jCandy ransomware virus - How to remove

Cyber security researcher JAMESWT was first to discover and publish information about jCandy ransomware virus. It is a rather typical ransomware infection that will append .Locked-jCandy extension to the end of every file that is on your computer. This way they will be encrypted. That means you won’t be able to open or use them in any other way.

If you are a victim of this ransomware, please continue reading the article. We will provide you with detailed instructions how to get rid of this virus and best possible methods to restore locked files.

jCandy virus description

Ransomware like this usually is traveling as an attachment to an email letter. Since modern email service providers are able to filter those kind of messages, they usually end up in a category of spam. That is why you should never open any emails from that category.

If someone opens attachment to the email that was sent by cyber criminals behind this infection, jCandy ransomware will be automatically installed on a computer. Encryption process will start automatically too, immediately after that.

We have already mentioned that jCandy will add an extension ‘.Locked-jCandy’ to the end of your personal files encrypting them this way. So if you had a file named ‘game.exe’, now it will be ‘game.exe.Locked-jCandy’. An unique will be assigned to your computer and stored on a remote server owned by cyber criminals. This particular key is needed to decrypt your files and it will be held as a hostage for a ransom.

After successfully encrypting files stored on your computer, jCandy will drop a file called ‘JCANDY_INSTRUCTIONS.txt’ on your desktop and open a pop-up window with request for a ransom. Original text from a pop-up message:

jCandy
YOUR FILES HAVE BEEN LOCKED
We have encrypted ALL your important files!
We have NOT deleted ANY files. Your files have been LOCKED!
If you would like access to your files your will need to purchase $200 USB worth of BITCOIN
and have sent to this bitcoin address below.
After the payment is received your will be decrypted and this program will delete itself.
You have 48 hours to send the payment and have your files unlocked.
If you fail to do so, your files will be DELETED.
~ Kind regards, jCandy
SEND PAYMENT TO: 12pFSG5hxcbdV33JmcSnEnFXr1woFYTeew

Victims of jCandy are asked to pay a ransom of $200 in order to receive decryption key. They also threaten to remove all files if victim fails to pay within next 48 hours.

We do not recommend to pay the ransom. First of all, there are no guarantees that you will receive the key after the payment – never trust cyber criminals. Secondly, various signs indicate that developers of this ransomware are juvenile and might not live up to your expectations.

The best way to solve this problem is by restoring your files from a back-up. However, it is not possible if you do not have a copy. In case you do, take a look at our system restore instructions and set your system back.

Unfortunately, there is no free decryptor for jCandy virus, that means you won’t be able to get your files back if you don’t have a back-up. Don’t let this distract you from the fact that your computer is still infected with a virus and you need to remove it from your computer too. File of jCandy ransomware was tested with VirusTotal and 26 out of 67 anti-virus programs were able to identify it as a threat. We recommend to use either Spyhunter, as both of those applications have done a good job dealing with ransomware infection in the past.

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of jCandy ransomware 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 jCandy ransomware virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore jCandy ransomware 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 jCandy ransomware 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 jCandy ransomware 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.

Manual removal