How to remove M4N1F3STO Virus (Windows Removal Guide)

The M4N1F3STO Virus is a Trojan Horse that will display a “You are the victim of the M4N1F3STO Virus” prompt instead of your normal Windows desktop.

The M4N1F3STO Virus is distributed through several means. Malicious websites, or legitimate websites that have been hacked, can infect your machine through exploit kits that use vulnerabilities on your computer to install this Trojan without your permission of knowledge.
The M4N1F3STO Virus may also be downloaded manually by tricking the user into thinking they are installing a useful piece of software, for instance a bogus update for Adobe Flash Player or another piece of software. The M4N1F3STO Virus is also prevalent on peer-to-peer file sharing websites and is often packaged with pirated or illegally acquired software.

When a computer is infected, the M4N1F3STO virus displays a lock screen when you start Windows which will state that the victim’s files are being deleted unless 0.3 bitcoins are sent to an bitcoin address. The malware developers state that once they verify the payment the computer will automatically be unlocked and you will be able to access your Windows desktop again.
While the text in these messages can be scary, the good news is that the M4N1F3STO virus will not delete or encrypt any files, and can be removed without paying the ransomware.

The text of the M4N1F3STO screen locker is:

I want to play a game with you. Let me explain the rules:
Your personal files are being deleted. Your photos, videos, documents, etc…
But, don’t worry! It will only happen if you don’t comply.
However I’ve already encrypted your personal files, so you cannot access therm. Every hour I select some of them to delete permanently,
therefore I won’t be able to access them, either.
Are you familiar with the concept of exponential growth? Let me help you out.
It starts out slowly then increases rapidly.
During the first 24 hour you will only lose a few files,
the second day a few hundred, the third day a few thousand, and so on, If you turn off your computer or try to close me, when i start the next time
you will het 1000 files deleted as punishment.
Yes you will want me to start next time, since I am the only one that
is capable to decrypt your personal data for you. Now, let’s start and enjoy our little game together!”

Send 0,3 bitcoins to this adress to unlock your Pc with your email adress.
Your can purchase bitcoins from localbitcoins

How to remove “M4N1F3STO Virus” lock screen (Removal Guide)

• To remove the “This user is disabled” lock screen, follow these steps:
• STEP 1: Remove the M4N1F3STO Virus lock screen
• STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to remove M4N1F3STO malware
• STEP 3:  Double-check for malware with HitmanPro

STEP 1 : Remove the M4N1F3STO virus lock screen

In this first step we will remove the “M4N1F3STO” lock screen from Windows.

OPTION 1: Remove the malicious lock screen with HitmanPro.Kickstart

HitmanPro.Kickstart is the solution against ransomware and other persistent malware that has taken your computer hostage or prevents normal computer use.
Because this infection has locked you out of your computer, we will need to create a bootable USB drive that contains the HitmanPro.Kickstart program. We will then boot the infected machine with the HitmanPro.Kickstart USB drive, and use the program to clean the infection.

1. Using a “clean” (non-infected) computer, please download HitmanPro from the below link.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
2. Once HitmanPro has been downloaded on the clean machine, insert an USB flash drive and 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. Once you have created the bootable HitmanPro.Kickstart USB drive, insert the USB into the computer infected with the “This user is disabled” lock screen.
4. After you have inserted the HitmanPro Kickstart USB drive, boot your machine from the HitmanPro.Kickstart USB as seen in the below video.
   
5. The malicious lock screen should be removed from your machine. It’s recommended that you perform a system scan with Malwarebytes and HitmanPro as see in the below steps.

OPTION 2: Start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking

If the above options did not work for your machine, then we will need to start the computer in Safe Mode with Networking to bypass the lock screen.

1. Immediately after the computer is powered on or restarted (usually after you hear your computer beep), tap the F8 key in 1 second intervals.
   
2. After your computer displays hardware information and runs a memory test, the Advanced Boot Options menu will appear.
   
3. Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode with Networking and press ENTER.
4. After you have started your machine in Safe Mode with Networking, run a system scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware as seen in the below step.

STEP 2: Scan your computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerful on-demand scanner which should remove the M4N1F3STO Virus from your computer. 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 open a new page from where you can download “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware”)
2. When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the “mb3-setup-consumer” file to install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your computer.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
   
   To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
   
4. Once installed, Malwarebytes will automatically start and update the antivirus database. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for malicious programs.
   This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
   
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 has found, click on the “Quarantine Selected” button.
   
7. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found.
   To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
   
   When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 3: Double-check for malware with HitmanPro

HitmanPro can find and remove malware, adware, bots, and other threats that even the best antivirus suite can oftentimes miss. HitmanPro is 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. When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on the “hitmanpro” file to install this program on your computer.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Now click on the Next button to continue with the scan process.
   
4. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malware.
   
5. 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 malware.
   
6. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.