Virus-encoder - How to remove

Virus-encoder is yet another ransomware infection that might attack your computer and cause a severe damage. If you are reading this article, most probably your computer is already infected and you need a quick fix for that.

As you might already noticed, Virus-encoder locks your personal files and asks you to pay the ransom in order to get them back. So you have two things to do – remove the virus itself and then retrieve your encrypted files.

First of all, try to eliminate Virus-encoder from your computer. It can be done either manually or automatically, so it’s up to you which removal method to choose. However, it’s much easier and faster to do it automatically, so eventually we recommend to select this removal method. Simply download reliable anti-malware application, such as Spyhunter or Malwarebytes, install it on your computer and then run a full scan of all files stored on your hard drive. One of these apps should detect and remove Virus-encoder ransomware from your computer just in a few minutes.

If you prefer manual removal – scroll down below this article and take a look at our step-by-step Virus-encoder manual removal guide. We have developed it to assist you through this complicated process of virus removal. Try to complete all steps correctly and you will be able to eliminate Virus-encoder manually by your own.

Now, you have to retrieve your locked personal files. Unfortunately, there are no other way to do it than restoring files from a backup disk copy. The problem is that if you don’t have that copy, you won’t be able to do that. So if you have it, click on this link and read instructions how to perform a system restore: https://www.2-viruses.com/how-to-do-a-system-restore.

If you have some questions regarding this topic, feel free to ask them in the comments section below and we will do our best to answer them all. To learn more about specific features of Virus-encoder please continue reading this article.

About Virus-encoder ransomware

When Virus-encoder enter computer first thing it is going to is scan a hard drive for potential files that could be locked. This ransomware targets most common file types, such as .mp3, .doc, .txt, ect. Once the scan is finished, it will encrypt those files, so you won’t be able to open or use it in any other way.

When your files are locked, you will notice a message on your desktop that says:

Attenetion! Your computer was attacked by virus-encoder. All your files are encrypted cryptographically strong, without the original key recovery is impossible!
To get the decoder and the original key, you need to write to us at the e-mail [email protected] with the subject “encryption” starting your id. Write on the case, do not waste your and our time on empty threats. Responses to letters only appropriate people are not adequate ignore.
[email protected]

As you can see, Virus-encoder is asking to contact them via email so you will get instructions how to pay the ransom and retrieve your files. However, we do not recommend to do that because there are no guarantees that your files will be decrypted even if you pay the ransom.

How to recover Virus-encoder 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 Virus-encoder has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Virus-encoder

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 Virus-encoder. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Virus-encoder 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 Virus-encoder 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 Virus-encoder 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