The .shinigami virus also known as the SHINIGAMI LOCKER ransomware that encrypts system and user data with the .shinigami extension, read our removal guide to restore your PC.
Manual Removal Guide
Recover .shinigami Virus Files
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How Does .shinigami Virus Infiltrate the System?
The .shinigami virus can be delivered to the victims using multiple delivery mechanisms. The first attacks were spotted in the beginning of August 2017 and the collected samples were discovered to be spread using several means.
Email Spam Messages ‒ The messages can include the .shinigami virus samples either as file attachments or hyperlinks. Depending on the attack campaign the files and links may lead to the virus binary file or a payload dropper. The documents can include spreadsheets, rich text documents or databases containing malicious scripts. Once they are executed the .shinigami virus infection is triggered.
Hacker-controlled sites are another source of viruses. They are made to resemble legitimate sources and in many cases they are used as a supplement to other tactics. The criminals behind the .shinigami virus may opt to use various P2P networks like BitTorrent as well.
Lately malware have been found to infect targets worldwide through browser hijackers. They are malicious extensions made for the most popular web browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. When they are installed the most important settings are changed to reflect a hacker-provided address. It may deliver the virus directly or make him download it from redirects, sites and buttons placed on it. The hijackers can also modify the systems in a way that is similar to the virus itself.
The .shinigami virus is distributed as a single randomly-named binary. It is possible to get infected after a security intrusion attempt done by a malicious user. The criminals tend to use automated kits which are loaded with popular exploits. This is the reason why all computer users should update their software and operating system and use a quality anti-spyware product.
Infection Flow of .shinigami Virus
The .shinigami virus is also known as SHINIGAMI LOCKER, a reference to the popular manga and anime “Death Note”. The initial security analysis does not show correlation between it and the popular malware families. As a result we believe that the .shinigami virus is an independent creation made by its creator(s), an unknown hacker or a criminal collective. The criminal’s alias is narzull and no further information is available about his/her/their identity.
The .shinigami virus follows a predefined behavior pattern that is similar to the one used by other related viruses. Upon infection it gathers important system data in detail which is relayed to the hackers via a network connection. The virus is able to collect information about the running processes, configuration and the list of supported languages. This data is used to display the ransomware note according to the regional settings of the hackers. As the criminals have access to the files, they can harvest sensitive information about the victims at will. The fact that some of the .shinigami virus infections are due to browser hijackers means that the hackers can initiate convincing financial abuse and identity crimes.
Before continuing with the encryption process the .shinigami virus is able to mount all available drives, removable storage devices and network shares. This is used to inflict as much damage as possible. One of the interesting features used by the .shinigami virus is the fact that it contains a feature that simulates mouse movement by the users. This is used to conceal the presence of the malware from anti-virus products. Once all preliminary checks and actions are complete the ransomware engine itself is started. It uses a built-in list of target file type extensions. Depending on the target it can be customized to reflect the attack wave. Most of the strains tend to process as many file types as possible: documents, photos, music, videos, backups, configuration files, databases and etc..
Once this process is complete the affected files are renamed with the .shinigami extension. The collected files were observed to have their original names processed using a hex function.
A lockscreen is initiated that prohibits ordinary computer interaction until the .shinigami virus is completely eliminated from the host machine. It also reads the ransomware note:
SHINIGAMI LOCKER
YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED
YOUR FILES WERE ENCRYPTED
GET RID OF THIS IN FEW STEPS
STEP1 GO TO https://localbitcoins.com/
STEP2 PAY THE EXACT AMOUNT
REQUEST DELOW. MAKE SURE YOU PAY IT TO THE CORRECT ADDRESS
STEP 3 WAIT UNTIL THE PAYMENTIS CONFIRMED AND ENJOY YOUR PC
–
YOU NEED TO PAY BITCOIN WORTH 50$!
ANY ATTEMT ON CLOSING OR DELETING THIS SOFTWARE WILL DAMAGE YOUR PC
–
AMMOUNT: 50 $ ~ 0.01816 BTC BITCOIN WALLET FOR PAYMENT 1MBPSrn46eEVBHoypyjgfdCCf5DQxQsx3f
We strongly recommend to disregard such scams and use a quality anti-spyware solution that can effectively remove all found active infections. Follow our removal instructions below to delete the .shinigami virus. After this is done you can use the listed data recovery application to restore the affected data.
Remove .shinigami Virus and Restore Data
WARNING! Manual removal of .shinigami 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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.shinigami 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
Show Hidden Files
Some ransomware threats are designed to hide their malicious files in the Windows so all files stored on the system should be visible.
1. Open My Computer/This PC
2. Windows 7
- – Click on Organize button
– Select Folder and search options
– Select the View tab
– Go under Hidden files and folders and mark Show hidden files and folders option
3. Windows 8/ 10
- – Open View tab
– Mark Hidden items option
4. Click Apply and then OK button
Enter Windows Task Manager and Stop Malicious Processes
1. Hit the following key combination: CTRL+SHIFT+ESC
2. Get over to Processes
3. When you find suspicious process right click on it and select Open File Location
4. Go back to Task Manager and end the malicious process. Right click on it again and choose End Process
5. Next, you should go folder where the malicious file is located and delete it
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
Recover .shinigami Virus Files
WARNING! All files and objects associated with .0x009d8a Virus should be removed from the infected PC before any data recovery attempts. Otherwise the virus may encrypt restored files. Furthermore, a backup of all encrypted files stored on external media is highly recommendable.
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1. Use present backups
2. Use professional data recovery software
Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery – a specialist tool that can restore partitions, data, documents, photos, and 300 more file types lost during various types of incidents and corruption.
3. Using System Restore Point
- – Hit WIN Key
– Select “Open System Restore” and follow the steps
4. Restore your personal files using File History
- – Hit WIN Key
– Type restore your files in the search box
– Select Restore your files with File History
– Choose a folder or type the name of the file in the search bar
– Hit the “Restore” button
