An infection with the dangerous WannaPeace virus leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove WannaPeace virus and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of WannaPeace virus
The WannaPeace 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 WannaPeace 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 WannaPeace virus infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the WannaPeace 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 WannaPeace 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 WannaPeace virus
The security community has alerted of the discovery of a new dangerous ransomware threat called the WannaPeace virusTo ordinary users it might appear as the WannaCry ransomware however it merely imitates its graphic elements. The initial analysis shows that there is no correlation between its code and the WannaCry samples, it uses snippets taken from other imposter variants. An alias “AnonymousBr” was discovered which is probably the name of the hacker or the criminal collective behind the threat.
At the moment the WannaPeace virus contains only a base engine which has only a ransomware component built in. The experts speculate that if the initial attack wave is succesful then updated versions of it can be developed. Ransomware such as the WannaPeace virus are made up of a modular framework. Follow-up versions can modify the infection behavior by instituting additional steps. Some examples include the following instances:
- Data Extraction — At the onset of infections the WannaPeace virus is able to extract a lot of sensitive information from the victim machines. It may either by systems-specific (hardware components, installed software) or related to the victim users themselves (configuration files and settings). Whatever the case the data is useful when invoking advanced infection procedures.
- Persistent Installation — The WannaPeace virus can install itself as a persistent threat which actively monitors the users actions and prevents manual removal attempts.
- Settings Modification – The WannaPeace virus infection engine can be used to change important settings related to the computer such as the Windows registry or the operating system user settings.
- Additional Virus Delivery – The WannaPeace virus may very well be used to simply scare and extort money from the victims however advanced forms of it are capable to deliver other malware to the infected computers.
The collected samples associated with the WannaPeace virus at the moment are found to be test versions. While the virus engine does target data according to a built-in list of target file type extensions (archives, documents, music, images, videos and etc) only certain folders are processed. And unlike other similar threats the affected data is not renamed with a ransomware extension rather their file names are modified to include a “_enc” string in the end.
Once this is done a lockscreen instance is imposed on the victims which actively prevents ordinary computer interaction until the threat is completely removed.
It features the same graphics as the original WannaCry ransomware and reads the following message in Portugese:
@AnonymousBr – WannaPeace
Desculpe.., seus arquivos foram encriptados!
Permita nos apresentar como Anonymous, e Anonymous apenas.
Nós somos uma idéia. Uma idéia que não pode ser contida, perseguida nem aprisionada.
Milhares de seres humanos estão nesse momento rufigiados. feridos, com fome e sofrendo…
Todos como vítimas de uma guerra que não é nem mesmo deles!!!
Mas infelizmente apenas palavras não mudarão a situação desses seres humanos…
NAO queremos os seus arquivos ou lhe prejudicar…. queremos apenas uma pequena contribuição…
Lembre-se… contribuindo você não vai estar apenas recuperando os seus arquivos…
…e sim ajudando a recuperar a dignidade dessas vitimas…
Envie a sua contribuição de apenas: 0.08 Bitcoins para carteira/endereço abaixo.
17W7XEfA6gVwCpUJghVFPTwTWwwDnnRJU5
A machine-translated version of it reads the following:
@AnonymousBr – WannaPeace
Sorry, your files have been encrypted!
Please introduce us as Anonymous, and Anonymous only.
We are an idea. An idea that can not be contained, pursued or imprisoned.
Thousands of human beings are now ruled out. injured, hungry and suffering …
All as victims of a war that is not even theirs !!!
But unfortunately only words will not change the situation of these human beings …
We DO NOT want your files or you harm them …. we want only a small contribution …
Remember … contributing you will not only be recovering your files …
… but helping to restore the dignity of these victims …
Please send your contribution of only: 0.08 Bitcoins to portfolio / address below.
17W7XEfA6gVwCpUJghVFPTwTWwwDnnRJU5
As usual the standard blackmail tactics are being used. The victims are pressured into paying the sum of 0.08 Bitcoins to the designated hacker wallet. By today’s currency exchange rate this amounts to around $820.
We recommend that all users abstain from communicating with the hackers and use our full WannaPeace virus removal guide below to recover their data and delete the active infections.
Remove WannaPeace virus and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the WannaPeace 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.
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WannaPeace 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 WannaPeace 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 WannaPeace 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
