Domino virus - How to remove

Crooks are starting to make a complete mockery out of viruses. Domino crypto-ransomware is a recently discovered infection and we cannot help but to find it extremely quick-witted. While making references to Game of Thrones, it also manages to be a serious virus that has to be dealt with. Like any other ransomware disease, Domino virus does not fall very far from the tree and manages to be still closely relatable with other variants. We are here to help you get rid of this disease and make sure that your computer system does not undergo a major setback. If you have ever played with Domino tiles and arranged them in some sort of line, you know how easy it is to make them all fall.

About Domino virus

Domino virus is a peculiar variant of ransomware infections. Of course, it follows the main plan to encrypt the files, but the goal is reached after fulfilling quite unordinary objectives. First of all, this addition to the family is based on the Hidden Tear project. We give our best regards to IT specialists, attempting to crack this Domino virus.

The most curious feature of this ransomware is considered to be the fact that it pretends to be a KMSpico installer. This application is a clean tool to permanently activate any version of Windows and Microsoft Office. However, maybe the word “pretends” does not fit in to this context completely because Domino virus actually installs this program. However, the installer was modified to not only prepare KMSpico software for usage: it also is responsible for making the encrypting possible. Once the installer is done, Domino virus will create a file in the Temp folder. Once that piece of data is ran, it will extract a zip file called Help.zip. It will require a password and crooks have selected to go with: abc123456. Amateur hour? Anyway, once the file is executed, it will create two new files. The first one is Help.exe (responsible for encryption) and HelloWorld.exe (responsible for the ransom note). The extension, appended to all encrypted files is .domino. We have slowly arrived at the moment when we are going to speak about the information, provided in the letter of demands. See for yourself:

Your file had been encrypted with AES 1024 bit key!!
How to decrypt your files:
1. Send me 1bitcoin to: 1AkHpPZ18f3QAygdMV2W4R4QjkzYxDkNEA
2. After send me your (computer name + user name +bitcoin address) to email [email protected] to get password!
3. Using your password to decrypt your files!

If you didn’t do this, your password to decrypt your file will be destroy after 72 hours.
Winter Is coming!

To finish this message off, hackers added an ascii cow.

How is Domino Virus Distributed?

As dominoes are said to be brought to Europe from China, Domino virus had to travel from somewhere to reach your computer. It is very possible that you received an email letter, suggesting for you to instal KMSpico program. Actually, it is very ill-advised to download files this way. Very frequently email letters are utilized for distribution of ransomware viruses. If you wish to avoid Domino virus, never open potentially infectious letters or visit webpages of ill-repute. These two methods are very frequently selected for crooks’ shady plans.

How to Decrypt Files Encrypted by Domino Virus?

Since Domino virus is created based on the Hidden Tear project, it might be possible to decrypt files while using the decryptor, utilized for similar infections. Most certainly do not pay the required bitcoin for the decryption key (approximately around 574.38 US dollars). However, we cannot help but to suggest that users would backup their data in USBs or online storage units. This is the most efficient way to become immune to ransomware viruses in general. If you have your files in backup storages, then you can just eliminate Domino virus and retrieve files from there. However, to eliminate ransomware, you should utilize antivirus applications like Spyhunter or Hitman to guarantee maximum success and efficient protection in the future.

How to recover Domino virus encrypted files and remove the virus

Step 1. Restore system into last known good state using system restore

1. Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt:

for Windows 7 / Vista/ XP

• Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
• Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
• Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

for Windows 8 / 10

• Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart.
• Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings and click Restart.
• When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings.

 

2.Restore System files and settings.

• When Command Prompt mode loads, enter cd restore and press Enter.
• Then enter rstrui.exe and press Enter again.
• Click “Next” in the windows that appeared.
• Select one of the Restore Points that are available before Domino ransomware has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”.
• To start System restore click “Yes”.

 

Step 2. Complete removal of Domino virus

After restoring your system, it is recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter and remove all malicious files related to Domino ransomware. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore Domino virus affected files using Shadow Volume Copies

If you do not use System Restore option on your operating system, there is a chance to use shadow copy snapshots. They store copies of your files that point of time when the system restore snapshot was created. Usually Domino ransomware tries to delete all possible Shadow Volume Copies, so this methods may not work on all computers. However, it may fail to do so. Shadow Volume Copies are only available with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. There are two ways to retrieve your files via Shadow Volume Copy. You can do it using native Windows Previous Versions or via Shadow Explorer. a) Native Windows Previous Versions Right-click on an encrypted file and select Properties → Previous versions tab. Now you will see all available copies of that particular file and the time when it was stored in a Shadow Volume Copy. Choose the version of the file you want to retrieve and click Copy if you want to save it to some directory of your own, or Restore if you want to replace existing, encrypted file. If you want to see the content of file first, just click Open.

b) Shadow Explorer It is a program that can be found online for free. You can download either a full or a portable version of Shadow Explorer. Open the program. On the left top corner select the drive where the file you are looking for is a stored. You will see all folders on that drive. To retrieve a whole folder, right-click on it and select “Export”. Then choose where you want it to be stored.

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover Domino virus encrypted files

There are several data recovery programs that might recover encrypted files as well. This does not work in all cases but you can try this:

• We suggest using another PC and connect the infected hard drive as slave. It is still possible to do this on infected PC though.
• Download a data recovery program.
• Install and scan for recently deleted files.

Note: In many cases it is impossible to restore data files affected by modern ransomware. Thus I recommend using decent cloud backup software as precaution. We recommend checking out Carbonite, BackBlaze, CrashPlan or Mozy Home.