This article will aid you in removing the Viki ransomware absolutely. Follow the ransomware removal instructions given at the bottom of the article.

The Viki ransomware has been discovered by the malware researcher Marcelo Rivero. It will encrypt your files, while adding the .viki extension to all of them. The Viki virus will display a ransom message written both in the Russian and English languages. The malware threat might also be known as CryptoViki. Read on to see how you can potentially recover some of your data.

Threat Summary

Name	Viki
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	The ransomware virus will encrypt your files and show a message screen with ransomware instructions for payment, both in Russian and English.
Symptoms	The ransomware will encrypt your files while placing the .Viki extension to them.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Viki Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Viki.
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.

Viki Ransomware – Spread

Viki ransomware might spread its infection via different ways. The payload file which executes the malicious script for this ransomware, that in turn infects your computer machine, is circling around the Internet. A sample of this ransomware has been found by the malware researcher Marcelo Rivero.

Viki ransomware could also spread its payload file on social media sites and file-sharing networks. Freeware applications which are found on the Web could be presented as helpful but at the same time could be hiding the malicious script for this cryptovirus. Don’t be opening files right when you have downloaded them, especially if they come from sources such as suspicious links or emails. Instead, you should scan them beforehand with a security tool, while also checking the sizes and signatures of those files for anything that seems unusual. You should read the ransomware preventing tips in our forum section.

Viki Virus – In-Depth Analysis

Viki is how this new cryptovirus is dubbed, although it is also known as CryptoViki. After your files get encrypted, they will all receive the .Viki extension. The Viki ransomware could make entries in the Windows Registry aiming to achieve a higher level of persistence. Those registry entries are typically designed in a way that will start the virus automatically with each launch of the Windows Operating System. An example of such an entry is the following:

→“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run”

The ransom note will appear after the encryption process is completed. The note provides instructions on how you could get your files restored. The note of Viki is stored in a file called “readme.txt”. You can preview the contents from the snapshot provided here below:

The ransom message inside that .txt file reads the following:

Aa¢é oaééfi éuée cédéédiééifi.
xoiau oafioeooiaaofi éa, fiai iAiaoiaeii iaiefiaou iefifiii
ia yéééoOiiiué aaoafi cryptovikiegmai1.com
Aaéaa 50 iiéo+éoa afia iaiaoiaéifia éifiodoéoéé.
liifioéé oaidéobiaaofi fiaiifioiyoaéfiii ia ibééaaoo ie é , ébiia éacaicaoaoiié iibédé
eioibiaoéé.
Afiéé so an, oioéoé iiiuoaofifiy, oi ideaaaOéoaéUii fiéééaéoé bacébéiua éiiéé oaééia,
eia+a a fiéo+aa
ea éciéiaiéy oafidéobiééa fioaiao iaéiciiaiié ié ibé éaéeo ofiéiééyo.

Your files have been encrypted.
To decrypt them, You need to write a letter
to the email address cryptoviki@gmail.com
Next, you will receive all necessary instructions.
Attempts to decipher alone will not lead to anything other than irretrievable loss of
information.
If you still want to try, make a backup of the files, or in the case
they change the decryption will be impossible under any circumstances.

As clearly seen from the ransom message above, the developer of the Viki virus wants you to contact them so you can pay an unspecific ransom sum. However, if you get your personal computer infected with the malware, you should NOT under any circumstances pay anything to the cybercriminals. Nobody can give you a guarantee that you will get your files decrypted upon payment, plus you might motivate them to do more criminal activities, once they get money for their wrongdoings.

Besides the note which is stored in the readme.txt file, there is also an image that is set as your Desktop wallpaper, seen below:

As you can see it is also written in Russian and English. The text is the following:

Внимание! Все ваши диски зашифрованы!
Подробности в файле readme.txt
Attention! All your disks are encrypted!
The details are in the file readme.txt

Viki Virus – Encryption Process

Viki ransomware will search and encrypt files, which have the following extensions:

→.doc, .docx, .jpg, .odt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .psd, .rtf, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx

The above is not an official list of extensions that are encrypted, so more extensions could also be sought to get locked by the Viki ransomware. The algorithm which is used for the locking of your files is not known for the time being.

The Viki cryptovirus might be set to erase the Shadow Volume Copies from the Windows Operating System by initiating the following command:

→vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /Quiet

The command’s execution typically makes the encryption process more viable, since it eliminates one of the prominent ways for the restoration of your files.

Remove Viki Virus and Restore .Viki Files

If your computer got infected with the Viki ransomware virus, you should have a bit of experience in removing malware. You should get rid of this ransomware as quickly as possible before it can have the chance to spread further and infect other computers. You should remove the ransomware and follow the step-by-step instructions guide provided below.

Manually delete Viki from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the Viki threat: Manual removal of Viki 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 Viki 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 Viki 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 Viki on your PC

Find malicious files created by Viki

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 Viki by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

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

Remove Viki with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

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

Restore Files Encrypted by Viki

Ransomware infections like Viki 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 Viki 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 Viki 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 Viki Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

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

Berta Bilbao

Berta is the Editor-in-Chief of SensorsTechForum. She is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space.

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