This article should be able to help you remove J-Ransomware virus (J-Ransomware.exe) and show how to try and restore .LoveYou encrypted files without paying the ransom.

A new ransomware infection utilizing the AES encryption algorithm has been detected, malware researchers say. The virus is dubbed J-Ransomware, because of the malicious executable used by it. The ransomware also adds the .LoveYou file suffix to the files encrypted by it and the files themselves become no longer able to be opened. Once the .LoveYou file virus has already infected a computer, it drops a ransom note, named ReadMe.txt. It aims to convince victims into paying a hefty ransom fee to get the files decrypted back to their working state again. If your computer has been infected by the .LoveYou file virus, we advise you to read this article thoroughly.

Threat Summary

Name	.LoveYou File Virus
Type	Ransomware
Short Description	Encrypts the files on the computers infected by it demanding a ransom payoff to be made to get them back.
Symptoms	Files are encrypted with the .LoveYou file extension added as their suffix and a ransom note, named ReadMe.txt is dropped on the victim PC.
Distribution Method	Via an Exploit kit, Dll file attack, malicious JavaScript or a drive-by download of the malware itself in an obfuscated manner.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by .LoveYou File Virus Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss .LoveYou File 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.

How Did I Get Infected With .LoveYou File Virus

The infection process of the .LoveYou ransomware virus may only appear to be very simple, but it actually includes multiple different types of software that may be used to slither the malicious files of the virus onto your computer without you noticing it:

• Malware obfuscators to conceal the malicious files from any average AntiVirus software.
• Web-injectors that can infect your computer automatically after you have clicked on a malicious web link.
• Fake system updates which only pretend to patch yoru PC, while in fact, they are downloading the payload files off .LoveYou file virus.
• Fake setups that pretend to be the free program that you have been searching for to download and install for free online.
• Documents that contain malicious macros and infect your computer after you click on the “ Enable Content” button. Such are usually spread as fake invoices, receipts and other types of seemingly legitimate documents added as e-mail attachments in spam mails.

Once you open the malicious objects, the J-Ransomware virus immediately establishes a connection to the following host:

→ hxxp://jackspam(dot)esy(dot)es/public_html/ransomware.php

After connecting there, the virus immediately downloads it’s payload file, named J-Ransomware.exe, as reported in VirusTotal:

.LoveYou J-Ransomware – Malicious Activity

Once the ransomware virus has infected a targeted computer system, it may immediately insert various different types of functions in Windows. Some of them may interfere with Windows system processes to gain the virus Read and Write (administrative) privileges. Once there, the .LoveYou file virus may perform a set of activities.

One of those activities .LoveYou file virus may be involved with is the creation of registry entries in the following Windows Registry Editor 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 this has completed, the .LoveYou file virus may also delete the backups and shadow volume copies on your computer. This is achieved by executing multiple different commands in Windows Command Prompt:

→ vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet
wmic shadowcopy delete
bcdedit /set boostatuspolicy ignoreallfailures
bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no & wbadmin delete catalog -quiet

After this has been done, the malware may also force restart the computer so that it can begin the encryption procedure.

J-Ransomware – Encryption Process

The files that are targeted for encryption by this ransomware infection may be of the following types:

→ “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”Source:fileinfo.com

As soon as the .LoveYou file virus detects that some of the file types It has been pre-configured to encrypt are present, the ransomware infection immediately attacks those files and alters their structure with the aid of the AES encryption algorithm. After the encryption process has completed, the .LoveYou file virus adds it’s distinctive file extension to the encrypted files, making them look like the following:

Remove J-Ransomware and Restore .LoveYou Encrypted Files

For the removal process of this ransomware infection, malware researchers recommend to backup your files, just in case, despite them being encyrpted. Then, it is strongly advisable to follow the removal instructions below. They are specifically designed to help you get rid of .LoveYou ransomware either manually or automatically. Since this ransomware virus may create various different files that may tamper with key Windows processes, manual removal may be a risky process. Security experts often advise to use an advanced anti-malware tool that is ransomware-oriented in order to perform the removal automatically and protect your system in the future.

If you are interested in restoring your files in the event that they are encrypted by this virus, recommendations are to try the alternative methods for file recovery in step “2. Restore files encrypted by .LoveYou file virus” below. They are in no way 100% guarantee to recover all your files, but with their aid, you may restore at least some of the data.

Manually delete .LoveYou File Virus from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the .LoveYou File Virus threat: Manual removal of .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File Virus on your PC

Find malicious files created by .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File Virus by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

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

Remove .LoveYou File Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by .LoveYou File Virus

Ransomware infections like .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File Virus Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove .LoveYou File 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 .LoveYou File 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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