Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Note! Your computer might be affected by .happyness Files Virus and other threats.
Threats such as .happyness Files Virus may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
This article aims to help you by explaining what is .happyness files virus and how to remove Happyness ransomware completely from your computer system.
A new ransomware infection has been detected out in the wild, going by the wrongly-spelled extension name .happyness. The ransomware infection aims to infect the computers of victims and encrypt the files on them with the help of a combination of AES and RSA encryption algorithms. After doing so, the ransomware virus drops a ransom note file on the infected computers’ desktop, called HOW_TO_RECOVER_ENCRYPTED_FILES.txt which provides instructions on how to pay a hefty ransom fee in Bitcoin in order to restore files that have been encrypted by this ransomware virus. In the event that your computer has been infected by the .happyness files virus, we advise that you read the following article in order to learn how to remove it from your computer and how to restore files, encrypted with it’s extension added.
Threat Summary
Name
.happyness Files Virus
Type
Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description
Aims to encrypt the files on the compromised computer system in order to hold them hostage until the victim pays a hefty ransom fee.
Symptoms
Files are encrypted with the file extension .happyness added to them and the ransom note HOW_TO_RECOVER_ENCRYPTED_FILES.txt is dropped on the victim’s PC.
Distribution Method
Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by .happyness Files Virus
Windows Data Recovery by Stellar Phoenix Notice! This product scans your drive sectors to recover lost files and it may not recover 100% of the encrypted files, but only few of them, depending on the situation and whether or not you have reformatted your drive.
.happyness Files Virus – How Does It Infect
The primary method of infection which is used by this ransomware is via spammed e-mail messages which propagate through various different types of methods, including the usage of web links which are masked as fake buttons, like the example fake PayPal image below displays:
When the user is tricked and clicks on the button, a malicious script is activated which may automatically download and run a malicious file on the victim’s computer that triggers the infection. The same method goes if a malicious file has been uploaded as an e-mail attachment, since most malicious files contain JavaScript.
In addition to this, the .happyness ransomware may also be uploaded as a malicious file online, pretending to be a legitimate:
Setup of a program or game.
Setup of a system driver.
Key generator, patch or software license activator.
.happyness Ransomware – How Does It Work
Happyness ransomware is the type of malware which aims to perform various different types of activities such as download it’s payload after infection, which consists of the malicious executable file plus the ransomware’s ransom note. The malicious file of the .happyness files virus has been reported to be dropped in one of the system folders of Windows:
%AppData%
%Windows%
%Local%
%LocalLow%
%Roaming%
%Temp%
After the malicious files of the ransomware infection have been dropped on the victim’s computer, the malware may also drop it’s ransom note file and set it so that the victim can see it, for example, create copies on the desktop of the infected computer. The ransom note, is called HOW_TO_RECOVER_ENCRYPTED_FILES.txt and has the following message, as reported by researcher Michael Gillespie(https://pastebin.com/ZRpvRjsg):
YOUR FILES ARE ENCRYPTED!
Your personal ID {
All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC. To restore all your files, you need a decryption. If you want to restore them, write us to the e-mail [email protected]
In a letter to send Your personal ID (see In the beginning of this document). You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins. The price depends on how fast you write to us. After payment we will send you the decryption tool that will decrypt all your files. In the letter, you will receive instructions to decrypt your files!
In a response letter you will receive the address of Bitcoin-wallet, which is necessary to perform the transfer of funds. HURRY! Your personal code for decryption stored with us only 72 HOURS!
Our tech support is available 24 \ 7 Do not delete: Your personal ID Write on e-mail, we will help you!
Free decryption as guarantee Before paying you can send to us up to 1 files for free decryption. Please note that files must NOT contain valuable information and their total size must be less than 5Mb. When the transfer is confirmed, you will receive interpreter files to your computer. After start-interpreter program, all your files will be restored.
Attention! Do not rename encrypted files. Do not try to decrypt your data using third party software, it may cause permanent data loss. Decryption of your files with the help of third parties may cause increased price (they add their fee to our) or you can become a victim of a scam. Do not attempt to remove the program or run the anti-virus tools Attempts to self-decrypting files will result in the loss of your data Decoders are not compatible with other users of your data, because each user’s unique encryption key
The .happyness files virus has been reported to be a variant of the Matroska ransomware family, which released a variant back in July 2017 and just like it, the ransomware may execute the following commands in Windows Command Prompt:
After this has been done the .happyness ransowmare may also perform various other activities, such as set automatic running of it’s malicious file on Windows boot by modifying the following Windows Registry sub-keys:
In order to encrypt the files on the computers of victims, the .happyness files virus may use a combination of two main encryption algorithms – AES and RSA encryption. The AES cipher may be used in a variety of different methods, but researchers have reported the first 65 bytes of the files to be used and the first 300 bytes of the files are also encrypted via the RSA-4096 cipher, after which a unique decryption AES key is generated in the process of encrypting the resto of the targeted files. At the moment there is no direct decryption for this combination and this virus, and this is why most ransomware viruses use it. Furthermore, the .happyness ransomware also makes it so that only important files from the infected computers are encrypted, such as:
Documents.
Videos.
Images.
Audio files.
Other types of files.
After the encryption process has been done, the malware aims to set the .happyness file extension to the encrypted files, making them appear like the following:
Remove .happyness Ransomware and Restore Encrypted Files
In order to fully erase all traces of this ransomware infection, we advise you to follow the removal instructions down below. They are divided in manual and automatic removal instructions, so that they are appropriate based on your malware removal experience. In case you lack the experience in malware removal, experts recommend to download an advanced anti-malware software. It will make sure to scan automatically for all the malicious files and objects on your computer and secure your computer against future infections as well.
In order to try and restore files, encrypted by this ransomware virus, recommendations are to follow the alternative methods for file recovery down below in step “2. Restore files encrypted by .happyness Files Virus”. They are in no way fully effective against ransomware threats, but may help you to restore as many encrypted files as possible.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by .happyness Files Virus and other threats. Scan Your PC with SpyHunter SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as .happyness Files Virus. Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
To remove .happyness Files Virus follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove .happyness Files Virus files and objects
OFFER
Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!
We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria
Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
For Windows XP, Vista and 7 systems:
1. Remove all CDs and DVDs, and then Restart your PC from the “Start” menu. 2. Select one of the two options provided below:
– For PCs with a single operating system: Press “F8” repeatedly after the first boot screen shows up during the restart of your computer. In case the Windows logo appears on the screen, you have to repeat the same task again.
– For PCs with multiple operating systems: Тhe arrow keys will help you select the operating system you prefer to start in Safe Mode. Press “F8” just as described for a single operating system.
3. As the “Advanced Boot Options” screen appears, select the Safe Mode option you want using the arrow keys. As you make your selection, press “Enter“.
4. Log on to your computer using your administrator account
While your computer is in Safe Mode, the words “Safe Mode” will appear in all four corners of your screen.
Step 1: Open up the Start Menu.
Step 2: Click on the Power button (for Windows 8 it is the little arrow next to the “Shut Down” button) and whilst holding down “Shift” click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, a blue menu with options will appear. From them you should choose Troubleshoot.
Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu choose Advanced Options.
Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.
Step 6: From the Startup Settings menu, click on Restart.
Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You can choose any of the three Safe Mode options by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.
Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.
2. Find files created by .happyness Files Virus on your PC
Find files created by .happyness Files Virus
1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
For Newer Windows Operating Systems
Step 1:
On your keyboard press + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.
Step 2:
Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.
Step 3:
Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:
N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.
For Older Windows Operating Systems
In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:
Step 1:
Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.
Step 2:
After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.
Step 3:
After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.
Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.
Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs
3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Scan your PC and Remove .happyness Files Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for .happyness Files Virus and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove .happyness Files Virus. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.
It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.
Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.
Step 2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.
Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.
Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future
IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup.
4. Try to Restore files encrypted by .happyness Files Virus
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .happyness Files Virus
Ransomware infections and .happyness Files Virus aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested several alternative methods that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that these methods may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software. Another method for restoring your files is by trying to bring back your files via data recovery software. Here are some suggestions for preferred data recovery software solutions:
Method 2: Trying Kaspersky and EmsiSoft’s decryptors. If the first method does not work, we suggest trying to use decryptors for other ransomware viruses, in case your virus is a variant of them. The two primary developers of decryptors are Kaspersky and EmsiSoft, links to which we have provided below:
To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for Volume Shadow Copies, if ransomware has not deleted them, in Windows using the below software:
Method 4: Finding the decryption key while the cryptovirus sends it over a network via a sniffing tool.
Another way to decrypt the files is by using a Network Sniffer to get the encryption key, while files are encrypted on your system. A Network Sniffer is a program and/or device monitoring data traveling over a network, such as its internet traffic and internet packets. If you have a sniffer set before the attack happened you might get information about the decryption key. See how-to instructions below:
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
This article aims to help you by explaining what is .happyness files virus and how to remove Happyness ransomware completely from your computer system.
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7.
2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for .happyness Files Virus and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
