This page aims to help you remove ViACrypt for free. Our instructions also cover how any ViACrypt file can be recovered.
If you’ve been infected by ransomware, we don’t have to tell you how disturbing and horrifying an experience like that can be. Not to mention the damage that it can cause, especially if you ended up being robbed by some of your most valuable personal or work files. One of the latest variants of this malicious ransomware group of viruses is ViACrypt – known for encrypting unsuspecting users’ files and then extorting money from them in exchange for allegedly restoring those files. Ransomware is becoming an ever greater issue and if more and more users are armed with the proper knowledge about this malware type, it will eventually be rendered powerless. For this reason, we recommend reading through the following few lines, in order to gain a better understanding of what ViACrypt and its kind are like. With that said, we should also mention that victims of the ransomware will find a useful removal guide at the bottom of the article, which will be able to help in locating and removing the pesky virus once and for all. Furthermore, the guide also features instructions that may help recover all or at least some of the affected files.
How ransomware works and what chances you have of protecting yourself
We could get into all the gory details of how ransomware works, but this article will only allow enough room for a short explanation. Viruses of this sort will silently scan your system for certain files types, after which they will begin to create encrypted copies of those files – one by one. These encrypted copies are essentially made inaccessible to anyone without a special decryption code – the one the hackers promise to send you after you’ve paid the ransom. And while the virus creates those copies, it also deletes the originals. So, in most of the cases this process can go fully uninterrupted, because most security software won’t detect the encryption process as a threat. After all, it is a means of protecting data, not harming it. Only in this case it’s used for a very twisted, dirty scheme
ViACrypt Ransomware Removal
Some of the steps will likely require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
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Click to Download Spyhunter's Anti-Malware Scanner.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time and go to the Processes Tab. Try to determine which processes are dangerous.
Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:
This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users. You can find its full-page version at: https://howtoremove.guide/online-virus-scanner/
Scan Results
| Virus Scanner | Result |
|---|---|
 ClamAV |
|
 AVG AV |
|
 Maldet |
After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders.
After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders.
Note: If you are sure something is part of the infection – delete it, even if the scanner doesn’t flag it. No anti-virus program can detect all infections.
Hold the Start Key and R – copy + paste the following and click OK:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
A new file will open. If you are hacked, there will be a bunch of other IPs connected to you at the bottom. Look at the image below:
If there are suspicious IPs below “Localhost” – write to us in the comments.
Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:
Go in Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer.
- Please note that ransomware may even include a fake Manufacturer name to its process. Make sure you check out every process here is legitimate.
Avoid this by using SpyHunter - a professional Keep in mind, SpyHunter’s malware & virus scanner is free. To remove the infection, you'll need to purchase its full version. More information about SpyHunter and steps to uninstall.
Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter. Once inside, press CTRL and F together and type the virus’s Name.
Search for the ransomware in your registries and delete the entries. Be extremely careful – you can damage your system if you delete entries not related to the ransomware.
Type each of the following in the Windows Search Field:
- %AppData%
- %LocalAppData%
- %ProgramData%
- %WinDir%
- %Temp%
Delete everything in Temp. The rest just check out for anything recently added. Remember to leave us a comment if you run into any trouble!
How to Decrypt ViACrypt files
We have a comprehensive (and daily updated) guide on how to decrypt your files. Check it out here.
If the guide doesn’t help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!
But what can you do to protect yourself? How do you make sure you never get infected by a threat like this again? Sadly, nobody is immune to these sort of attacks and if someone’s really out to get you – they probably will. Luckily for us, regular users, though, hackers don’t usually single anyone out. Instead, they rely on mass spam campaigns and on hiding their viruses in various online locations, so that users can download them on their own. This is powerful knowledge, because using only a little bit of common sense when you browse the web can help prevent the vast majority of such attacks and will diminish the risk of you landing another infection very, very greatly. Spam messages are among the leading sources of infection and also probably among the oldest. Users simply need to be more cautious when opening their email, checking their social media accounts or chatting on Skype and similar platforms. Most of the time a message containing an infected attachment or link will come from an unfamiliar sender and will simply just look sketchy. Do not, by any means, open any links or download any attached files, unless you are 100% certain you can trust both the source and the message itself.
Another very popular method of distributing viruses like ViACrypt is with the help of the so-called malvertisements. These are fake ads, which you can typically find on various illegal or shady websites. They have been injected with the malicious script of a virus and once you click on an ad like that, thinking it’s legit – you download the malware immediately, and it starts running silently in the background. We think it’s needless to say that you should do your best to avoid interacting with that type of content and try to also stay away from untrustworthy web locations.
As for dealing with ViACrypt right now, we recommend you head over to the removal guide below – it will help you delete the ransomware, which right now is paramount. And after that you can try and use the instructions that follow to potentially recover your encrypted files. Note that even if this doesn’t work, there are still other options out there, like specialized decryptor tools and others. We highly recommend exhausting all other options before considering the ransom payment, as there’s no guarantee it will buy you back your files either.
SUMMARY:
| Name | ViACrypt |
| Type | Ransomware |
| Danger Level | High (Ransomware is by far the worst threat you can encounter) |
| Symptoms | Very few and unnoticeable ones before the ransom notification comes up. |
| Distribution Method | From fake ads and fake system requests to spam emails and contagious web pages. |
| Data Recovery Tool | Currently Unavailable |
| Detection Tool | We generally recommend SpyHunter or a similar anti-malware program that is updated daily. |
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