Green Dot Moneypak Virus is an aggressive ransomware that blocks an infected computer completely. It uses the same psychological techniques as FBI Moneypak Virus to convince people into paying the fine. If you see your PC screen locked and a message from the Federal Bureau of Investigation informing that you breached federal laws, do not believe this scam. This blocking has nothing to do with the actual organization. Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – FBI cyber crime division – informs that they get dozens of complains regarding Green Dot Moneypak Virus and its other versions. If your computer is infected with it, IC3 strongly recommends not paying any money or providing any personal information to the virus developers.
To determine if your computer is blocked by Green Dot Moneypak Virus or similar type of ransomware, it should have these signs:
- Your computer has been blocked out of a sudden, e.g. after navigating the Internet and clicking on a compromised website, which can be an ordinary webpage that was not malicious before.
- The message displayed is supposedly from FBI or any other governmental institution, local police, etc. It has this institutions logo. It displays extracts from laws and regulations related to cyber crimes, such as illegal usage of copyrighted content, usage and distribution of child pornography, using computer for spam campaigns, etc.
- In order to unblock a computer, one must pay a fine. This varies from several hundred dollars. A fine should be paid using prepaid payment systems such as Ukash or Moneypak. Note, none of governmental authorities collect payments and fines using prepaid payment systems. If you meet such a payment method, this is a clear sign of a scam.
It is very important to remove infection as soon as you notice it. Even if you are able to unfreeze your computer on your own, it is essential to perform a thorough system scan because the ransomware may still operate in the background. Certain types of malware are programmed to monitor and record personal information such as user names, passwords, and credit card numbers through embedded keystroke logging programs.
Here are detailed instructions for removing Green Dot Moneypak Virus:
- Restart your computer, press F8 while it is restarting
- Choose safe mode with networking
- Launch MSConfig
- Disable startup items rundll32 turning on any application from Application Data;
- Restart your computer again.
- Scan with https://www.2-viruses.com/downloads/spyhunter-i.exeto identify the file and remove it. Here is a video guide, showing how to perform all the steps:
Some versions of Green Dot Moneypak Virus disable all of safe modes therefore you might not be able to choose it. In such a case follow these steps:
- Reboot normally.
- Start->Run.
- Enter http://2-viruses.com/downloads/spyhunter-i.exe . If malware is loaded, just press alt+tab once and keep entering the string blindly. Press Enter.
- Press Alt+tab and then R couple of times. The process of Green Dot Moneypak Virus should be killed. Here is a video, showing how to follow the above instructions:
If none of the above worked for you, try these Green Dot Moneypak Virus removal instructions:
- Reboot into safe mode with command prompt. Green Dot Moneypak Virus should not be launched this time.
- Run regedit. Search for Winlogon.
- There will be a key labeled Shell under Winlogon. It should reference Explorer.exe or be blank. If there is something else referring an executable in one of users folders, replace it with explorer.exe.
- Save changes, reboot to safe mode with networking.
- Run msconfig and disable all unnecessary startup entries. You should be able to reboot normally.
- Install and run https://www.2-viruses.com/downloads/spyhunter-i.exe. Scan with it the PC and delete Green Dot Moneypak Virus executables it finds. Here is a video guide illustrating this virus removal method:
We also recommend filing a complaint on IC3 website regarding the infection. If you have any questions regarding Green Dot Moneypak Virus removal or face any difficulties, leave a comment below. Our stuff will answer it as soon as possible.
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You lie! Your site says “Note: Spyhunter trial provides detection of parasite like Green Dot Moneypak Virus and assists in its removal for free. You can remove detected files, processes and registry entries yourself or purchase a full version. ”
It detected the virus- but said I had to pay to delete it- which makes your company no better than the actual virus who wants to extort money for removal…
Very poor – I’ll pay to use someone else’s software and will not use yours.
Steve :
No, we do not lie.
Expand each detection (the locations will be listed). Open the location in explorer, delete the file.
Spyhunter provides free malware process killing and detection of EXACT location of parasite files and registry entries. Due to the fact, that there are more than 10+ different Trojan families of greendot moneypak virus, it is impossible to provide exact manual location for any of them.
I tried to restart my computer in safe mode networking and command prompt. In both instances the virus still appeared and I was unable to run anything.
Nelson
Use bootable CD or Hitman Pro Kickstart USB disk.
I’ve been hit twice with this annoying virus. I just want to know how the heck this virus can install itself with all the protection given by the browser and by my always on virus scanner. I don’t download suspicious files. At most, I download picture files yet every browser does so to make web pages quicker to load. If I might have a process running, I haven’t discovered it.
I just want to know if they discovered a new way to exploit browser security by simply visiting a page. To those stuck, the only thing that has worked is rebooting to safe mode with networking and running malware bytes. This app will detect and remove the virus. It’s very easy to get rid of. Now I need to know how to prevent. Malware bytes has a free version and that is all you need. Good luck
Eric: The problem is malwarebytes free does not provide real-time protection. And yes, such exploits are used widely. They are not browser-based in most cases, but either Adobe (Flash/PDF ) or Java based. Make sure such software is up to date and keep antivirus with real time protection running all the time.
The virus is still present when I tried rebotting into safe mode with networking. I then rebotted into safe mode with command prompt, and when I tried regedit, it said “Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator.” BTW, I’m running Windows XP. What can I try now?
3 options :
1. Try to find in %AppData% malware executable and delete it manually.
2. Try running rstrui (system restore).
3. Try using alternate Os scanner boot up ( like Hitman Pro kickstarter usb, prepared on another PC , http://www.2-viruses.com/reviews/hitman-pro )
I installed & purchased Spyhunter 4, was able to get by the MoneyPack lockout, by restoring the OS to a pre date, but now notice that all my pics on the machine have the warning of Moneypak in EI. Can I remove this & still save the pictures?
Jim: Contact Spyhunter support. In rare cases the malware hides files or replaces their icons. Spyhunter Helpdesk should help you solve this. In even rarer cases malware destroys files even before its removal, so there is nothing you can do, but that depends on the version.