File Restore – Virus Removal Guide

File Restore is a computer virus that is generating bogus alerts,reporting that several hard drive errors and other issues were detected on your machine.File Restore is a rogue software and all its warnings and alerts are nothing more than an attempt to scare you into buying this product and stealing your financial details.
As part of its self-defense mechanism,File Restore has disabled the Windows system utilities, including Task Manager and Windows Registry and whenever you are trying to launch a program it will terminate it and state that the program or hard drive is corrupted.
File Restore has also hidden your files and folders, and has changed your desktop to a solid black color.
We strongly advise you to follow our File Restore removal guide and ignore any alert that this malicious software might generate.
Under no circumstance should you buy File Restore,as this could lead to identity theft,and if you have, you should contact your credit card company and dispute the charge stating that the program is a scam and a computer virus.
If your computer is infected with File Restore,then you are seeing this screens:

Activation code for File Restore:
As an optional step,you can use the following license key to activate File Restore with any email address to stop the fake alerts.
File Restore Activation Code: 08467206738602987934024759008355
Please keep in mind that entering the above registration code will NOT remove File Restore from your computer , instead it will just stop the fake alerts so that you’ll be able to complete our removal guide more easily.

How to remove File Restore virus (Removal Guide)

STEP 1 : Start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking

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.
   

STEP 2: Run RKill to terminate known malware processes associated with File Restore.

RKill is a program that will attempt to terminate all malicious processes associated with File Restore virus,so that we will be able to perform the next step without being interrupted by this malicious software.
Because this utility will only stop File Restore running process, and does not delete any files, after running it you should not reboot your computer as any malware processes that are configured to start automatically will just be started again.

1. While your computer is in Safe Mode with Networking ,please download the latest official version of RKill.Please note that we will use a renamed version of RKILL so that File Restore won’t block this utility from running.
   RKILL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download RKILL renamed as iExplore.exe)
2. Double-click on the iExplore.exe icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with File Restore.
   
3. RKill will now start working in the background, please be patient while the program looks for various malware programs and tries to terminate them.
   
   IF you are having problems starting or running RKill, you can download any other renamed versions of RKill from here.
4. When Rkill has completed its task, it will generate a log. You can then proceed with the rest of the guide.
   

WARNING: Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware process will start again , preventing you from properly performing the next step.

STEP 3: Remove File Restore malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware FREE

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerful on-demand scanner which will detect and remove File Restore from your computer.

1. Download the latest official version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware FREE.
   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. Start the Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware installation process by double clicking on mbam-setup file.
   
3. 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. If Malwarebytes’ prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
   
4. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start and you’ll be prompted to start a trial period , please select ‘Decline‘ as we just want to use the on-demand scanner.
   
5. On the Scanner tab,select Perform full scan and then click on the Scanbutton to start scanning your computer.
   
6. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for File Restore malicious files as shown below.
   
7. When the scan is finished a message box will appear, click OK to continue.
8. 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 from what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
   
9. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start removing the malicious files.After completing this task it will display a message stating that it needs to reboot,please allow this request and then let your PC boot in Normal mode.

STEP 4: Remove File Restore rootkit with HitmanPro

In some cases File Restore will also install a rootkit on the infected machines,to remove File Restore rootkit will need to perform a scan with HitmanPro.

1. This step can be performed in Normal Mode ,so please download the latest official version of HitmanPro.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. Double click on the previously downloaded fileto start the HitmanPro installation.
   
   IF you are experiencing problems while trying to starting HitmanPro, you can use the “Force Breach” mode.To start this program 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)
3. Click on Next to install HitmanPro on your system.
   
4. The setup screen is displayed, from which you can decide whether you wish to install HitmanPro on your machine or just perform a one-time scan, select a option then click on Next to start a system scan.
   
5. HitmanPro will start scanning your system for malicious files as seen in the image below.
   
6. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the malicious files that the program has found.Click on Next to remove this malicious files.
   
7. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove the malicious files.
   
8. HitmanPro will now start removing the infected objects.If this program will ask you to restart your computer,please allow this request.

STEP 5 : Restore your shortcuts and remove any left over malicious registry keys

File Restore has moved your shortcuts files in the Temporary Internet folder and added some malicious registry keys to your Windows installation , to restore your files we will need to perform a scan with RogueKiller.

1. Please download the latest official version of RogueKiller.
   ROGUEKILLER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download RogueKiller on your computer)
2. Double click on RogueKiller.exe to start this utility and then wait for the Prescan to complete.This should take only a few seconds and then you can click the Scan button to perform a system scan.
   
3. After the scan has completed, press the Delete button to remove any malicious registry keys.
   
4. Next we will need to restore your shortcuts, so click on the ShortcutsFix button and allow the program to run.
   

STEP 6: Unhide your files and folders

File Restore modifies your file system in such a way that all files and folders become hidden, to restore the default settings , you’ll need to run the below program.

1. Download the Unhide utility, to unhide your files and folders.
   UNHIDE.EXE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download the Unhide utility on your computer)
2. Double-click on the Unhide.exe icon on your desktop and allow the program to run.The whole process should not take more than 10 minutes to complete,and at the end this utility will generate a report.
   

STEP 7: Get your desktop look back!

File Restore changes your desktop background to a solid black color,to change it back to default one follow the below instruction.

• Windows XP : Click on the Start button and then select Control Panel. When the Control Panel opens, please click on the Display icon. From this screen you can now change your Theme and desktop background.
• Windows 7 and Vista : Click on the Start button and then select Control Panel. When the Control Panel opens, please click on the Appearance and Personalization category. Then select Change the Theme or Change Desktop Background to revert back to your original Theme and colors.

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