Remove VenusLocker ransomware (.Venusf Files Encrypted Malware)

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Written by: Stelian Pilici

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VenusLocker is a file-encrypting ransomware, which will encrypt the personal documents found on victim’s computer using RSA-2048 key (AES CBC 256-bit encryption algorithm), appending the .Venusf extension to encrypted files. The VenusLocker ransomware then displays a message which offers to decrypt the data if a payment of about 0.15 BTC, or approximately $100 is made.
VenusLocker malware

VenusLocker malware

We cannot help your recover your files, and we recommend that you use ShadowExplorer or (free) file recovery software to restore your documents. This guide was written to help you remove the infection itself, and if a 100% proven method to recover the encrypted files is found, we will update this guide.

At this moment, there is no decryption tool available for the VenusLocker ransomware. However, you can try to search these webpages for updates: https://decrypter.emsisoft.com/ or https://id-ransomware.malwarehunterteam.com/

1. How did the VenusLocker ransomware get on my computer?
2. What is VenusLocker Ransomware?
3. Is my computer infected with VenusLocker ransomware?
4. Is it possible to decrypt files encrypted by VenusLocker ransomware?
5. How to remove the VenusLocker ransomware (Virus Removal Guide)
6. How to prevent your computer from becoming infected by VenusLocker ransomware

1. How did the VenusLocker ransomware get on my computer?

The VenusLocker ransomware is distributed via spam email containing infected attachments or links to malicious websites. Cyber-criminals spam out an email, with forged header information, tricking you into believing that it is from a shipping company like DHL or FedEx. The email tells you that they tried to deliver a package to you, but failed for some reason. Sometimes the emails claim to be notifications of a shipment you have made. Either way, you can’t resist being curious as to what the email is referring to – and open the attached file (or click on a link embedded inside the email). And with that, your computer is infected with the VenusLocker ransomware.

VenusLocker email ransomware

2. What is VenusLocker ransomware?

The VenusLocker ransomware targets all versions of Windows including Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. This infection is notable due to how it encrypts the user’s files – namely, it uses AES-265 and RSA encryption method – in order to ensure that the affected user has no choice but to purchase the private key.

When the VenusLocker ransomware is first installed on your computer it will create a random named executable in the %AppData% or %LocalAppData% folder. This executable will be launched and begin to scan all the drive letters on your computer for data files to encrypt.
VenusLocker ransomware searches for files with certain file extensions to encrypt. The files it encrypts include important productivity documents and files such as .doc, .docx, .xls, .pdf, among others. When these files are detected, this infection will change the extension to .Venusf, so they are no longer able to be opened.
VenusLocker changes the name of each encrypted file to the following format: Filename .Venusf.

Files targeted are those commonly found on most PCs today; a list of file extensions for targeted files include:

.sql, .mp4, .7z, .rar, .m4a, .wma, .avi, .wmv, .csv, .d3dbsp, .zip, .sie, .sum, .ibank, .t13, .t12, .qdf, .gdb, .tax, .pkpass, .bc6, .bc7, .bkp, .qic, .bkf, .sidn, .sidd, .mddata, .itl, .itdb, .icxs, .hvpl, .hplg, .hkdb, .mdbackup, .syncdb, .gho, .cas, .svg, .map, .wmo, .itm, .sb, .fos, .mov, .vdf, .ztmp, .sis, .sid, .ncf, .menu, .layout, .dmp, .blob, .esm, .vcf, .vtf, .dazip, .fpk, .mlx, .kf, .iwd, .vpk, .tor, .psk, .rim, .w3x, .fsh, .ntl, .arch00, .lvl, .snx, .cfr, .ff, .vpp_pc, .lrf, .m2, .mcmeta, .vfs0, .mpqge, .kdb, .db0, .dba, .rofl, .hkx, .bar, .upk, .das, .iwi, .litemod, .asset, .forge, .ltx, .bsa, .apk, .re4, .sav, .lbf, .slm, .bik, .epk, .rgss3a, .pak, .big, wallet, .wotreplay, .xxx, .desc, .py, .m3u, .flv, .js, .css, .rb, .png, .jpeg, .txt, .p7c, .p7b, .p12, .pfx, .pem, .crt, .cer, .der, .x3f, .srw, .pef, .ptx, .r3d, .rw2, .rwl, .raw, .raf, .orf, .nrw, .mrwref, .mef, .erf, .kdc, .dcr, .cr2, .crw, .bay, .sr2, .srf, .arw, .3fr, .dng, .jpe, .jpg, .cdr, .indd, .ai, .eps, .pdf, .pdd, .psd, .dbf, .mdf, .wb2, .rtf, .wpd, .dxg, .xf, .dwg, .pst, .accdb, .mdb, .pptm, .pptx, .ppt, .xlk, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xls, .wps, .docm, .docx, .doc, .odb, .odc, .odm, .odp, .ods, .odt

Once your files are encrypted with the .Venusf extension, the VenusLocker ransomware will create the ReadMe.TXT files ransom note in each folder that a file has been encrypted and on the Windows desktop.
These files are located in every folder that a file was encrypted as well as in the user’s Startup folder so that they are automatically displayed when a user logs in. These files will contain the information on how to access the payment site and get your files back.

When the infection has finished scanning your computer it will also delete all of the Shadow Volume Copies that are on the affected computer. It does this so that you cannot use the shadow volume copies to restore your encrypted files.

3. Is my computer infected with VenusLocker Ransomware?

When VenusLocker ransowmare infects your computer it will scan all the drive letters for targeted file types, encrypt them, and then append the .Venusf extension to them. Once these files are encrypted, they will no longer able to be opened by your normal programs. When VenusLocker ransowmare has finished encrypting the victim’s files, it will change the desktop wallpaper to an image that acts like a ransom note. It will also display a HTML ransom note in your default browser. These ransom notes include instructions on how to connect to the Decrypt Service where you can learn more about what happened to your files and how you can make a payment.

The messages displayed by this ransomware infection can be localized depending on the user’s location, with text written in the appropriate language.
This the message that the VenusLocker ransomware may display:

—————————————- Venus Locker ————————————

Unfortunately, you are hacked.

1. What happened to my files?

Your personal files, including your photos, documents, videos and other important files on this computer, have been encrypted
with RSA-4096, a strong encryption algorithm. RSA algorithm generates a public key and a private key for your computer. The
public key was used to encrypt your files a moment ago. The private key is necessary for you to decrypt and recover your files.
Now, your private key is stored on our secret Internet server. And there is no doubt that no one can recover your files without
your private key.

For further information about RSA algorithm, please refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(cryptosystem)

2. How to decrypt my files?

To decrypt and recover your files, you have to pay 100 US Dollars for the private key and decryption service. Please note that
you have ONLY 72 HOURS to complete your payment. If your peyment do not be completed within time limit, your private key will be
deleted automatically by our server. All your files will be permanently encrypted and nobody can recover them. Therefore, it is
advised that you’d better not waste your time, because there is no other way to recover your files except making a payment.

3. How to pay for my private key?

There are three steps to make a payment and recover your files:

1). For the security of transactions, all the payments must be completed via Bitcoin network. Thus, you need to exchange 100 US dollars
(or equivalent local currencies) to Bitcoins, and then send these Bitcoins (about 0.15 BTC) to the following address.

[edited]

2). Send your personal ID to our official email: VenusLocker@mail2tor.com

Your personal ID is [edited]

3). You will receive a decryptor and your private key to recover all your files within one working day.

4. What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money. It is based on an open-source cryptographic protocol that is
independent of any central authority. Bitcoins can be transferred through a computer or a smartphone withour an intermediate
financial institution.

5. How to make a payment with Bitcoin?

You can make a payment with Bitcoin based on Bitcoin Wallet or Based on Perfect Money. You can choose the way that is more convenient for you.

About Based on Bitcoin Wallet

1) Create a Bitcoin Wallet. We recommend Blockchain.info (https://blockchain.info/)

2) Buy necessary amount of Bitcoins. Our recommendations are as follows.
LocalBitcoins.com — the fastest and easiest way to buy and sell Bitcoins.
CoinCafe.com — the simplest and fastest way to buy, sell and use Bitcoins.
BTCDirect.eu — the best for Europe.
CEX.IO — Visa / MasterCard
CoinMama.com — Visa / MasterCard
HowToBuyBitcoins.info — discover quickly how to buy and sell Bitcoins in your local currency.

3) As mentioned above, send about 0.15 BTC (equivalent to 100 USD) to our Bitcoin receiving address.

4) As mentioned above, and then, send us your personal ID via email, you will receive your private key soon.

About Based on Perfect Money

1) Create a Perfect Money account. (https://perfectmoney.is)

2) Visit to PMBitcoin.com. (https://pmbitcoin.com/btc)
input our Bitcoin receiving address in the “Bitcoin Wallet” textbox.
input 100 in the “Amount” textbox, the amount of Bitcoin will be calculated automatically.
click “PAY” button, then you can complete you payment with your Perfect Money account and local debit card.

6. If you have any problem, please feel free to contact us via official email.

Best Regards
VenusLocker Team

4. Is it possible to decrypt files encrypted by VenusLocker ransomware?

No, at this time it’s not possible to recover the files encrypted by the VenusLocker ransomware.

VenusLocker ransomware is notable due to how it encrypts the user’s files – namely, it uses AES-265 and RSA encryption method – in order to ensure that the affected user has no choice but to purchase the private key. The RSA public key can only be decrypted with its corresponding private key. Since the AES key is hidden using RSA encryption and the RSA private key is not available, decrypting the files is not feasible as of this writing.

Brute forcing the decryption key is not realistic due to the length of time required to break an AES encryption key. Unfortunately, once the VenusLocker encryption of the data is complete, decryption is not feasible without paying the ransom.
Because the needed private key to unlock the encrypted file is only available through the cyber criminals, victims may be tempted to purchase it and pay the exorbitant fee. However, doing so may encourage these bad guys to continue and even expand their operations. We strongly suggest that you do not send any money to these cyber criminals, and instead address to the law enforcement agency in your country to report this attack.

Restore the files encrypted by VenusLocker ransomware with recovery software

In some cases, it may be possible to recover previous versions of the encrypted files using System Restore or other recovery software used to obtain “shadow copies” of files.

Option 1: Restore your files encrypted by VenusLocker ransomware with ShadowExplorer

VenusLocker will attempt to delete all shadow copies when you first start any executable on your computer after becoming infected. Thankfully, the infection is not always able to remove the shadow copies, so you should continue to try restoring your files using this method.

  1. You can download ShadowExplorer from the below link:
    SHADOW EXPLORER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “ShadowExplorer”)
  2. Once you have downloaded and installed ShadowExplorer, you can follow the below video guide on how to restore your files while using this program.

Alternatively, you can use the System Restore to try to recover the encrypted documents.

Option 2: Restore your files encrypted by VenusLocker ransomware with File Recovery Software

When VenusLocker encrypts a file it first makes a copy of it, encrypts the copy, and then deletes the original. Due to this you can use file recovery software such as:

5. How to remove the VenusLocker ransomware (Virus Removal Guide)

It’s important to understand that by starting the removal process you risk losing your files, as we cannot guarantee that you will be able to recover them. Furthermore, your files may be permanently compromised when trying to remove this infection or trying to recover the encrypted documents.

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove the VenusLocker infection from your computer, however we cannot guarantee that your personal files will be recovered. We cannot be held responsible for losing the documents during this removal process.
Malwarebytes and HitmanPro can detect and remove this infection, but these programs cannot recover your encrypted files due to the nature of asymmetric encryption, which requires a private key to decrypt files encrypted with the public key.

STEP 1: Scan your computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to remove VenusLocker Ransomware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerful on-demand scanner which will remove the VenusLocker Ransomware from your machine. It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

  1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
    MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free”)
  2. Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
    Start Malwarebytes Anti-Malware setup
    Picture of User Account Control You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
  3. When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Installer
    To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware final screen
  4. Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scan Now
  5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for malware. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scanning for Malware
  6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Remove Selected” button.
    Remove VenusLocker with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
    Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
  7. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware asking to restart PC
    After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

STEP 2: Double-check for the VenusLocker ransomware with HitmanPro

HitmanPro finds and removes malware, adware, bots, and other threats that even the best antivirus suite can oftentimes miss. It’s designed to run alongside your antivirus suite, firewall, and other security tools.

  1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
    HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
  2. Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
    HitmanPro Installer
    Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
    itmanPro while installing on PC
  3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for VenusLocker malicious files.
    HitmanPro scanning
  4. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove VenusLocker virus.
    HitmanPro detected malware
  5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    Remove malware with HitmanPro

In some cases you may need to change your wallpaper, and delete the harmless ReadMe.TXT and ReadMe.HTML files.

How to prevent your computer from becoming infected by VenusLocker ransomware

To protect your computer from the VenusLocker ransomware, you should always have an antivirus installed on your computer and always have a backup for your personal documents. As an extra protection method, you can use programs called HitmanPro.Alert or CryptoPrevent, which will prevent any file encrypting malware from running.

Your computer should now be free of the VenusLocker ransomware infection.

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove virus from your machine, please do one of the following:

How to Stay Safe Online

Here are 10 basic security tips to help you avoid malware and protect your device:

  1. Use a good antivirus and keep it up-to-date.

    Shield Guide

    It's essential to use a good quality antivirus and keep it up-to-date to stay ahead of the latest cyber threats. We are huge fans of Malwarebytes Premium and use it on all of our devices, including Windows and Mac computers as well as our mobile devices. Malwarebytes sits beside your traditional antivirus, filling in any gaps in its defenses, and providing extra protection against sneakier security threats.

  2. Keep software and operating systems up-to-date.

    updates-guide

    Keep your operating system and apps up to date. Whenever an update is released for your device, download and install it right away. These updates often include security fixes, vulnerability patches, and other necessary maintenance.

  3. Be careful when installing programs and apps.

    install guide

    Pay close attention to installation screens and license agreements when installing software. Custom or advanced installation options will often disclose any third-party software that is also being installed. Take great care in every stage of the process and make sure you know what it is you're agreeing to before you click "Next."

  4. Install an ad blocker.

    Ad Blocker

    Use a browser-based content blocker, like AdGuard. Content blockers help stop malicious ads, Trojans, phishing, and other undesirable content that an antivirus product alone may not stop.

  5. Be careful what you download.

    Trojan Horse

    A top goal of cybercriminals is to trick you into downloading malware—programs or apps that carry malware or try to steal information. This malware can be disguised as an app: anything from a popular game to something that checks traffic or the weather.

  6. Be alert for people trying to trick you.

    warning sign

    Whether it's your email, phone, messenger, or other applications, always be alert and on guard for someone trying to trick you into clicking on links or replying to messages. Remember that it's easy to spoof phone numbers, so a familiar name or number doesn't make messages more trustworthy.

  7. Back up your data.

    backup sign

    Back up your data frequently and check that your backup data can be restored. You can do this manually on an external HDD/USB stick, or automatically using backup software. This is also the best way to counter ransomware. Never connect the backup drive to a computer if you suspect that the computer is infected with malware.

  8. Choose strong passwords.

    lock sign

    Use strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts. Avoid using personal information or easily guessable words in your passwords. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts whenever possible.

  9. Be careful where you click.

    cursor sign

    Be cautious when clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown sources. These could potentially contain malware or phishing scams.

  10. Don't use pirated software.

    Shady Guide

    Avoid using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing programs, keygens, cracks, and other pirated software that can often compromise your data, privacy, or both.

To avoid potential dangers on the internet, it's important to follow these 10 basic safety rules. By doing so, you can protect yourself from many of the unpleasant surprises that can arise when using the web.

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