.katipuneros Files Virus – How to Remove It and Restore Files

This article has been created to show you how to remove the .katipuneros files virus from your computer and restore files.

New ransomware infection, known as the .katipuneros files virus, has been reported to use encryption on the malicious files of the computers infected by it. This results in the files becoming no longer able to be opened and they assume the .katipuneros file extension. Then, the ransomware drops a README-PAYMENT.txt ransom note, whose primary purpose is to make sure that the victim whose files are encrypted pays a hefty ransom fee in order to get the criminals encrypted by this virus. If you have been infected by this virus, reccomendations are to read the following article and learn how to remove the .katipuneros threat completely.

Threat Summary

Name	.katipuneros Virus
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	Aims to encrypt the files on your computer and then asks you to pay a hefty ransom fee in order to get the encrypted files restored back to working state.
Symptoms	Adds the .katipuneros file extension to the encrypted files and then drops a ransom note, named README-PAYMENT.txt.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by .katipuneros Virus Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss .katipuneros Virus.
Data Recovery Tool	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.

.katipuneros Files Virus – How Does It Infect

In order to infect a given computer system, the .katipuneros ransomware virus may use spammed e-mail messages whose primary purpose is to deceive potential victims into opening thee malicious attachments in those e-mails. Here is how such e-mails often appear like:

In addition to this, the .katipuneros files virus may also cause an infection via malicious files that are uploaded on various different websites, like files that are:

• Fake setups of programs.
• Fake key generators.
• Fake license activators or game cracks.

.katipuneros Files Virus – More Information

Once an infection by this ransomware virus takes place on your computer system, it may begin to drop it’s payload in the following Windows directories under different file names:

The payload which has been dropped can be either extracted via the malicious file or the other scenario is if the file connects to a distribution site and use it to download the payload of the ransomware virus via an unsecured port of your computer system.

After the malicious files of the .katipuneros ransomware have been dropped on your computer, the virus may begin to perform various different activities on your PC, such as attack it’s registry editor. The virus may attack the following Windows registry sub-keys:

→ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

After doing so, the .katipuneros ransomware may begin to delete the shadow volume copies of your computer system. This results in the malware erasing all chances of backup on your PC:

→ process call create “cmd.exe /c vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet & bcdedit.exe /set {default} recoveryenabled no & bcdedit.exe /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures”

After doing so, the ransomware virus may also display it’s ransom note, named README-PAYMENT.txt, which has the following messages for victims:

In order to decrypt your files. Send 2 Bitcoins of payment to address: 1JcevpifQnJ4P7KFmGFV3P7aECZHM3gx67
Once payment has been sent, files will automatically decrypt back to normal.

.katipuneros Ransomware – Encryption Process

The encryption process of .katipuneros files virus uses various different techniques which scramble the legitimate files of your computer. It results in a unique decryption key being generated which is only known to the cyber-criminals. The files which this virus attacks may contain the following file extensions:

“PNG .PSD .PSPIMAGE .TGA .THM .TIF .TIFF .YUV .AI .EPS .PS .SVG .INDD .PCT .PDF .XLR .XLS .XLSX .ACCDB .DB .DBF .MDB .PDB .SQL .APK .APP .BAT .CGI .COM .EXE .GADGET .JAR .PIF .WSF .DEM .GAM .NES .ROM .SAV CAD Files .DWG .DXF GIS Files .GPX .KML .KMZ .ASP .ASPX .CER .CFM .CSR .CSS .HTM .HTML .JS .JSP .PHP .RSS .XHTML. DOC .DOCX .LOG .MSG .ODT .PAGES .RTF .TEX .TXT .WPD .WPS .CSV .DAT .GED .KEY .KEYCHAIN .PPS .PPT .PPTX ..INI .PRF Encoded Files .HQX .MIM .UUE .7Z .CBR .DEB .GZ .PKG .RAR .RPM .SITX .TAR.GZ .ZIP .ZIPX .BIN .CUE .DMG .ISO .MDF .TOAST .VCD SDF .TAR .TAX2014 .TAX2015 .VCF .XML Audio Files .AIF .IFF .M3U .M4A .MID .MP3 .MPA .WAV .WMA Video Files .3G2 .3GP .ASF .AVI .FLV .M4V .MOV .MP4 .MPG .RM .SRT .SWF .VOB .WMV 3D .3DM .3DS .MAX .OBJ R.BMP .DDS .GIF .JPG ..CRX .PLUGIN .FNT .FON .OTF .TTF .CAB .CPL .CUR .DESKTHEMEPACK .DLL .DMP .DRV .ICNS .ICO .LNK .SYS .CFG”

After the encryption process has completed, the .katipuneros files virus adds it’s distinctive file extension to the encrypted files, making them look like the image below:

How to Remove .katipuneros Files Virus and Restore Your Data

In order to fully remove this ransomware infection from your computer we recommend you to follow the removal instructions down below. They are divided in manual and automatic removal methods and be advised that automatic removal is strongly suggested by security experts. The reason for this is that by downloading and scanning your PC automatically via an advanced anti-malware software, you can not only remove the .katipuneros files virus automatically but also protect your computer against future infections as well.

If you want to restore files, that have been encrypted by this ransomware infection, we advise you to follow alternative file recovery methods in step “2. Restore files encrypted by .katipuneros Virus”. They are in no way 100% effective, but may help you to recover at least some of your encrypted files.

Manually delete .katipuneros Virus from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the .katipuneros Virus threat: Manual removal of .katipuneros Virus requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.

1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove .katipuneros Virus files and objects

Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode

1. For Windows 7,XP and Vista. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by .katipuneros Virus on your PC.

For Windows XP, Vista, 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 the Start Menu

Step 2: Whilst holding down Shift button, click on Power and then click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, the aftermentioned menu will appear. From there you should choose Troubleshoot.

Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu you can choose Advanced Options.

Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.

Step 6: Click on Restart.

Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You should choose Safe Mode by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries of your computer to change different settings. This is why manual clean up of your Windows Registry Database is strongly recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit lenghty, we recommend following our instructive article about fixing registry entries.

2.Find malicious files created by .katipuneros Virus on your PC

Find malicious files created by .katipuneros Virus

1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows 7,XP and Vista.

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.

Automatically remove .katipuneros Virus by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove .katipuneros Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove .katipuneros Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove .katipuneros Virus.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove .katipuneros Virus. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by .katipuneros Virus in the future.

Step 1:Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is highly 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.

Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to automatically update.

Step1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Scan Computer Now’ button.

Step2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any .katipuneros Virus files, click on the ‘Fix Threats’ button to remove them automatically and permanently.

Step3: Once the intrusions on your PC have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart it.

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 automatically with cloud backup and insure it against any type of data loss on your device, even the most severe. We recommend reading more about and downloading SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

2. Restore files encrypted by .katipuneros Virus

Restore Files Encrypted by .katipuneros Virus

Ransomware infections like .katipuneros Virus aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to directly 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 they may not be 100% effective but they may help you little or a lot in some situations.

Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software.
Another method of 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:

• Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Technicians License(Pro version with more features)
• Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery
• Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery

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:

• Kaspersky Decryptors
• Emsisoft Decryptors

Urgent! It is strongly advisable to first remove the .katipuneros Virus threat before attempting any decryption, since it may interfere with system files and registries. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using an advanced malware removal tool.

Method 3: Using Shadow Explorer

To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for shadow copies in Windows using this software if ransomware has not deleted them:

• Shadow Explorer

Method 4: Finding .katipuneros Virus decryption key while it communicates it via a network sniffing software.

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:

Instructions on How to Find Decryption Key for Files Encrypted By Ransowmare

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove .katipuneros Virus Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove .katipuneros Virus.
Step 1: Download STOPZilla by clicking here.
Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards.

Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it.
Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again.

Step 6: Review and click on the ‘Install’ button.

Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button.

2. Scan your PC with STOPZilla Anti Malware to remove all .katipuneros Virus associated files completely.
Step 1: Launch STOPZilla if you haven’t launched it after install.
Step 2: Wait for the software to automatically scan and then click on the ‘Repair Now’ button. If it does not scan automatically, click on the ‘Scan Now’ button.

Step 3: After the removal of all threats and associated objects, you should Restart your PC.

Vencislav Krustev

A network administrator and malware researcher at SensorsTechForum with passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cyber security. Strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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