Removal guide Ransomware

Remove Australian Federal Police virus (Removal Guide)

By Stelian9 min read

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Ukash Ransom is a computer virus, which will display a bogus notification, that pretends to be from the Australian police and states that your computer has been blocked due to it being involved with the distribution of pornographic material, SPAM and copyrighted content.

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The Australian Federal Police 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 100 $ 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 Australian Federal Police notification shows what is happening in the room.

If your computer is infected with Australian Federal Police virus, then you are seeing any of the below notifications:


The bogus alert from the Australian Federal Police Ransom will display the following message:

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AFP Australian Federal Police
Attention!
Your PC is blocked due to at least one of the reasons specified below. You have been violating “Copyright and Related Rights Law” (Video, Music, Software) and illegally using or distributing copyrighted content, thus infringing Article 128 of the Criminal Code of Australia. Article 128 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine of 2 to 5 hundred minimal wages or a deprivation of liberty for 2 to 8 years.
You have been viewing or distributing prohibited Pornographic content (Child Porn/Zoophillia anr etc.) Thus violating article 202 of the Criminal Code of Australia.
Article 202 of the Criminal Code provides for a deprivation of liberty for 4 to 12 years. Illegal access to computer has been initiated from your PC, or you have been… Article 208 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine of up to AUD $100,000 and/or a deprivation of liberty for 4 to 9 years.
Illegal access has been initiated from your PC without your knowledge or consent, your PC may be infected by malware, thus you are violating the law On Neglectful Use of Personal Computer. Article 210 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine of AUD $2,000 to AUD $8,00.

The Australian Federal Police Ransom is a scam, and you should ignore any alert that this malicious software might generate and remove this trojan ransomware from your computer.
Under no circumstance should you send any money to these cyber criminals, as this could lead to identity theft,and if you have, you should request a refund stating that the program is a scam and a computer virus.

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Australian Federal Police (AFP) – Virus Removal Guide

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove the Australian Federal Police infection from your your computer. Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point STOP and ask for our assistance.
The Australian Federal Police will start automatically when you login to your computer and display its screenlocker so that you are unable to access your computer, therefore we will need to remove this infection by using any of the below methods:
OPTION 1: Remove Australian Federal Police lock screen virus with System Restore
OPTION 2: Remove Australian Federal Police virus with with HitmanPro Kickstart
OPTION 3: Remove Australian Federal Police virus with Kaspersky Rescue Disk

OPTION 1: Remove Australian Federal Police lock screen virus with System Restore

System Restore helps you restore your computer’s system files to an earlier point in time. It’s a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e‑mail, documents, or photos.
Because the Australian Federal Police virus will not allow you to start the computer in Windows regular mode, we will need to start System Restore from the Safe Mode with Command Prompt mode.

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STEP 1: Restore Windows to a previous state using System Restore

  1. Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Command Prompt. To do this, turn your computer off and then back on and immediately when you see anything on the screen, start tapping the F8 key on your keyboard.
    [Image: F8 key]
    If you are using Windows 8, the trick is to hold the Shift button and gently tap the F8 key repeatedly, this will sometimes boot you into the new advanced “recovery mode”, where you can choose to see advanced repair options. On the next screen, you will need to click on the Troubleshoot option, then select Advanced Options and select Windows Startup Settings. Click on the Restart button, and you should now be able to see the Advanced Boot Options screen.
  2. Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select Safe Mode with Command Prompt and press Enter on your keyboard.
    [Image: Starting computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt]
  3. At the command prompt, type rstrui.exe, and then press ENTER.
    [Image: Start System Restore to remove lock screen virus]
    Alternatively, if you are using Windows Vista, 7 and 8, you can type: C:\windows\system32\rstrui.exe , and press Enter. And if you are a Windows XP user, type C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, then press Enter.
  4. System Restore should start, and you will display also a list of restore points. Try using a restore point created just before the date and time the Australian Federal Police lock screen virus has infected your computer.
    [Image: Restore settings to remove ransomware]
  5. When System Restore has completed its task, start your computer in Windows regular mode, and perform a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro, as seen in the next step.

STEP 2: Remove Australian Federal Police malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

Even after using System Restore,

  1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double-click on the icon named mbam-setup.exe to install this program.
    Download MalwarebytesFree official installer. Your download starts right away.
  2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process, then at the last screen click on the Finish button.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware final installation screen]
  3. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan, and then click on the Scan button to start searching for the Australian Federal Police malicious files.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Quick Scan]
  4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for Australian Federal Police virus as shown below.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scanning for Australian Federal Police
  5. When the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan has finished, click on the Show Results button.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan results]
  6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the computer infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked), then click on the Remove Selected button.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malwar removing Australian Federal Police virus]

STEP 3: Double-check for the Australian Federal Police virus with HitmanPro

  1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
    Download HitmanProOfficial Sophos download. Free scan, free 30-day trial to remove threats.
  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 scanner
    Click on the Next button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
    HitmanPro installation
  3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for Australian Federal Police malicious files.
    HitmanPro detecting for Australian Federal Police virus
  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 Australian Federal Police virus.
    HitmanPro scan results
  5. Click on the Activate free license button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    [Image: HitmanPro 30 days activation button]

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OPTION 2: Remove Australian Federal Police virus with with HitmanPro Kickstart

If you cannot start your computer into Safe Mode with Command Prompt mode, we can use the HitmanPro Kickstart program to bypass Australian Federal Police lock screen.
As the Australian Federal Police ransomware infection locks you out of your computer, you will need to create a bootable USB drive that contains the HitmanPro Kickstart program.
We will then boot your computer using this bootable USB drive and use it to clean the infection so that you are able to access Windows normally again.
You will also need a USB drive, which will have all of its data erased and will then be formatted. Therefore, only use a USB drive that does not contain any important data.

  1. Using a “clean” (non-infected) computer, please download HitmanPro Kickstart from the below link.
    Download HitmanProOfficial Sophos download. Free scan, free 30-day trial to remove threats.
  2. Once HitmanPro has been downloaded, please insert the USB flash drive that you would like to erase and use for the installation of HitmanPro Kickstart. Then double-click on the file named HitmanPro.exe (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or HitmanPro_x64.exe (for 64-bit versions of Windows).
    To create a bootable HitmanPro USB drive, please follow the instructions from this video:
  3. Now, remove the HitmanPro Kickstart USB drive and insert it into the Australian Federal Police infected computer.
  4. Once you have inserted the HitmanPro Kickstart USB drive, turn off the infected computer and then turn it on. As soon as you power it on, look for text on the screen that tells you how to access the boot menu.
    [Image: Windows Boot Menu screens]
    The keys that are commonly associated with enabling the boot menu are F10, F11 or F12.
  5. Once you determine the proper key (usually the F11 key) that you need to press to access the Boot Menu, restart your computer again and start immediately tapping that key. Next, please perform a scan with HitmanPro Kickstart as shown in the video below.
  6. HitmanPro will now reboot your computer and Windows should start normally. Then please Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro, and scan your computer for any left over infections.

OPTION 3: Remove Australian Federal Police virus with Kaspersky Rescue Disk

If any of the above methods did not clean your infected computer, we can use a Kaspersky Rescue Disk Bootable to clean the Windows registry and to perform a system scan to remove the Australian Federal Police virus.
To create a bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk, we will need the following items:

  • A clean (non-infected) computer with Internet access
  • A blank DVD or CD
  • A computer with a DVD or CD burner

STEP 1: Download and create a bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk CD

  1. You can download Kaspersky Rescue Disk utility from link below:
    Download Kaspersky Rescue DiskOpens the download page in a new tab.
  2. To create the bootable rescue disk, we will need to use the ImgBurn program. You can download ImgBurn from the below link, then install this program.
    Download ImgBurnOpens the download page in a new tab.
  3. Insert your blank DVD or CD in your burner, then start ImgBurn and click on the Write image file to disc button.
  4. Under Source click on the Browse for file button, then navigate to the location where you previously saved the Kaspersky Rescue Disk utility (kav_rescue_10.iso), then click on the Write button.
    [Image: Bootable Kaspersky Rescue CD]
    That’s it, ImgBurn will now begin writing your bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk.

STEP 2: Start your computer using the Kaspersky Rescue Disk

  1. Once you’ve got the Kasperky Rescue Disk in hand, insert it into the infected computer, and turn off and then turn it on again.
  2. As soon as you power it on, you will see a screen that tells you to press any key to enter the menu, so please tap any key to boot your machine from the Kaspersky Rescue Disk.
    [Image: Starting infected computer from Kaspersky Rescue Disk]
  3. In the next screen, you will need to chose a language, then you click on Kaspersky Rescue Disk. Graphic Mode and press ENTER, to start the Kaspersky Rescue Disk.[Image: Kaspersky Rescue Disk Graphic Mode screen]
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STEP 3: Scan your system with Kaspersky Rescue Disk

  1. Within a few short seconds you should see the full working environment, with the Kaspersky Rescue Disk screen front and center as shown below.
    [Image: Kaspersky Rescue Disk scanner]
  2. Switch tabs over to the My Update Center, and then click the Start update button to load the latest anti-virus definitions. Please be patience while this process its completed.
    [Image: Updating Kaspersky Rescue Disk antivirus definitions]
  3. Switch back over to the Objects Scan tab, select the drives you want to scan, and then click the Start Objects Scan button.
    [Image: Kaspersky Rescue Disk scan]
  4. When Kaspersky Antivirus will detect the Australian Federal Police virus, you’ll be prompted to select an action. When this happens, please select Quarantine or Delete to remove this infection from your computer.
    [Image: Kaspersky Rescue Disk prompt]
  5. When the antivirus scan has completed, you can restart back into Windows regular mode, by clicking on the Kaspersky Start button [Image: Kaspersky Rescue Disk Restart button] (lower left corner), and selecting Restart.
    Once your computer will start in Windows regular more, download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro, and scan your computer for any left over infections.

Your computer should now be free of the Australian Federal Police infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future, and perform regular computer scans with HitmanPro.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Australian Federal Police Ukash virus from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.

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Join the discussion

152 comments

Share your experience or ask a question about this article.

Discussion

  1. Vanessa

    Hi, just wanted to say thank you for helping me out. Thank you! God bless!

    ReplyReport
  2. leka

    Saying thank you would be a Huuuuuuge UNDERSTATEMENT for ALL your great help to myself and hundreds of others, so all I can say is that you should be absolutely proud of yourself for helping me and hundreds, maybe even thousands of people globally. The Ukash scam led me to panic, but you helped me when I needed it. So I thank you Stelian! and God Bless You Brother

    ReplyReport
  3. stephen

    Thanks Stelian…I thought my hard drive had died but we are back up and running. Method 2 worked a treat although Hitman Pro didn’t find any AFP malicious files. Is this a problem?

    ReplyReport
    1. Stelian PiliciTeam

      In reply to stephen

      Hello Stephen,
      No it’s not an problem, if you have performed a scam with Malwarebytes and HitmanPro, and the scan results were 0 threas, you’re computer is clean!
      Stay safe!

      ReplyReport
  4. RK

    I am not sure if you are ever going to read this Stelian but thank you very very much! Method 1 worked a charm (please ignore my previous comment, not sure what I was doing wrong). You are a genius, being an IT pro myself, I couldn’t get rid of this malware on my friends laptop. Let me know if I could be of any use to you! If you ever decide to travel to Brisbane, Australia someday, I would love to show u around :-)

    ReplyReport
  5. hakan

    thank you alot!! worked straight away took me about 20 minutes but worked perfectly fine and good luck to anyone who gets this virus or trojan thingy gave me a heart attack !!!!

    ReplyReport
  6. Ramesh

    Method 2 worked for me. I followed the steps diligently and my laptop appears fixed. Thank you for sharing your expertise and knowledge. It is appreciated.

    ReplyReport
  7. Evan

    Hey Man,
    Thanks Heaps, Method 1, worked a treat
    Can’t believe the AFP know about this and it’s been going on for more than 6 months……….

    ReplyReport
  8. simon

    I have used method 2 and it worked perfectly. I was going crazy until I found your website on my spare laptop. Thank you so much.

    ReplyReport
  9. Johnno

    Thanks very much for your help the steps were so easy to follow people like you are what make the world a better place

    ReplyReport
  10. j davies

    Since it appears that ukash is ac tively processing payments for the scammers can’t they be prosecuted. They bear a lot of responsibility for facilitating this scam. Victims should organize and sue!

    ReplyReport
  11. Rita

    Hi Again, Thank God I was able to fix it. Thanks HEAPS for the instructions. I was in panic mode.

    ReplyReport
  12. Rita

    Hi, I have the same Ukash virus. I have been able to open up in safe mode, however, my icons are now gone so I can’t open internet to download step 2. Sorry I am not so computer savy.
    Thanks

    ReplyReport
    1. Stelian PiliciTeam

      In reply to Rita

      Hello Rita,
      Press the Windows button+ R key to bring up the Run box, then please type iexplore to start your web browser.Then download the tools from this guide, and run a scan with them.
      Alternatively, you can boot your computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and type msconfig in the Command prompt OR if you are using Safe Mode with Networking, in the text box or Run box (windows key+R key), type msconfig.
      This should start the Windows System Configuration tool. Go to the Start-up tab, and search for any suspicious or unknown entries (random numbers or letter, ctfmon.exe and other suspicious entries) and uncheck them from start-up.

      ReplyReport
  13. Levi

    Guys thanks for the tips. Quite helpful. I was able to get rid of this malicious “Australian police”scam.

    ReplyReport
  14. S&D

    Blessings and thanks so much for your generous, clear and step specific instructions – we are so grateful – looks like the old laptop will hang in a bit longer! Does make me wonder why I bother with Norton!

    ReplyReport
  15. Lewis

    Thanks Man, I got done today but all looks fine now, Method 2 is the way to go!!!

    ReplyReport

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Written by

Stelian

Stelian leverages over a decade of cybersecurity expertise to lead malware analysis and removal, uncover scams, and educate people. His experience provides insightful analysis and valuable perspective.

61,116 articlesWriting since 2011
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