Annabelle 2.1 Virus - How to remove

Annabelle 2.1 is obviously a sequel of Anabelle ransomware. In case you have never heard of the original Anabelle virus, it is a “devastating crypto-malware, created for sole purpose of messing up victims‘ computers”. Annabelle 2.1 is not so different – it’s kind of the same virus with some updated features. It’s still unknown whether it is being distributed by the same cyber criminals, or someone just used the code of Annabelle as a template and are trying to cause harm.

One way or another, this virus is very dangerous and can put you in a world of pain. Since it is ransomware, it can easily lock (encrypt) most of your personal files. Usually, a ransomware virus would try to force you to pay a ransom in order to retrieve your files and make some money this way. Unfortunately, Annabelle 2.1 is not your typical ransomware and they are not interested in making money – they claim that there is no way to recover your files, they don’t care about the ransom. Moreover, any attempt to perform decryption should result in the complete removal of all your files. For that reason, Annabelle 2.1 is considered to be a ’wiper ransomware virus.

Luckily, there are some alternatives that can be applied in this situation to completely eliminate Annabelle 2.1 ransomware and unlock encrypted files. We are going to talk about it in this article, so please continue reading. Also, if you have any questions regarding this topic, feel free to ask them in the comments section below.

Annabelle 2.1 Virus Features

We have already told you, that Annabelle 2.1 is based on the original Annabelle virus, which was spread really wide, so we can expect a high volume of infection cases this time too. The virus is scary – once inside of your computer it will scan the hard drive to detect all personal files that can be encrypted, then apply special cryptography to do so and after that your desktop wallpaper will be changed to a custom image of Annabelle 2.1 with a short message. It goes like this:

Your computer files are all encrypted by Annabelle 2.1. If you try to recover you files, all of the data will be deleted.

1. There is no possibility to recover files
2. The software encrypts all files with SHA1 algorithm

By the way, all files encrypted by this filthy virus will be marked with “.AnabelleCreate” or “.Annabelle2”. That means the file is encrypted and you can’t open it anymore. We don’t know what kind of encryption algorithm they are using, but it’s pretty a pretty strong one and free decryptor is not available yet.

We have analyzed various wiper infections, such as RedEye or Robin Hood And Family. Some of them instantly delete all files, while others just lock them and don’t introduce a way to pay the ransom and perform decryption. Either way, such infection is very dangerous and you should take care of it right away.

Even though you are warned not to try to recover your files, you should go for it – the virus can be removed, so your files can be saved.

Annabelle 2.1 Virus Removal

To solve this problem you need to do two things – remove the virus itself and then recover your files. Those things have to be done in that exact order because if you recover your files while Annabelle 2.1 virus still sits on your computer, it can simply encrypt them once again.

So to remove Annabelle 2.1, you need to scan your computer with Spyhunter. Either one of those programs should be capable of detecting and removing the virus automatically. It will also protect your computer from similar infections in the future, so it’s worth to keep it installed. Also, you can use other anti-malware programs of your choice as well.

Once the virus is removed, you should perform a system restore – this will turn your computer back in time and recover your files. In some cases system restore might not be available and if you are in this situation, please scroll down below this article and see the detailed instructions.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Annabelle 2.1 Virus encrypted files and remove the virus

Step 1. Restore system into last known good state using system restore

1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt:

for Windows 7 / Vista/ XP

• Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
• Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
• Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

for Windows 8 / 10

• Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart.
• Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings and click Restart.
• When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings.

 

2.Restore System files and settings.

• When Command Prompt mode loads, enter cd restore and press Enter.
• Then enter rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
• Click “Next” in the windows that appeared.
• Select one of the Restore Points that are available before Annabelle 2.1 Virus has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Annabelle 2.1 Virus

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter and remove all malicious files related to Annabelle 2.1 Virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Annabelle 2.1 Virus affected files using Shadow Volume Copies

If you do not use System Restore option on your operating system, there is a chance to use shadow copy snapshots. They store copies of your files that point of time when the system restore snapshot was created. Usually Annabelle 2.1 Virus tries to delete all possible Shadow Volume Copies, so this methods may not work on all computers. However, it may fail to do so. Shadow Volume Copies are only available with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. There are two ways to retrieve your files via Shadow Volume Copy. You can do it using native Windows Previous Versions or via Shadow Explorer. a) Native Windows Previous Versions Right-click on an encrypted file and select Properties → Previous versions tab. Now you will see all available copies of that particular file and the time when it was stored in a Shadow Volume Copy. Choose the version of the file you want to retrieve and click Copy if you want to save it to some directory of your own, or Restore if you want to replace existing, encrypted file. If you want to see the content of file first, just click Open.

b) Shadow Explorer It is a program that can be found online for free. You can download either a full or a portable version of Shadow Explorer. Open the program. On the left top corner select the drive where the file you are looking for is a stored. You will see all folders on that drive. To retrieve a whole folder, right-click on it and select “Export”. Then choose where you want it to be stored.

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover Annabelle 2.1 Virus encrypted files

There are several data recovery programs that might recover encrypted files as well. This does not work in all cases but you can try this:

• We suggest using another PC and connect the infected hard drive as slave. It is still possible to do this on infected PC though.
• Download a data recovery program.
• Install and scan for recently deleted files.

Note: In many cases it is impossible to restore data files affected by modern ransomware. Thus I recommend using decent cloud backup software as precaution. We recommend checking out Carbonite, BackBlaze, CrashPlan or Mozy Home.