Vari File Locker Virus - How to remove

Vari is a dangerous program. It locks files, making them unusable and unopenable, and then asks for money (from $490 to $980) to be paid so that the files can be fixed. Vari may also steal some data, such as passwords. It can be deleted, however, fixing your files is another matter that is a lot more complicated.

While you’re figuring out how to recover from Vari’s attack, it might be best to keep the infected computer shut down. This way, malware can’t do any harm for the time being.

About Vari in short:

Classification	Ransomware.
How Vari works	It spreads in free download and pirating sites, it steals data, it locks files by encrypting them.
Can you restore your files	Restore files from backups, try the free decryptor, use data recovery tools, repair broken files manually.
How to remove Vari	Unblock Task Manager, the sites that Vari blocked, update your antivirus program, scan your computer with antivirus programs (like Spyhunter, other programs that you trust) to remove Vari and the spyware that came with it.

What is the Vari file virus

The Vari file-locking virus is a very malicious program. Like Oonn, it’s part of the Djvu family of viruses. This type of virus spreads on pirating sites, infecting the files that you can download for free. It gets detected by antivirus programs as a Trojan, Spyware, Malware, Ransom, and Suspicious (Virustotal.com).

Once you download and install the infected file, Vari gets downloaded alongside a spyware component. The spyware steals your passwords and other data saved by your browsers while Vari goes through the file son your computer and encrypts them, running their contents through a metaphorical blender. Then it marks those files with a file extension, “.vari”.

Vari leaves a ransom note asking for up to $980 to be paid to its creators. Each of Vari’s victims is affected slightly differently – their files require a unique decryption key to be fixed. There’s no way to get around this.

Vari makes some other changes to the infected computer, too. It disables Task Manager, it might change your background picture, and it blocks some websites from loading.

How to get your files back

There are some possibilities to look at when considering how to get your files back:

• Pay the ransom (not advised).
• Use the free decryptor (very small chance of working).
• Restore data from a backup (if you have a backup from before the Vari attack).
• Repair files manually (only applies to some file types, is complicated and time-consuming, you still lose some data).
• Restore data from your drives (very limited circumstances).

Vari is a file-locking program. It uses a mathematical algorithm to scramble the data in your files. In theory, it’s possible to reverse this process if you have the right algorithm and the correct decryption key. In reality, there’s no way to get your key without contacting the criminals and paying the ransom money. Obviously, this is not advised because there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually receive the correct decryption key. Besides, it’s very expensive for the victim.

Ideally, you should have had a backup of your files saved somewhere away from your computer in case of a ransomware attack (or a drive failure). If you did, you can just recover your files from there.

You can try this free decryptor. If, by chance, Vari happened to use on your files the same encryption key as it did on someone else’s, and if that someone else already paid for their decryption key, maybe you can decrypt your files with their decryption key, too.

Manual repair is possible on big .vari files. Put the Vari files somewhere safe and then later, when you’ve removed all malware, look for guides to repair corrupted files, like this one for Zip archives and this for JPEGs. You can also hire a professional to do this for you. And always keep backups of the .vari files in case something goes wrong and you need to start over.

Most importantly, don’t trust anyone who promises to fix all of your files completely, especially if they ask for money upfront. They’re scammers preying on desperate victims, nothing more.

How to remove Vari

Vari made some changes to your computer’s settings, such as to the hosts file. Below are instructions for how to unblock sites.

Then, use an antivirus program, such as Spyhunter or another tool that you trust, to scan your computer and remove all malware. Vari likely deleted some data of your antivirus program, so you’ll need to update or reinstall it.

Make sure to delete the file that infected your computer originally. Don’t redownload it and be careful about where you downloaded it. Are the other files on that site infected, too?

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 Vari File Locker 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 Vari File has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Vari File Locker 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 Vari File . You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Vari File Locker 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 Vari File 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 Vari File Locker 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.