Meds Extension Virus - How to remove

The Meds virus is one that is extremely destructive — and its harmful effect appears very quickly after the infection. The files that were affected by this virus, which includes almost all user files, don’t work anymore — they’re encrypted, locked with a key that you do not have.

Meds does this for a reason. If you look around in your folders, you can find a _readme file that includes a message from the creators of this extension virus. In it, they say that they can recover the files and that you only need to pay $490 to them. This way, the people responsible for this infection are making a living — by locking people’s files with a cryptographic algorithm and holding them for ransom.

You can get rid of Meds from your computer and stop it from trying to run every 5 minutes, converting any new files that you create into gibberish, but this won’t fix the files which were already encrypted.

There is no guaranteed free decrypter, either — this extension virus is part of the well-established Djvu family of ransomware which has already received a good amount of scrutiny from ransomware experts, but it’s implemented in a way that decoding the locked files is not doable. The oldest versions of Djvu are decryptable, and some of the new ones – Mogranos, Shariz, or Gero – are potentially decryptable. Emsisoft has released a decrypter that works on some versions of Djvu, here is the link. It might work on some of the “.meds” files. Sadly, it depends on how your files were locked, and Meds is still an example of ransomware that’s capable of causing real damage.

Meds extension virus memo:

What it is	File-locking ransomware Not decryptable Virustotal page
How it spreads	In cracks and keygens Distributed on spoofed sites In pirated files
Meds infection symptoms	Files won’t open Files renamed with the “meds” extension Cybersecurity sites blocked _readme note demands a ransom
Remove Meds extension virus	Edit your hosts file to unblock cybersecurity websites Scan your computer with anti-malware (SpyHunter) Change your passwords and enable 2-step verification

Meds characteristics

In the _readme file that the virus dropped, the criminals claim:

ATTENTION!

Don’t worry, you can return all your files!
All your files like photos, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.
…

The locked files all have the “.meds” extensions applied to them, like this:

picture.jog.meds

The extension virus didn’t just change file names — it also changed each file’s internal content by turning it into ciphertext. So, if you try to open your locked files, it still doesn’t work (except for some audio files and rare file types). In order to get the files back, you need the decryption algorithm and the decryption key. These things would allow you to return the files to the previous state.

Unfortunately, each victim has a unique key, all of which are only known to the criminals responsible for the Meds extension virus. This means that people who don’t have backups of their data are at a huge risk of losing it completely.

If you have backups, you still need to remove the malware before restoring the files, but you’re in a much better position than probably most of Meds’ victims. If you don’t have backups, it’s really worth having them. The cloud or an offline drive with a recent image of your computer would be ideal.

It’s also worth examining your software acquisition habits. Most of the victims of this brand of extension virus catch it while pirating — either using a crack to unlock legitimate software, downloading an “activated” program so that they don’t have to pay for it, or getting a keygen to unlock it themselves illegally. It is easy to catch malware by pirating, so consider using safer alternatives for obtaining software: there are free programs (like open-source), sales, older and cheaper versions that don’t come with the risk of corrupting all your files and stealing your passwords.

Don’t pay the ransom

Even if you can afford it, it’s not a good idea to pay money to have the files locked by the Meds extension virus restored to a normal state by criminals. Law enforcement and cybersecurity experts always advise not paying the ransom if possible. Here are a few reasons why:

• It finances future attacks and the continued development of this extension virus. The criminals are doing this for money, after all.
• You could be marked for future infections. Many people don’t learn from attacks and don’t improve their security. Meds’ developers could keep track of who paid them and decide that those people are willing and able to pay money and thus are attractive targets.
• The chances that it’ll fix all of your files are not great. Some people report that the decrypter they got from the criminals didn’t fix files bigger than 4 gigabytes. Others don’t hear back from them after they send their money, or only herd back a demand for a bigger sum. Some files were fixed still need to be repaired using forensic software that often costs money, too.
  Basically, cooperating with Meds’ developers might work for you but it won’t be hassle-free.
• Paying won’t help any other victims. If you were hoping that you can buy the tools and everyone else will use them, unfortunately, it won’t work. Each victim’s key is unique and can’t be calculated with current technology.

How to remove the Meds extension virus

Whether you have a way to restore your data or not, the extension virus does need to be removed. This can be done automatically with the help of a professional anti-malware program, like SpyHunter. until that’s done, it is not safe to use your computer for anything sensitive.

If you can’t access some websites, you can check this article on how to unblock them. Meds probably made edits to your hosts file to stop you from accessing various cybersecurity websites on the infected computer.

Important -- edit the hosts file to unblock security websites

TL DR : The hosts file is edited to block security sites Before the virus can be removed, it's necessary to fix the hosts file (the file which controls which addresses connect to which IPs). That is the reason the majority of security websites is inaccessible when infected with this particular parasite. This infection edits this file to stop certain websites, including anti-malware download sites, from being accessed from the infected computer, making browsers return the "This site can't be reached" error. Luckily, it's trivial to fix the file and remove the edits that were made to it.

Find and edit the hosts file

The hosts file can be found on C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts. If you don't see it, change the settings to see hidden files.

1. In the Start Menu, search for Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, find Appearance and Personalization.
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Open the View tab.
5. Open Advanced settings.
6. Select "Show hidden files...".
7. Select OK.

Open this file with administrator privileges.

1. Open the Start Menu and enter "notepad".
2. When Notepad shows up in the result, right-click on it.
3. In the menu, choose "Run as administrator"
4. File->Open and browse for the hosts file.

The hosts file should look like this: Delete additional lines that they connect various domain names to the wrong IP address. Save the file.

Download and run the antivirus program

After that, download antivirus programs and use them to remove the ransomware, the trojan, and other malware. Spyhunter (https://www.2-viruses.com/reviews/spyhunter/dwnld/).

Automatic Malware removal tools

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

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Meds Extension 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 Meds Ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Meds Extension 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 Meds 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 Meds Extension 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.