French MoWare H.F.D ransomware

When we encounter such malicious programs as French MoWare H.F.D ransomware, it sometimes seems that they target only certain users. However, in reality, malware programs recognize no national borders. So even if this program is entirely in French, it doesn’t mean that it cannot affect users who speak other languages.

The most important thing is to recognize this infection and remove it from the system for good. Please note that it may not be possible to revert the damage inflicted by French MoWare H.F.D ransomware, so you should be prepared for that mentally.

We know for sure that French MoWare H.F.D ransomware is not a stand-alone infection. From the data that we have gathered, we can see that this program is a French version of MoWare H.F.D. Ransomware. We also know that these infections are very similar to multiple other ransomware applications because they are built on open-source code.

This open-source code is known as Hidden Tear Ransomware. Basically, there is a malicious code that is available online, and anyone who knows how to get it can create their own malware infection. They’re just tweaking certain aspects of the code, customizing it to fit their requirements. Although it gives researchers an idea of what they can expect from French MoWare H.F.D ransomware, it cannot help us deal with the consequences of the infection.

Now, why is it like that? The problem is that even if ransomware programs come from the same family, they still have unique decryption keys. This is what using powerful encryption algorithms entails. French MoWare H.F.D ransomware and other programs might be based on the same code, but the same decryption tool would not work on all of the apps in the family. What’s more, if the infection is not an extremely prominent one, there is a very good chance that there’s no public decryption tool in the first place.

So how do we get infected with French MoWare H.F.D ransomware? This program should be distributed just like most of the ransomware programs on the market. Such apps usually travel with spam email attachments. It means that most of the installer files get deleted before they even reach the target system, as less than 10% of such spam email messages do get opened. Nevertheless, the fact that ransomware developers still use spam email for ransomware distribution shows that the infection rate is enough to keep going at it.

At the same time, users should be able to avoid getting infected with French MoWare H.F.D ransomware if they could recognize the aspects of ransomware distribution. The point is that automated behavior when you open emails is not a good idea. Maybe you’re used to opening your emails and the attachments without any second thought. This is where you have to change your attitude towards the content you interact with.

If you receive a random message that requires you to open a link or download an attachment, you should make sure that the message is legitimate in the first place. Also, before opening the downloaded attachment, you can always scan it with a security tool. If you are too hasty about this, you might end up with French MoWare H.F.D ransomware on your computer.

The good news is that some versions of this program might not be able to encrypt your files. The infection sample that we have analyzed displays the ransom information, but it does not affect personal files. It also does not disable the Task Manager or any other system feature. You might see the .H_F_D_locked added to the file names, but it does not mean that the files have been damaged. Needless to say, you do not need to pay attention to the ransom note because paying wouldn’t solve anything.

If your files weren’t encrypted, you just need to remove French MoWare H.F.D ransomware from your system. For that, please follow the manual removal instructions below. If your files got encrypted, you might need to look for ways to restore them. The easiest way to do that is to delete the encrypted files, and then transfer healthy copies into your computer from an external hard drive (provided you have a system backup). If not, then you might want to look for other options because you are bound to have at least some of your files saved on a cloud drive, your mobile device, or your outbox, for example.

How to Remove French MoWare H.F.D ransomware

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task manager.
2. Click the Processes tab.
3. End the Moware H.F.D process.
4. Close Task manager and open the Downloads folder.
5. Delete the most recently downloaded files.
6. Press Win+R and type %AppData%. Click OK.
7. Remove the MoWare_H directory.
8. Press Win+R once more and enter regedit. Press OK.
9. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsfot\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
10. Right-click the MoWare H.F.D value on the right. Click to delete it.
11. Run a full system scan with SpyHunter.