Apis Malware - How to remove

Apis is dangerous malware. This ransomware infects computers, corrupts files, changes their names to end with “.apis”, and then demands a ten thousand dollar ransom to fix the damage.

However, according to ransomware experts, Apis destroys files rather than encrypt them. So, paying the ransom would be pointless.

The important thing to do is to get rid of Apis so that you can use your computer again.

About the Apis malware:

Type of threat	Wiper, scam.
Symptoms of an Apis infection	Apis changes file names to end with “.apis”, the files are displayed with the blank page icon, ransom notes are placed in some folders.
How to recover your files	Restore data from backups, do not pay the ransom, as Apis is thought to corrupt files, not encrypt them.
How to delete Apis malware	Use antivirus programs (Spyhunter, others) to find and remove all malicious programs and files.

Apis infection symptoms

If Apis infects your computer, here are the symptoms you might see:

• some programs close on their own,
• your files use blank page icons,
• file types are listed as “APIS” and files have double extensions ending with “apis”,
• there are text files called “read_apis.txt” that include a message about your files having been encrypted.

Apis malware behaves like file-encrypting ransomware. Once on a computer, it corrupts files by encrypting them. It changes the names of the encrypted files so that they end with “apis” (you need to show file name extensions to see them). And it creates a ransom note to demand the victim to send money to the criminals who are responsible for the infection.

By the way, the ransom note is exactly like the Chaos ransomware note:

Can you get your files back?

File-encrypting ransomware such as Thanos or Djvu encrypt people’s files and then ask for money from the victims. In exchange for the ransom, which can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, the criminals send back decryption tools and data. The victims can use these tools to recover their files.

However, there is no way to decrypt the files that Apis “encrypted”, not even in theory. According to ransomware experts, Apis is a wiper. Rather than encrypt files, it corrupts them with random noise. This is impossible to reverse. Do not pay the ransom and be skeptical of anyone who tells you that they can help you decrypt the files locked by Apis.

If you had backups of your data, then you were prepared for such an attack. Backups are the best defense against ransomware. Delete all malware, restore the files, and you’re good.

But if you did not have backups, then there isn’t much to be done.

You can try a file recovery program like EaseUS (just the free trial) to see if there is any data to be recovered. But don’t get your hopes up, Apis can be very destructive.

You can also look in all of your folders to see if there are any files that remain untouched. There’s a chance that Apis failed to encrypt some of your data.

How to remove Apis malware

Use antivirus tools, such as Spyhunter, to delete all malware.

Antivirus scanners detect Apis, as you can see on this Virustotal.com page.

Some scanners label Apis as Hiddentear, which is a family of ransomware. When Apis was originally discovered, it was thought to be HiddenTear. Only later was it found to be a wiper.

Other names that antivirus scanners use for Apis are Ransom, Filecoder, Trojan, Malicious, etc.

Reformat your drive if you are okay with losing your files and having to reinstall some programs. If you keep your files, make sure to delete the one that originally infected your computer – that is, if it’s something like a malicious email attachment or a downloaded installer. This is to avoid accidentally running Apis again.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to recover Apis Malware 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 Apis Malware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Apis Malware

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 Apis Malware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Apis Malware 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 Apis Malware 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 Apis Malware 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.