Hi Buddy Ransomware - How to remove

Hi Buddy Ransomware is a computer infection that may enter your computer without you noticing and encrypt your important files. Once inside, the program places a message on your computer saying that your important files have been encrypted, and in order to unlock them you must pay a ransom in BitCoins. Usually it asks for 0.40347888, but this amount can vary slightly. Here’s how the message looks like:

Hello Buddy! if you see this message all your important files are been crypted:) What can you do? You can pay with bitcoin and wait 10min for decryption! It’s very easy!

Hi Buddy Ransomware uses AES encryption to lock your files. Usually it encrypts files with the following extensions: .mp3, .js, .txt, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .odt, .jpg, .png, .csv, .sql, .mdb, .sln, .php, .asp, .aspx, .html, .xml, .psd, and .pdf. It claims that the only way to get them back is by paying a ransom. Unfortunately, even after paying, you will not have guarantees that you will definitely get your files back. For this reason, we really do not recommend paying. Instead you should try restoring your files from a backup. If you don’t have one, you can try using tools like Photorec or R-Studio.

Ransomware programs like Hi Buddy Ransomware have become extremely popular lately. They are usually distributed by spam emails. Users should be extremely careful with them and never open any attachments of emails from unknown senders. Cyber criminals often imitate sending some important financial documents, so you should never trust such messages and double-check everything. Sometimes you can get your system infected by browsing on some infected websites too. We highly recommend taking a better care of your computer’s safety to avoid this kind of infections, as they may create a lot of problems for you. Don’t forget about anti-malware programs, like Spyhunter or Malwarebytes. They can prevent from getting a lot of infections.

If your system has already been infected by Hi Buddy Ransomware, make sure you remove it as soon as possible. Below you can find a guide how to do it.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Hi Buddy Ransomware

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 Hi Buddy Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Hi Buddy Ransomware 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 Hi Buddy Ransomware 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 Hi Buddy Ransomware 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.