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 .lol Files Virus and other threats.
Threats such as .lol 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 has been created in order to help you by showing how to remove the .lol ransomware virus from your computer and how to restore .lol encrypted files without having to pay ransom.
New ransomware virus, using the .lol file extension has been detected to roam around the web, infecting users left and right. The malware aims to encrypt the files on the computers infected by it and sets the .lol file extension as a default suffix to the files encrypted by it. In addition to this a message appears on the computers of victims, beginning with “!!!!! Your personal files are now encrypted !!!!!”. In the event that your computer has been infected with the .lol files virus, we recommend that you read the following article to learn how to remove this ransomware and how to restore files that have been encrypted with the .lol extension without having to pay the ransom.
Threat Summary
Name
.lol Files Virus
Type
Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description
Aims to encrypt the files on your computer and then asks for $700 dollars as a payoff for their decryption.
Symptoms
Adds the .lol file extension to the encrypted files and an info.txt ransom note to the encrypted files.
Distribution Method
Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by .lol 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.
.lol Files Virus – Distribution
In order to be widely spread, the .lol files ransomware uses multiple different techniques, the main of which is via e-mail spam messages, like the example below displays.
Such messages often contain different types of files embedded in them, like:
Malicious executables, disguised as documents.
Microsoft word documents (.docm) with malicious macros embedded within them.
Adobe .PDF files that lead to the download of the above mention macros documents.
Malicious JavaScript (.js) or flash (.wsf, etc.) files that are compresses within .ZIP or .RAR archives.
In addition to via e-mail, the malicious files may also be uploaded online as fake key generators, license activators and other types of files. One infection file, which is associated with the .lol files ransomware has been reported by malware researchers to be the following:
What is interesting is that it may be the same keygen.exe file that is used to infect users with the extremely similar .fake files virus variant:
.lol Files Virus – More Information
After infection, the payload of .lol files ransomware is dropped in one of the following Windows directories:
%AppData%
%Local%
%LocalLow%
%Roaming%
%Temp%
As soon as this is done, the ransomware virus may modify the Windows Registry editor, more specifically attack the following Windows Registry sub-keys by adding values with data in them to make sure it’s malicious executable runs automatically on system boot:
In addition to this, the malware may also modify the Windows backups and recovery settings, more specifically delete your volume shadow copies via running the following WCP commands as an administrator:
After doing so, the .lol files virus may begin the file encryption operation, resulting in the following ransom note to appear afterwards:
Text from image:
If you see this message it means you have 24 hours to send 0.1 BTC to the following address or your files will be encrypted forever
All files with the following extensions have been encrypted: .jpg .png .gif .tif. .avi .mp4 .xls .xlsx .doc .docx .pptx .pdf .txt .csv Status: Loading: Time Remaining:
.lol Files Virus – Encryption
For encryption, the .lol ransomware virus targets the following file types on your computer system:
The virus is very careful not to encrypt files that are important for the functioning of Windows, so that you can still use your computer to pay the ransom.
After the encryption has completed, the files no longer look the same:
Futhermore, a unique key is generated which is the only direct method to recover the encrypted files and this key is available only to the crooks, but trusting them with your payment is strongly inadvisable.
Remove .lol Files Ransomware and Restore Encrypted Data
In order to remove this ransomware infections, we recommend following our removal instructions down below. They are specifically designed to help you delete all the related files plus other objects to .lol files virus either manually and automatically. Researchers recommend using the automatic approach for removal and downloading a removal tool for the .lol files virus which will scan for and delete all the objects professionally and secure your computer against future ransomware infections, without you having to reinstall your Windows OS.
If you want to recover files that have been encrypted by the .lol ransomware threat, recommendations are to try and use the file recovery methods below in step “2. Restore files, encrypted by .lol Ransomware”.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by .lol 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 .lol 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 .lol Files Virus follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove .lol 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 .lol Files Virus on your PC
Find files created by .lol 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.
IMPORTANT! Before starting the Automatic Removal below, please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode. This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
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 .lol Files Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for .lol Files Virus and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove .lol 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 .lol Files Virus
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by .lol Files Virus
Ransomware infections and .lol 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 has been created in order to help you by showing how to remove the .lol ransomware virus from your computer and how to restore .lol encrypted files without having to pay ransom.
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 .lol Files Virus and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
