Qlkm Ransomware - How to remove

Qlkm is malware that breaks files and brings spying and advertising malware to your computer. It breaks files by encrypting their content and changing their names, making some of the files impossible to open. It might break images, songs, documents, and other files.

You can remove Qlkm and other malware with antivirus programs, but this won’t fix your files. There are some ways that you might be able to get some of the broken files back without paying the ransom that Qlkm is asking for.

In short about Qlkm:

Threat type	Ransomware, spyware.
Symptoms of a Qlkm infection	Files have their names changed to include a second extension “qlkm”, these files refuse to open, backups are deleted and websites are blocked.
Options to fix your files	Restore your data from backups, look into free decryption options, use data recovery programs, repair the files manually.
How to remove Qlkm ransomware	Remove all malware with antivirus programs (Spyhunter, others), protect your personal information.

How Qlkm ransomware works

How Qlkm spreads

Qlkm ransomware gets downloaded by programs that are infected with malware. Most likely, these are infected installers that were downloaded from pirating sites. This does seem to be the norm for ransomware viruses that are in the same family as Qlkm – the Djvu family that also includes Omfl, Igdm, Sglh, etc.

These files download not just Qlkm ransomware, but also spyware and adware. As a result, you might notice advertising spam in your browser, unexpected pages opening randomly, redirects to unfamiliar sites.

If you have an antivirus program protecting your computer, it should have noticed the Qlkm ransomware before it affected your computer. Antivirus programs should detect Qlkm as Downloader, Trojan, Ransom, Unsafe, Malware, etc.

Qlkm infection symptoms

Here are some effects that Qlkm ransomware has on the infected computer:

• File names are changed to end with the extension “qlkm”. This is the most noticeable thing.
• The inside contents of these files also get changed. They get encrypted, same way that files get encrypted when you password-protect them. The decryption key is only known to Qlkm’s developers.
• Backups are deleted, antivirus programs are broken, and some websites are blocked.
• Ransom notes called “_readme.txt” are scattered in your folders, asking you to contact the developers of Qlkm and pay them money.

Not to mention the harm done by spyware and adware viruses.

The ransom note shared by Qlkm ransomware promises that you can return your files if you pay hundreds of dollars. This is the goal of the ransomware – to extort the victims.

How to restore your files

The main goal of Qlkm is to break your files with encryption. The only option to reverse the encryption is to get your unique decryption key from the people who are responsible for Qlkm ransomware. This is where the “ransom” part comes in – the developers of this ransomware ask for money in exchange for fixing your files. But not everyone has hundreds of dollars to spare, especially when there’s still a high chance that the criminals will scam you.

There are also scammers online promising to repair your files for a modest fee – only to take your money and ignore you. Be careful and don’t fall for these scammers.

There are a few other options for fixing your files:

• Look into free decryption offered by Emsisoft. There are some very limited circumstances in which decryption may be possible.
• Restore your files from a backup. If you have your files saved on another device besides the computer that got broken into, if you sent them in emails, if you uploaded them online, then you can get those files back by downloading them.
• Use data recovery programs. This could help you restore some of the files that Qlkm encrypted, but likely not all of them.
• Repair the encrypted files, such as images and audio files. This is hard and only possible with big files, usually media files, because those are the files that Qlkm only encrypts partially (it does this to save time).

How to remove Qlkm ransomware

Delete the Qlkm ransomware, as well as the spyware and adware that might have come with it. You can use an antivirus program, like Spyhunter, to do this.

But remember that Qlkm disables some antivirus programs, so you might need to reinstall your security program. And since Qlkm blocks a bunch of cybersecurity websites, so you need to fix that, first. The instructions for fixing your hosts file can be found below.

Besides deleting Qlkm, it’s also important to delete the files that brought malware to your system. This is so that you don’t accidentally download the Qlkm ransomware again and infect your computer again.

If you did find spyware on your device, it might have stolen information that was saved in your browser. It’s very important to protect your personal information:

• Reset the passwords that were saved.
• If your payment information was saved, then keep a close eye on your bank accounts. If any unexpected charges are made, dispute them and ask your bank for advice.

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 Qlkm 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 language api has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Qlkm 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 language api. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Qlkm 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 language api 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 Qlkm 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.