Remove Ministerio de Seguridad virus (Removal Guide)

The Ministerio de Seguridad lock screen is a computer virus, which will display a bogus notification, that pretends to be from the Policia Federal Argentina and states that your computer has been blocked due to it being involved with the distribution of pornographic material, SPAM and copyrighted content.
The Ministerio de Seguridad virus will lock you out of your computer and applications, so whenever you’ll try to log on into your Windows operating system or Safe Mode with Networking, it will display instead a lock screen asking you to pay a non-existing fine of ARS $200 (Peso) o USD $50 (US Dólar) in the form of a Ukash or Paysafecard code.
Furthermore, to make this alert seem more authentic, this virus also has the ability to access your installed webcam, so that the bogus Ministerio de Seguridad notification shows what is happening in the room.
If your computer is infected with Ministerio de Seguridad virus, then you are seeing the below notification:

Cyber criminals often updated the design of this lock screen, however you should always keep in mind that the Policia Federal Argentina will never lock down your computer or monitor your online activities.
The message displayed by the threat can be localized depending on the user’s location, with text written in the appropriate language:

PFA
Policia Federal Argentina
Ministerio de Seguridad
¡ATENCIÓN! Su OP (ordenador) está bloqueado debido a al menos una de las razones especificadas siguientes.
Usted ha violado derecho de autor y los derechos conexos (vídeo, música, software) y ha utilizado de una manera ilegal con la distribución de contenido los derechos de autor, infringiendo asi el artículo 128 del Criminal Codo de la República de Argentina.
El articulo 128 del Criminal Code prevé una multa 200 a 500 de los salarios mínimos o la privación de la libertad de 208 años.
Usted ha visto o distribuido el contenido prohibido pornográfico (pomo infantil/Zoofilia y etc), violando asi el articulo 202 del Criminal Codo de la República de Argentina. El articulo 202 del Criminal Codo prevé la privación de la libertad de 4 a 12 años.
El acceso ilegal al contenido prohibido se ha iniciado desde su OP (ordenador), o usted habla sido…
El artículo 208 del Criminal Codo prevé una multa hasta ARS 5300,000 (Peso) y/o la privación de la libertad de 4 a 9 años.
El acceso ilegal se ha iniciado desde su OP (ordenador) sin su conocimiento o consentimiento, su OP puede ser infectado por malware, por eso usted está violando la ley sobre el «Uso negligente de un OP (ordenador) personal>. El artículo 210 del Criminal Codo prevé una multa de ARS 56,000 (Peso) a ARS 524,000 (Peso).
La distribución de spam o una otra publicidad ilicita se ha efectuado desde su OP (ordenador) como una actividad con fines de lucro o sin su conocimiento, su OP (ordenador) puede ser infectado por malware.
El articulo 212 del Criminal Code prevé una multa hasta ARS 5750,000 (Peso) y una privación de la libertad hasta 6 años. En caso de que esta actividad se ha realizado sin su conocimiento, usted se cae en el mencionado artículo 210 del Criminal Codo de la República de Argentina.
Su personalidad y la dirección están siendo identificadas, un caso criminal va a ser lanzado en su contra en conformidad con uno o varios artículos mencionados dentro de las próximas 72 horas.
En conformidad con la enmienda al Criminal Code de la República de Argentina del 04 de Febrero 2013, esta infracción de la ley (si no se repite – la primera vez) puede ser considerada como condicional en caso de que usted paga la multa al Estado.
Las multas deben solamente ser pagadas durante 72 horas después de la infracción. Tan pronto como 72 horas transcurren, su posibilidad de pagar la multa será expirada, asi, un proceso penal será automáticamente iniciado en su contra durante las próximas 72 horas!
El importe de ta multa es de ARS $200 (Peso) o USD $50 (US Dólar). Usted puede pagar- esta multa por PaySafeCard o Ukash.
Cuando usted paga la multa, su OP (ordenador) será debloqueado durante de 1 a 72 horas después de que el dinero arriba en la cuenta del Estado.

Under no circumstance should you send any money via Ukash to these cyber criminals, as this could lead to identity theft, and if you have, you can  should request a refund, stating that you are the victim of a computer virus and scam.

Ministerio de Seguridad (PFA) Ukash notification – Virus Removal Guide

STEP 1: Remove Ministerio de Seguridad lock screen from your computer

Ministerio de Seguridad Ukash Ransom has modified your Windows registry and added its malicious files to run at start-up, so whenever you’re trying to boot your computer it will launch instead its bogus notification.To remove these malicious changes, we can use any of the below methods :

Method 1: Start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking and scan for malware

Some variants of Ministerio de Seguridad virus will allow the users to start the infected computer in Safe Mode with Networking without displaying the bogus lock screen. In this first method, we will try to start the computer in Safe Mode with Networking and then scan for malware to remove the malicious files.

1. Remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your computer.
2. Press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts.Please keep in mind that you need to press the F8 key before the Windows start-up logo appears.
   Note: With some computers, if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the “F8 key”, tap the “F8 key” continuously until you get the Advanced Boot Options screen.
3. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode with Networking , and then press ENTER.
   
4. If your computer has started in Safe Mode with Networking, you’ll need to perform a system scan (as seen on STEP 2) with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro to remove the malicious files from your machine.

IF the Ministerio de Seguridad virus didn’t allow you to start the computer in Safe Mode with Networking,you’ll need to follow Method 2 to get rid of its lock screen.

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Method 2: Restore Windows to a previous state using System Restore

System Restore can return your computer system files and programs to a time when everything was working fine, so we will try to use this Windows feature to get rid of Ministerio de Seguridad lock screen.

1. Restart your computer, and then press and hold F8 during the initial startup to start your computer in safe mode with a Command prompt.
   Note: With some computers, if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the “F8 key”, tap the “F8 key” continuously until you get the Advanced Boot Options screen.
2. Use the arrow keys to select the Safe mode with a Command prompt option.
   
3. At the command prompt, if you are using Windows Vista, 7 or 8 type C:\windows\system32\rstrui.exe , and then press ENTER.
   If you are using Windows XP, you will need to type C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, and then press ENTER.
   
4. The System Restore utility will start, and you’ll need to select a restore point previous to this infection.
   
5. After System Restore has completed its task, you should be able to boot in Windows normal mode, and perform a system scan (as seen on STEP 2) with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro to remove the malicious files from your machine.

IF the Ministerio de Seguridad virus didn’t allow you to restore your computer to a previous point, you’ll need to follow Method 3 to get rid of its screen lock.

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Method 3: Remove Ministerio de Seguridad lock screen with msconfig utility

When your computer was infected with the Ministerio de Seguridad virus, this trojan has set a its malicious files to start whenever your computer is booting. IF you didn’t have a restore point, we can use msconfig to remove it’s malicious start-up entry.

1. While your computer is in Safe Mode with Command Prompt, type msconfig to start the Windows System Configuration utility.
   
2. Click on the Startup tab, then search for any suspicious or unknonw entries (random numbers or letters, ctfmon.exe, and other suspicious or unknown entries), and unckech them from startup, then click on OK.
   This will stop the Ministerio de Seguridad virus from starting with Windows, however it won’t remove the malicious files from your computer.
   
3. Type shutdown /r in the command prompt to restart your computer, then  perform a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro as seen on STEP 2.

IF the Ministerio de Seguridad virus didn’t allow you to start the computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt you’ll need to follow Method 4 to get rid of its screen lock.

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Method 4: Remove Ministerio de Seguridad virus with HitmanPro Kickstart

IF you couldn’t boot into Safe Mode with Command Prompt or didn’t have a System Restore point on your machine, we can use HitmanPro Kickstart to bypass this infection, and access your computer to scan it for malware.

1. We will need to create a HitmanPro Kickstart USB flash drive,so while you are using a “clean” (non-infected) computer, download HitmanPro from the below link.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. Insert your USB flash drive into your computer and follow the instructions from the below video:
   
3. After you have create the HitmanPro Kickstart USB flash drive, you can insert this USB drive into the infected machine and start your computer.
4. Once the computer starts, repeatedly tap the F11 key (on some machines its F10 or F2),which should bring up the Boot Menu, from there you can select to boot from your USB.
   Next,you’ll need to perform a system scan with HitmanPro as see in the below video:
   
5. After HitmanPro Kickstart has completed its task,you should be able to boot in Windows normal mode,from there you’ll need to perform a system scan (as seen on STEP 2) with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro to remove the malicious files from your machine.

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STEP 2: Remove Ministerio de Seguridad malicious files from your computer

Run a computer scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link,then double click on it to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process.
   DO NOT make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked,then click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab,select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for Ministerio de Seguridad virus as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
   
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
   
7. After your computer will restart in Normal mode, open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a Full System scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

Run a computer scan with HitmanPro

1. Download HitmanPro from the below link,then double click on it to start this program.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
   IF you are experiencing problems while trying to start HitmanPro, you can use the Force Breach mode.To start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode, hold down the left CTRL-key when you start HitmanPro and all non-essential processes are terminated, including the malware process. (How to start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode – Video)
2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
   
   
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for Ministerio de Seguridad malicious files as seen in the image below.
   
4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove these malicious files.
   
5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Ministerio de Seguridad virus from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.