*Kifr is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
Kifr
A group of cyber criminals have created a special piece of malware called Kifr which uses file encryption as a way to blackmail the infected victims for ransom. Kifr belongs to the infamous ransomware family and is specialized in secretly sneaking inside the computers of various web users and taking their data hostage by applying a hidden file encryption.
File encryption, as you might have heard, is one of the most effective methods to keep digital data safe from unauthorized access. This method ensures that nobody can open, use or modify your files unless they have the right decryption key for that. It sounds great that such a reliable and almost unbreakable file protection method exists.
The Kifr virus
The Kifr virus targets personal files such as photos, videos, work files, archives, audios and other commonly used file types and locks them with a complex code, which can be decrypted only with a specially generated decryption key. The key for the Kifr, Nifr or Nitz virus, however, is generated on the server of the hackers and in order to obtain it the victims are expected to pay a certain amount of money as ransom.
The whole encryption process is usually performed in complete stealth, without showing any visible symptoms. Right after it completes, though, Kifr generates a scary ransom message and places it on the screen of the infected computer. If the required ransom amount isn’t too high, some people are prone to paying it in order to quickly save their valuable files. Others, however, don’t want to risk their money and trust the anonymous hackers that easily.
After all, there is nothing that could make the criminals keep their word and really send the decryption key. Not to mention that there is absolutely no guarantee that the hackers’ key will successfully decrypt the locked files. That is why, for those of you who are seeking a way to remove Kifr and deal with its encryption, we have posted a set of instructions below, as well as a trusted Kifr removal tool and some file-recovery suggestions.
The Kifr file
The Kifr file may be quite difficult to remove. What is much more challenging, however, is recovering your data from the Kifr file encryption.
In case that you have full data backup copies that you keep on an external drive or cloud storage, it will be much easier because all that you have to focus on is effectively remove the infection and copy the files on the clean computer. The instructions in the removal guide above will definitely help you eradicate the malware but if you can’t rely on your own backups, you may need to give a try to some additional file-recovery steps. On this website, we have a daily updated guide on how to decrypt your files.
Sadly, the effectiveness of the suggested steps may vary in each and every specific case because ransomware cryptoviruses become more and more advanced with each week and with each new version. And while the suggested data recovery steps may work for some people, for others, they may not be enough to get all the encrypted files back. Still, even though you may need to take some extra steps to recover your data, you have a great chance of effectively removing Kifr from your computer and making the system safe for further use with the help of the instructions in the removal guide above.
SUMMARY:
*Kifr is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
Remove Kifr Ransomware
In order to remove the Kifr ransomware, you must follow this removal guide step-by-step and carry out each step precisely as instructed. As a first step, we suggest that you disconnect your computer from the Internet. In this way, any malicious software on the computer will be unable to interact with its servers. USB and external storage devices attached to the infected machine should also be disconnected.
Restarting the infected machine in Safe Mode is the next thing you should do. If you need help doing that, please refer to the instructions provided in this link. To finish the Kifr removal process, please return to this page after the machine has been restarted in Safe Mode. For your convenience, you may want to save this page as a bookmark in your browser.
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
*Kifr is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
The next logical step is to open the Task Manager. To do that, enter “task manager” in the Windows search bar and then press Enter. Afterwards, go to the Processes tab and reorder the running processes based on the amount of memory and processing power they are using up. Scanning the files associated with any processes you suspect are related to the ransomware is an absolute must. Just right-click on the suspicious process, and then choose Open File Location from the context menu. This will open the location of the files in the directory.
To begin scanning, just drag & drop the contents of the folder into the scanner below:
After scanning your device for possibly malicious files, right-click the process and choose “End Process” before doing anything further. Once the potentially harmful process has been terminated, remove any files that have been marked as possible threats from the directory in which they are kept.
After completing step 2, use the Windows key and the letter R on your keyboard to open a new Run window, then paste the following command and press Enter:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
You’ll see a new window appear on your screen with a file titled Hosts. You need to find the term “Localhost” in the file by searching for it. In the event that any of the IP addresses shown under “Localhost” seem to be suspicious, please let us know in the comments below this post, and we will reply with advice on what to do.
The System Configuration settings are another place to look for Kifr-related files. To open the System Configuration window, type msconfig in the Windows search box and press Enter. Check the “Startup” tab to see if any suspicious items are set to automatically launch when the system is turned on.
By unchecking the box next to any item you feel is connected to the ransomware, you may disable it manually. If you have any doubts regarding a startup item’s reliability, you should perform some online research before deciding to disable it, in order to learn more about its origin and purpose.
*Kifr is a variant of Stop/DJVU. Source of claim SH can remove it.
The ability of ransomware to silently inject new dangerous files into the registry of the infected system allows it to remain undetected for long periods of time. That’s why scanning the registry for possibly hazardous files is strongly suggested if you want to permanently remove Kifr. To accomplish this, type “Regedit” in the Windows search box and then hit Enter.
Using the CTRL and F shortcut keys may help you save time when searching for potentially hazardous files in the Registry Editor. Start by typing the name of the malware in a search box, and then pressing the Find Next button.
Attention! Expertise and experience are necessary to effectively delete ransomware-related registry files. Checking and double-checking that no other registry items are being erased is critical throughout this operation. If you’re not sure whether you can get rid of the infection by yourself, using a virus removal program like the one on our website is highly recommended.
Ransomware-related files may be located in the following places on a machine that has been infected:
- %AppData%
- %LocalAppData%
- %ProgramData%
- %WinDir%
- %Temp%
To search for dangerous files, you’ll have to copy and paste each one of the locations above in the Windows search bar one at a time, then hit the Enter key. Next, look for files and folders with random or unusual names or appearances (strange characters, symbols and numbers). Make no changes to files or directories, unless you are quite sure that doing so would aid in the removal of the virus. When you go to Temp, you should consider removing all the temporary files that are stored there, since it is possible that some of them may be linked to the virus.
How to Decrypt Kifr files
Even seasoned computer experts may find it difficult to deal with the results of a ransomware attack. Because of this, if you lack computer knowledge, it is best to turn to a trusted software or an experienced ransomware specialist rather to risk further computer harm. To decrypt encrypted files, you must first do a comprehensive system check to ensure your computer is clear of any dangerous malware.
New Djvu Ransomware
STOP Djvu is a new variant of the Djvu ransomware that has spread to a large number of computers all around the world. If a file on your computer has the .Kifr extension implies that it was encrypted by this particular ransomware variant. Once you ensure that your system is ransomware-free, a decryption application like the one available at the following link may be able to help you retrieve some of the data you’ve already lost:
https://www.emsisoft.com/ransomware-decryption-tools/stop-djvu
Before trying to decrypt any of your data, however, carefully review the decryptor’s license agreement and any additional instructions that may be applicable. In addition, it is important to mention that this decryptor does not guarantee the recovery of all of your data. Files encrypted using an unknown offline key or online encryption may not be decryptable.
Anti-virus software should be used if the manual removal steps on this page fail to fully eliminate Kifr from your computer. Using our free online virus scanner may let you do a manual scan of a particular file if you are concerned about its security. In the event that any of the steps in this manual removal guide are challenging for you, please let us know in the comments below.
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