An infection with the dangerous .lockme Virus leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove .lockme Virus and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of .lockme Virus
The .lockme Virus is a new virus which has been sighted in 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 .lockme 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 .lockme Virus infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the .lockme 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 .lockme 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 .lockme Virus
The .LockMe virus is a newly discovered malware of unknown origins that is being pushed against victims worldwide. It is controlled by an unknown group of computer hackers and follows the usual behavior tactics.
The .lockme virus can begin with an information harvesting module that has the ability to generate a detailed profile of the victim’s machine. This includes not only information related to the system components, but also the relevant configuration and user settings. In certain cases the virus samples can also be programmed to hijack strings related to the users identity such as their name, telephone number, address, location, preferences and passwords.
Using this information the infection engine can execute a stealth protection mechanism. It would search for the presence of any sandbox or debugging environments. virtual machines or security software. Their real-time engines can be entirely disabled or removed by the virus. In certain situations if the ramsomware engine is not able to do so it can opt to remove itself to avoid detection. Specific interest is applied to the extraction of user preferences, specifically the regional settings. The .lockme virus includes appropriate language notes in a total of 54 variations.
Follow-up steps during the initiation process would be to install the .lockme virus as a persistent threat. In such cases the malware code can guard itself against manual removal attempts.
When a network connection is established with the hacker operators it allows them to execute arbitrary commands and deliver additional threats.
Once all components have executed correctly the ransomware engine is started. Like other similar threats it uses a list of target file type extensions. Usually it consists of the most widely used data: images, videos, music, archives, backups, databases and etc. As a result all processed files are renamed wih the .lockme extension. The ransomware note is written in a file called README_FOR_DECRYPT_YOUR_FILES.txt which reads the following:
All of your files have been Encrypted with military grade system and impossible to brute force, cracking, or reverse engineering it !
If you want all of your files back send me 0.03 BTC .
[+] Your Unique ID : [***] [+] Send BTC To This Address : 1LockMeEPLr4ZRsoht8Wp6idBsT5TuBXtX
[+] Send BTC : 0.03 BTC
[+] Contact Email : [email protected] | [email protected]
*) Don’t try change the ‘.lockme’ extensions , if you change it , your all files can be broken and can’t be restored forever .
*) If you’ve made a payment contact [email protected] | [email protected] .
*) If you not made a payment all of your private files will be leaked on internet (private photos, documents, videos, and more) .
Question : How to buy Bitcoin ?
Answer : You can buy Bitcoin at this Website : bitcoin.com , coinbase.com , cex.io , paxful.com , coinmama.com , etc .
[+] Your IP : [***] | Your ID : [***] [+]Все ваши файлы были зашифрованы с помощью системы военного класса и невозможны для грубой силы, взлома или реконструирования!
Если вы хотите, чтобы все ваши файлы отправили мне 0.03 BTC.
[+] Ваш уникальный идентификатор : [***] [+] Отправить BTC на этот адрес : 1LockMeEPLr4ZRsoht8Wp6idBsT5TuBXtX
[+] Отправить BTC : 0.03 BTC
[+] Контактный адрес электронной почты : [email protected]
*) Не пытайтесь изменить расширения .lockme, если вы его измените, все ваши файлы могут быть повреждены и не могут быть восстановлены навсегда.
*) Если вы сделали платежный контакт [email protected].
*) Если вы не сделали платеж, все ваши личные файлы будут просочились в Интернет (частные фотографии, документы, видеоролики и т. Д.).
Вопрос : Как купить биткойн?
Ответ : Вы можете купить Bitcoin на этом сайте: bitcoin.com, coinbase.com, cex.io, paxful.com, coinmama.com и т. Д.
[+] Ваш IP : [***] | Ваш ID : [***] [+]
Remove .lockme Virus and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the .lockme 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
.lockme 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 .lockme 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 .lockme 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.
- 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”.
- 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
