Do you know what VIAGRA Ransomware is?
VIAGRA Ransomware was created by someone vicious and conscienceless. This person – or a group of people – cares only about money, and they do not care about who they hurt in the process. Unfortunately, the victims of these cyber criminals are regular Windows users, and they might find it much harder to protect their systems and, eventually, fight off clandestine attackers. Have you become a victim of these attackers already? If you have, you want to make sure that you delete VIAGRA Ransomware from your operating system as soon as possible. Although that will not restore your files, at least your computer will be free from malware. But what about your personal files? Hopefully, you can restore them for free after you remove the infection, or you can use backups as replacements.
Did you notice a random pop-up with the curse-word “f**k” as the main message? If you noticed it, that might have been the first sign of VIAGRA Ransomware. This pop-up is launched by the infection when the encryption of your files is underway. But how could have this threat slithered in? Maybe you were tricked into opening a corrupted spam email attachment, and maybe the infection was executed by a different malicious threat. Whatever the case might be, if VIAGRA Ransomware slithers in, files are likely to be encrypted. According to our research team, this dangerous infection goes after files in very specific folders: %HOMEDRIVE%\Documents and Settings, %HOMEDRIVE%\Users, and %WINDIR%\System32\xampp. It is also able to encrypt over 200 different types of files, including .DOC, .PDF, .MP3, and .HTML. When these files are encrypted, a new extension is added, but note that removing it is unnecessary.
VIAGRA Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
After encryption, VIAGRA Ransomware creates “[unknown name].BMP” and “README-VIAGRA-[unknown ID].HTML” files. The .BMP file replaces the Desktop wallpaper to inform the victims that files were encrypted and to point to the .HTML file. This file should be dropped in every folder that has encrypted files, and so you cannot miss it. Once you open it, you are introduced to a lengthy message stating that every personal file was encrypted with AES-256 and RSA-4096 keys, that a ransom of 0.4 BTC must be paid to the attackers (1Bqca3tn3Yco6SftgHeyYQUxqb2MPtwFBj is the Bitcoin wallet address), and that a confirmation message must be sent. Would your files be decrypted if you followed all of these demands? That is highly unlikely to be the case. Most likely, you would get nothing, but you would lose it all. Of course, you are most likely to follow these instructions if you are out of options. Maybe you have backups? Although VIAGRA Ransomware deletes shadow volume copies, you might still be able to recover files from external drives or virtual clouds. In fact, it might be possible to decrypt files for free because the RSA private key appears to be stored within malware code, according to our research team.
The truth is that we cannot really predict how VIAGRA Ransomware will work because it was not yet finished at the time of research. Hopefully, it is never finished, and it does not spread across the web. Of course, if it invades the system successfully, do not rush to obey cyber criminals. It is possible that you can recover your files for free. Also, if you have backups, you do not need to worry about any of this anyway. To remove VIAGRA Ransomware from your operating system, you can choose from two main options. One of them is presented via the manual removal guide below. The second one is to install an automated anti-malware tool, which is what we recommend doing because this tool will also be able to protect you, your operating system, and your personal files in the future.
Delete VIAGRA Ransomware
- Right-click the file called README-VIAGRA-[unknown ID].HTML and select Delete (repeat with all copies).
- Simultaneously tap Win+E keys to access Windows Explorer.
- Enter %TEMP% into the field at the top to check for malicious files and the [unknown name].BMP file.
- If you can identify such files, right-click them and select Delete.
- If you cannot find malicious files, check other possible locations, including Desktop and Downloads.
- Simultaneously tap Win+R keys to access Run and then enter regedit into the dialog box.
- In Registry Editor, navigate to HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop.
- Right-click and Delete two values called Wallpaper and WallpaperStyle.
- Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System.
- Right-click and Delete two values called legalnoticecaption and legalnoticetext.
- Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.
- Right-click and Delete a value called RegisteredOwner.
- Close all windows and then immediately Empty Recycle Bin.
- Install and run a legitimate malware scanner. If it detects leftovers, erase them ASAP.
In non-techie terms:
At the time of research, VIAGRA Ransomware was an incomplete infection, but it certainly has the potential to start invading vulnerable Windows operating systems. Once in, the threat can encrypt files, delete shadow volume copies to destroy internal backups, and create ransom messages to convince the victim to pay money for the decryption services. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the attackers would restore the corrupted files, and we certainly do not know what could happen if the victims contacted them. In the worst case scenario, they could use this connection to drop more infections. Hopefully, files can be decrypted for free or be replaced with backups. Before that, it is important to remove VIAGRA Ransomware. Eliminating this threat manually is not easy, and the system’s security is not restored during the process. Due to this, we advise employing anti-malware software. It will automatically delete all threats and secure the system to prevent new infections from slithering in.