An infection with the dangerous .Lime virus leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove .Lime virus and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of .Lime virus
The .Lime virus is a new virus which has been sighted in a limited attack campaign. At the moment the security researchers cannot determine the primary infection strategy. We presume that the most widely used tactics are going to be employed.
Among them are the email messages created in an automated way and sent to large lists of potential victims. The .Lime virus can be directly attached to the messages. This is one of the easiest way for the criminals to attempt the infection. However a lot of email hosting providers usually capture the signatures of the virus and as such discard such messages or label them as dangerous or spam. Other infection methods related to this one is the option of inserting hyperlinks in the body content of the messages. The links are usually labeled as leading to a familiar website or a file of user interest. Redirects can redirect to hacker-controlled sites, infected payloads or other instances that can lead to an .Lime virus infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the .Lime virus. A popular option is the use of infected documents which may be of different types ‒ spreadsheets, rich text documents, presentations and databases. They are modified to initiate the virus once the built-in scripts are run. Usually when the files are opened a notification will ask the users to run the macros (scripts). If this is done the infection follows.
The hacker-controlled sites are specialist portals that have been created either manually or automatically by the criminals behind the .Lime virus. They can either directly distribute the threat by initiating various scripts or automated operations or link to such instances. Redirects are usually caused by email interaction, ad networks or other browsing activity. However one of the main sources is the availability of browser hijackers. They are malicious addons made for the most popular web browsers ‒ Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Microsoft Edge and Safari. Once installed they not only infect the users with the malware, but also redirect the victims to a hacker-controlled site. Depending on the configuration the browser hijackers can also steal sensitive information such as any stored passwords, account credentials, history, bookmarks, form data and settings.
Impact of .Lime virus
Security researchers uncovered a dangerous new malware known as the Lime ransomware or its more popular name — the .lime virus. The analysts reveal that the code is largely taken from a remote access Trojan called NjRat. This is an updated version of it which now includes a ransomware component hence the .lime virus name, such identifiers are placed on threats that process target data.
At the moment this threat is being sold on the underground markets and traded on the criminal communities among both beginner hackers and advanced users. The newest version bears the 0.7.8 revision and is rated as extremely dangerous.
It is built on a highly modular framework and contains many dangerous components that all seek to impact the deepest levels of the compromised systems. The threat is made to be controlled by the malware operators and distributed through different means. This particular virus can also be used to carry out secondary payloads as well. Its many capabilities can be categorized into different sections.
One of the first and most important characteristics of it are the many infection-level modules. Starting out from its earliest releases it has proven itself as a very dangerous virus. It can guard itself against against manual removal and attach itself to many host processes. Like other similar threats it has the ability to bypass security and programmer anti-virus measures. This includes both anti-virus solutions, firewalls, sandboxes and debugging environments.
Once the client has been infected it has the ability to cause a lot of dangerous system modifications. They include the ability to erase the infection logs from the operating system as well as hijack any account credentials and passwods found within the computer, as well as user applications. In the case of web browsers this means that the hackers have the ability to access sensitive data such as history, bookmarks, settings, passwords and account credentials.
The .lime virus includes a module which allows the malware code to be installed as a persistent threat which effectively prevents manual user removal attempts by actively monitoring the users actions an behavior. Once installed onto the victim computer it also has the ability to spread to removable storage devices and available network shares.
Apart from having access to the host computer it also gives hackers the ability to spy on the victims in real time. The security experts have fond that the .lime virus also includes the ability to place counterfeit events as well.
An interesting aspect of the .lime virus is that it can detect the availability of crypto currency wallets (such as Bitcoin) and hijack them as well.
Once all prerequisite conditions have been met the ransomware engine is launched. It uses a built-in list of target file type extensions which can be altered depending on the targets. In the most popular case this includes all important user files: documents, archives, backups, configuration files, images, music and videos. Consequently all processed files are renamed with the .lime extension.
A ransomware note can be added to blackmail the users into paying the hackers a ransomware fee using blackmail tricks. We recommend that all users abstain from communicating with the hackers and use our full .Lime virus removal guide below to recover their data and delete the active infections.
Remove .Lime virus and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the .Lime virus requires being familiar with system files and registries. Removing important data accidentally can lead to permanent system damage. If you don’t feel comfortable with manual instructions, download a powerful anti-malware tool that will scan your system for malware and clean it safely for you.
SpyHunter anti-malware tool will diagnose all current threats on the computer. By purchasing the full version, you will be able to remove all malware threats instantly. Additional information about SpyHunter / Help to uninstall SpyHunter
.Lime virus – Manual Removal Steps
Start the PC in Safe Mode with Network
This will isolate all files and objects created by the ransomware so they will be removed efficiently. The steps bellow are applicable to all Windows versions.
1. Hit the WIN Key + R
2. A Run window will appear. In it, write msconfig and then press Enter
3. A Configuration box shall appear. In it Choose the tab named Boot
4. Mark Safe Boot option and then go to Network under it to tick it too
5. Apply -> OK
Remove .LIME from Windows
Here’s a way to remove the program. This method will work regardless if you’re on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP. Simply selecting the program and pressing delete won’t work, as it’ll leave a lot of small files. That’s bad because these leftovers can linger on and cause all sorts of problems. The best way to delete a program is to uninstall it. Here’s how you can do that:
1. Hold the “Windows” button (It’s between CTRL and Alt on most keyboards) and press “R”. You’ll see a pop-up window.
2. In the textbox, type “appwiz.cpl”, then press“ Enter ”.
3. The “Programs and features” menu should now appear. It’s a list of all the programs installed on the PC. Here you can find the program, select it, and press “Uninstall“.
Remove .LIME Virus From Your Browser
Before resetting your browser’s settings, you should know that this action will wipe out all your recorded usernames, passwords, and other types of data. Make sure to save them in some way.
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1. Start Mozilla Firefox. In the upper right corner, click on the Open menu icon and select “Add-ons“.
2. Inside the Add-ons Manager select “Extensions“. Search the list of extensions for suspicious entries. If you find any, select them and click “Remove“.
3. Click again on the Open menu icon, then click “Options“.
4. In the Options window, under “General” tab, click “Restore to Default“.
5. Select “Search” in the left menu, mark the unknown search engine and press “Remove”.
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1. Start Google Chrome. On the upper-right corner, there a “Customize and Control” menu icon. Click on it, then click on “Settings“.
2. Click “Extensions” in the left menu. Then click on the trash bin icon to remove the suspicious extension.
3. Again in the left menu, under Chrome, Click on “Settings“. Go under “On Startup” and set a new page.
4. Afterward, scroll down to “Search“, click on “Manage search engines“.
5. In the default search settings list, find the unknown search engine and click on “X“. Then select your search engine of choice and click “Make default“. When you are ready click “Done” button in the right bottom corner.
2. In the “Manage add-ons” window, bellow “Add-on Types“, select “Toolbars and Extensions“. If you see a suspicious toolbar, select it and click “Remove“.
3. Then again in the “Manage Add-ons” window, in “Add-on Types“, Select “Search Providers“. Chose a search engine and click “Set as default“. Select the unknown search engine and click “Remove and Close”.
4. Open the Tools menu, select “Internet Options”.
5. In the “General” tab, in “Home page”, enter your preferred page. Click “Apply” and “OK”.
Repair Windows Registry
1. Again type simultaneously the WIN Key + R key combination
2. In the box, write regedit and hit Enter
3. Type the CTRL+ F and then write the malicious name in the search type field to locate the malicious executable
4. In case you have discovered registry keys and values related to the name, you should delete them, but be careful not to delete legitimate keys
Click for more information about Windows Registry and further repair help
