family was first revealed and analyzed by virus analyst Michael Gillespie">².

Lezp is similar to other representatives of ransomware like: Lalo, Mpaj, Jope. It encrypts all popular file types. Hence, users cannot work with the your documents or photos. Lezp adds its particular “.lezp” extension into all files. For example, the file “video.avi”, will be changed into “video.avi.lezp”. As soon as the encryption is successfully accomplished, Lezp drops a specific file “_readme.txt” and drop it into all folders that contain the modified files.

Ransomware family3	DJVU/STOP4 ransomware
Extension	.lezp
Ransomware note	_readme.txt
Ransom	From $490 to $980 (in Bitcoins)
Contact	,
Detection5	Trojan:Win32/Mokes.PVD!MTB, BScope.TrojanPSW.Coins, Trojan.Win32.Garvi.pu
Symptoms	Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .lezp extension and you can’t open it
Fix Tool	GridinSoft Anti-MalwareSee If Your System Has Been Affected by .lezp file virus

This text asking payment is for restore files via decryption key:

The scary alert demanding from users to pay the ransom to decrypt the compromised data contains these frustrating warnings

The cryptography algorithm used by Lezp is AES-256. So, if your documents got encrypted with a specific decryption key, which is totally distinct and there are no other copies. The sad reality is that it is impossible to restore the information without the unique key available.

In case if Lezp worked in online mode, it is impossible for you to gain access to the AES-256 key. It is stored on a remote server owned by the frauds who promote the Lezp infection.

For receiving decryption key the payment should be $980. To obtain the payment details the victims are encouraged by the message to contact the frauds by email ().

Do not pay for Lezp!

_readme.txt file also indicates that the computer owners must get in touch with the Lezp representatives during 72 hours starting from the moment of files where encrypted. On the condition of getting in touch within 72 hours users will be granted a 50% rebate, thus the ransom amount will be minimized down to $490). Yet, stay away from paying the ransom!

I definitely advise that you do not contact these frauds and do not pay. The one of the most real working solution to recover the lost data – just using the available backups, or use Decrypter tool.

It’s highly-desirable you not to contact ransomware distributors. Their target is your money, so they will do everything you to pay them. For some victims, they put on act that they will really decrypt your files, offering to decrypt one or two files. Of course, they can, but no one can force them to decrypt all your files after your payment and not to force you to pay more for some reasons.

Croocks also have a very mean practise. They are collecting e-mails of all victims who contacted them, and then selling this database to other ransomware distributors or, maybe, just spammers, who will fill your mailbox with spam, advetisering or so.

Some of the users who contacted croocks told us about one strange message. That was a ranting, where ransomware distributors told about encryption as a punishment for everyone who are using cracked software. Proper revengers, exactly.

The peculiarity of all such viruses apply a similar set of actions for generating the unique decryption key to recover the ciphered data.

Thus, unless the ransomware is still under the stage of development or possesses some hard-to-track flaws, manually recovering the ciphered data is a thing you can’t really perform. The only solution to prevent the loss of your valuable data is to regularly make backups of your crucial files.

Lezp ransomware, like all STOP/Djvu ransomware family, usually gets to user’s PC unactive. It can be “asleep” for a long time, until it wouldn’t get a “start encryption” command from ransomware distributor’s server. So, that’s a big risk that you can create a backup with ransomware inside, and using it for system restoration after ransomware attack will not have any effect.

But already created backups can be contaminated, too. Ransomware can just encrypt it’s files, so you cant use this backup anymore. But, fortunatelly, Lezp ransomware usually cannot completely encrypt your backup, so you can try to pull out some important files.

Lezp ransomware can also disable or even delete your backups, if they were created with basic Windows tools. It usually check the default folder where the backups are stored, so the best way is to use any other creation tool, or to store your backups in the safe place, external drive, for example.

There also were a lot of reports saying about hosts file editing. Lezp ransomware adds Microsoft update server to this file. Hence, Windows will not be able to get an update, which can wipe out some changes ransomware did to system files and registry.

Note that even if you do maintain such backups regularly, they ought to be put into a specific location without loitering, not being connected to your main workstation.

For instance, the backup may be kept on the USB flash drive or some alternative external hard drive storage. Optionally, you may refer to the help of online (cloud) information storage.

Lezp ransomware has a specific (but quite easy) mechanism that prevents encryption process interuption by reboots. It adds itself to RunOnce registry key, so every time you are starting your PC, Lezp will start with it. Such trick can be avoided by starting the system in “safe mode”. It prevents any software launch in spite of proprietary Windows programs.

Needless to mention, when you maintain your backup data on your common device, it may be similarly ciphered as well as other data.

For this reason, locating the backup on your main PC is surely not a wise idea.

How I was infected?

Lezp attack following a successful phishing attempt.

Nevertheless, these are the common leaks through which it may be injected into your PC:

• hidden installation along with other apps, especially the utilities that work as freeware or shareware;
• dubious link in spam emails leading to the Lezp installer
• online free hosting resources;
• using illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) resources for downloading pirated software.

There were cases when the Lezp virus was disguised as some legitimate tool, for example, in the messages demanding to initiate some unwanted software or browser updates. This is typically the way how some online frauds aim to force you into installing the Lezp ransomware manually, by actually making you directly participate in this process.

The Lezp ransomware is usually distributed in pack with other malware. It may be a browser hijacker, an adware, or even something serious and hard-to-detect, like backdoor, trojan or keylogger. So, even if you got something simple at the first glance, it would be better you to start a full scan of your computer.

Surely, the bogus update alert will not indicate that you are going to actually inject the Lezp ransomware. This installation will be concealed under some alert mentioning that allegedly you should update Adobe Flash Player or some other dubious program whatsoever.

The popular way of Lezp ransomware distribution is advertising on different sites. Usually, ransomware is hidden by “Update your browser now!” advertisements. After following this ad, you will be offered to download the file with a so-called update. And if you open this file, the encryption will start instantly.

Another source of Lezp ransomware are old programs or old versions of still developing programs. Such software is usually distributed as shareware, offering you to install a big pack of different programs, often – potentially unwanted (PUPs). But in spite of these PUPs, it often contains ransomware. And you can cancel PUPs installation, but you didn’t offer to cancel Lezp ransomware installation.

The popular way of Lezp ransomware injection are peering networks, also known as torrent-trackers. It’s quite hard to track who is sharing definite file with you, and the same hard to check the sharing file on possible changes implemented by your peer. And ransomware is very easy to distribute in such way. Every file downloaded in this way must be checked with anti-malware software

Of course, the cracked apps represent the damage too. Using P2P is both illegal and may result in the injection of serious malware, including the Lezp ransomware.

To sum up, what can you do to avoid the injection of the Lezp ransomware into your device? Even though there is no 100% guarantee to prevent your PC from getting damaged, there are certain tips I want to give you to prevent the Lezp penetration. You must be cautious while installing free software today.

Make sure you always read what the installers offer in addition to the main free program. Stay away from opening dubious email attachments. Do not open files from the unknown addressees. Of course, your current security program must be always updated.

The malware does not speak openly about itself. It will not be mentioned in the list of your available programs. However, it will be masked under some malicious process running regularly in the background, starting from the moment when you launch your PC.

The message by the Lezp ransomware states the following frustrating information:

ATTENTION!
Don't worry, you can return all your files!
All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.
The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.
This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.
What guarantees you have?
You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.
But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.
You can get and look video overview decrypt tool:
Price of private key and decrypt software is $980.
Discount 50% available if you contact us first 72 hours, that's price for you is $490.
Please note that you'll never restore your data without payment.
Check your e-mail "Spam" or "Junk" folder if you don't get answer more than 6 hours.
To get this software you need write on our e-mail:
Reserve e-mail address to contact us:
Your personal ID:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The image below gives a clear vision of how the files with “.lezp” extension look like:

Lezp Ransomware – encrypt files with .lezp extension

How to remove Lezp virus?

The is an excellent way to deal with recognizing and removing threats – using Gridinsoft Anti-Malware. This program will scan your PC, find and neutralize all suspicious processes">⁷.

Download Removal Tool.

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

Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware

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 PC.

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 PC for Lezp 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 finished, 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.

How to decrypt .lezp files?

The newest extensions released around the end of August 2019 after the criminals made changes. This includes Lalo, Mpaj, Jope, etc.

As a result of the changes made by the criminals, STOPDecrypter is no longer supported. Tt has been removed and replaced with the Emsisoft Decryptor for STOP Djvu Ransomware developed by Emsisoft and Michael Gillespie.

You can download free decryption tool here: Decryptor for STOP Djvu.

The LEZP ransomware only encrypts the first 150KB of files. So MP3 files are rather large, some media players (Winamp for example) may be able to play the files, but – the first 3-5 seconds (the encrypted portion) will be missing.

Download and run decryption tool.

Start downloading the decryption tool.

Make sure to launch the decryption utility as an administrator. You need to agree with the license terms that will come up. For this purpose, click on the “Yes” button:

As soon as you accept the license terms, the main decryptor user interface comes up:

Select folders for decryption.

Based on the default settings, the decryptor will automatically populate the available locations in order to decrypt the currently available drives (the connected ones), including the network drives. Extra (optional) locations can be selected with the help of the “Add” button.

Decryptors normally suggest several options considering the specific malware family. The current possible options are presented in the Options tab and can be activated or deactivated there. You may locate a detailed list of the currently active Options below.

Click on the “Decrypt” button.

As soon as yo add all the desired locations for decryption into the list, click on the “Decrypt” button in order to initiate the decryption procedure.

Note that the main screen may turn you to a status view, letting you know of the active process and the decryption statistics of your data:

The decryptor will notify you as soon as the decryption procedure is completed. If you need the report for your personal papers, you can save it by choosing the “Save log” button. Note that it is also possible to copy it directly to your clipboard and to paste it into emails or forum messages if you need to do so.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I open “.lezp” files?

lezp files contain important information. How can I decrypt them urgently?

You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to remove Lezp. Does this mean that the program will delete my encrypted files?

Decrytor did not decrypt all my files, or not all of them were decrypted. What should I do?

What can I do right now?

Video Guide

If the guide doesn’t help you to remove Lezp virus, please download the GridinSoft Anti-Malware that I recommended. Also, you can always ask me in the comments for getting help. Good luck!

References

1. Ransomware-type infection:
2. Twitter:
3. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
4. About DJVU (STOP) Ransomware.
5. Encyclopedia of threats.
6. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site:
7. More information about GridinSoft products:

German Japanese Spanish Portuguese (Brazil) French Turkish Chinese (Traditional) Korean