What is Gatq ransomware?
Gatq is a harmful program in the ransomware category. These viruses prevent their victims from accessing their files by encrypting them, then demands money for decryption.
Most ransomware viruses are made using a template, which allows the hackers to create them very fast. By creating many viruses that are slightly different from one another, the criminals hope to bypass threat detection systems of antiviruses.
Gatq is one such virus; it was made using the STOP/Djvu template. As a consequence of this, it is very similar to other viruses made with the same template (e.g. Gaze and Gapo). But it is still very easy to determine which virus you’re dealing with; files encrypted by this virus have .gatq file extension.
By reading the ransom note created by the virus, “_readme.txt”, we can determine the hackers’ demands. There’s nothing complex about them; as the criminals are simply trying to make money, that is what they demand. According to the note, the victim has to pay 980 US dollars to decrypt the files. To pressure people into paying, they also offer a “discount” for those who pay quickly.
However, the note lies. There are other ways to remove Gatq ransomware and decrypt .gatq files; paying the hackers is not the only option. Read our guide to learn what else you can do.