Zlocker virus - How to remove

Earlier this week Zlocker ransomware infection was discovered by cyber security researcher S!Ri. Even though it seems that this infection was developed and distributed by an amateur eager to make some easy money, it can still cause a lot of problems to users all around the world. First of all, it is worth to mention that anyone who happen to have a spare 1900 rubles (around 32 USD at a current exchange rate) and you don’t even have to go to a deep web to do that – it is accessible on a public domain.

Infection was definitely developed by Russian and at the moment it is targeted to Russians, because all texts regarding this ransomware are in Russian. However, that does not mean that it can’t be translated to other languages and targeted to other countries. Besides, you can get infected with this version of Zlocker virus even if you are not from Russia or can’s speak this language.

Getting infected with Zlocker can be really frustrating because you won’t be able to understand what happened and what are requirements. This is where we step in – in this article we will explain to you what is exactly Zlocker virus and how it operates.

Unusual Zlocker ransomware virus

Why we addressed developer of this infection as an amateur? Because a lot of information about him can be easily accessed online and we are sure that it won’t take long to the authorities to track him down. Don’t let that distract you from the fact that the virus is still out and can cause you some serious problems.

It is not known where this virus is coming from, but if your computer gets infected with it, all your personal files will be encrypted and unique extension “╘” will be added to the end of every single one of them. Afterwards you will notice a file called “ВАШИ ФАЙЛЫ ЗАШИФРОВАНЫ.txt” on a desktop. Translated to English it means “Your Files Are Encrypted.txt”. It’s a ransom not that contains information regarding current situation of your files and instructions how to pay the ransom. Original text from the message:

Ваши файлы были зашифрованы. Чтобы расшифровать их, получив ключ дешифровки вы должны оплатить 5000р. на QIWI 79684666319. Иначе ваши файлы будут удалены без возможности восстановления. Оплачивая укажите в комментариях свою почту, на которую будет выслан дешифратор.

English translation of the message:

Your files have been encrypted. To decrypt them, you must pay 5000r. in order to receive decrytpion key that was designed for your unique ID:QIWI 79684666319. Otherwise your files will be deleted without the possibility of recovery. When paying, indicate in comments your mail, to which the decoder will be sent.

Even though 5000 rubles are only around 80 USD, we do not recommend to pay the ransom, neither contact cyber criminal. As this hacker is not really advanced, it might be that the decryption is even impossible and he does not have the technology to do that.

However, you can deal with this problem using other method – restoring your files from a backup. Click on this link and follow all steps. To be able to do this, you have to have a backup copy of your disk that was made before the infection – otherwise this restore process will be not possible.

In addition to that, you have to get rid of malicious files of Zlocker virus. It is very difficult to do it manually, therefore we recommend to get yourself some help from anti-malware software, such as Spyhunter. Scan your system with either one of those programs and it will automatically detect and remove files related to Zlocker virus in minutes.

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

 

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

Step 3. Restore Zlocker 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 Zlocker 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 Zlocker 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