WinLock2 virus - How to remove

WinLock2 is a typical ransomware infection – if the computer is infected with it, all your files will be encrypted, i.e. locked. In order to retrieve them, you will be asked to pay the ransom.

You might be wondering how such a complicated and dangerous computer virus managed to get into your system? Well, you have probably attempted to install “Call of Duty: WWII” game downloaded from the Internet. To be more exact, the name of malicious file is “Call_of_Duty_WWII_SKIDROWcracked.exe”.

WinLock2 virus remove

This virus is distributed under the name of this well-known computer game, so we recommend to only install games downloaded from reliable sources. Also, WinLock2 virus might come as an attachment to spam email letter, therefore you should be really careful about them too.

It seems like this malware is targeted to the users from Czech Republic since the all texts of the virus are in Czech and the ransom itself is demanded to be paid in Czech koruna. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that users from other countries can’t be infected.

If you are infected with this ransomware and don’t know what to do next, you have come to the right place. In this article we will provide you with detailed instructions how to remove WinLock2 virus from a computer and help you restore the files that have been locked.

WinLock2 ransomware pretends to be a message from official authorities

Much like Cyber Police Ransomware or Spanish Police virus, WinLock2 pretends to be police officers in order to scare people and force them to pay.

Regardless of the way you got infected with this virus, after the infection your computer will be scanned to detect all files that can be encrypted. After this, all your personal files such as photos, audio and video files, text documents and so on will be encrypted with strong AES cryptography and an unique extension will be added to the end of all your files.

Also, WinLock2 serves as a screen locker, so your home screen will be locked and you won’t be able to perform any actions on your computer. Cyber criminals requires you to pay 1000 Czech koruna as a ransom, which is around 50 USD at a current exchange rate. Even though this amount seems to be relatively small, we still do not recommend to do that because you can never trust cyber criminals – you can be ignored after the payment.

How to unlock screen and eliminate WinLock2 infection?

We have already mentioned that WinLock2 infection also locks your screen, so the first thing you need to do in order to begin removal process is to unlock it. To do that, just fill in 16 random digits or/and letters to the field “PIN Kod” and then click “Zaplatit”. After that you will receive a pop-up message that your computer needs to be restarted. However, this only works if you pay the ransom and receive valid pin code from cyber criminals. Since you just submitted random numbers without actually paying the ransom, you should ignore this pop-up message – after the restart their system will indicate that the code you entered is false and your screen will be locked again. In the meantime, just close the pop-up message and run a scan with anti-malware application, such as Spyhunter. It should detect and remove WinLock2 infection in no time, so it won’t lock your screen again.

Unfortunately, anti-malware application can’t decrypt files encrypted by WinLock2, therefore the only way to retrieve them is to perform a system restore. Check this guide and learn how to do that. In order to make things work, you have to have a valid copy of your hard drive that was made before the infection.

How to recover WinLock2 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 RestartOK.
  • Press F8 key repeatedly until Advanced Boot Options window appears.
  • Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Windows 7 enter safe mode

for Windows 8 / 10
  • Press Power at Windows login screen. Then press and hold Shift key and click Restart. Windows 8-10 restart to safe mode
  • Choose TroubleshootAdvanced OptionsStartup Settings and click Restart.
  • When it loads, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list of Startup Settings. Windows 8-10 enter safe mode
 

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.CMD commands
  • Click “Next” in the windows that appeared. Restore point img1
  • Select one of the Restore Points that are available before WinLock2 virus has infiltrated to your system and then click “Next”. Restore point img2
  • To start System restore click “Yes”. Restore point img3
 

Step 2. Complete removal of WinLock2 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 WinLock2 virus. You can check other tools here.  

Step 3. Restore WinLock2 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 WinLock2 virus 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 PropertiesPrevious 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.
Previous version
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.
Shadow explorer

Step 4. Use Data Recovery programs to recover WinLock2 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. Data Recovery Pro
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.
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