Remove GoldenEye Virus

About this infection

GoldenEye Virus file encrypting malware will lock your files and you will be unable to open them. It is usually referred to as ransomware. If you are wondering how you managed to obtain such an infection, you probably opened a spam email attachment, pressed on an infected advertisement or downloaded something from a source you shouldn’t have. We’ll further explore this in a later paragraph. Dealing with a file-encrypting malware infection may have dire consequences, therefore it’s quite important that you are informed about how it might enter your system. If you have not ran into file-encrypting kind of malware before, it may be rather shocking to find all your files encrypted. Soon after you notice that something is not right, a ransom note will pop-up, which will explain that so as to restore the files, you have to pay money. If you consider paying to be a good idea, we’d like to caution you that you are dealing with crooks, and we doubt they’ll aid you, even if you pay. We very much doubt crooks will aid you in file recovery, them simply ignoring you is more likely. This, in addition to that money supporting other malware projects, is why malware specialists generally do not recommend giving into the demands. Sometimes, malware specialists are able to crack the ransomware, which might mean that there is a free decryptor available. Before making any rash decisions, carefully look into other options first. In case you did create backup prior to infection, after you eliminate GoldenEye Virus there should be no problems when it comes to data restoring.

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Ransomware spread ways

In this section, we will try to find out how your machine may have acquired the infection in the first place. Ransomware tends to employ rather simple methods for contamination but more sophisticated ones are not out of the question. And by simple, we are talking about methods like spam email, infected advertisements and downloads. It is highly likely that you got the ransomware through spam email. Cyber criminals have access to large databases full of future victim email addresses, and all that’s needed to be done is write a semi-convincing email and add the file infected with the malware to it. If you’ve never running into such a spam campaign, you might not recognize it for what it is, although if you are familiar with the signs, it ought to be rather obvious. Look out for certain signs that you are dealing with malware, something like a nonsense email addresses and a lot of grammar mistakes in the text. We should also mention that hackers pretend to be from legitimate companies to not cause doubt for people. So, as an example, if Amazon sends you an email, you still have to check if the email address matches just be sure. If your name isn’t used in the email, for example, in the greeting, that should raise suspicion. Your name, instead of a typical greeting, would definitely be used if you have dealt with the sender in the past, whether it’s an individual or a company. As an example, if you get an email from Amazon, they will have automatically included the name you have supplied them with if you’re a customer of theirs.

In short, just be more careful about how you deal with emails, mainly, don’t rush to open the email attachments and ensure the sender is legitimate. Also, do not press on advertisements when on dubious sites. If you do, you could end up with a malicious infection. Whatever the ad is endorsing, engaging with it could be dangerous, so ignore it. Unchecked download sources may easily be hosting malware, which is why you should stop downloading from them. If you are regularly using torrents, at least ensure to read people’s comments before downloading one. In other cases, malware could also enter through vulnerabilities found in software. And that is why it is essential to keep your programs up-to-date. Whenever an update becomes available, make sure you install it.

What happened to your files

The ransomware will begin searching for certain files to lock as soon as you open it. Files that will be encrypted will be documents, media files (photos, video, music) and everything you think of as important. The ransomware will use a strong encryption algorithm to encrypt files as soon as they are found. The ones that have been locked will now contain an unknown file extension. You will be unable to open them, and soon enough, a ransom note ought to appear, which ought to contain information about buying a decryption utility. Depending on the ransomware, the decryption program may cost $100 or a even up to $1000. it’s your decision to make whether to pay the ransom, but do think about why ransomware specialists do not encourage that option. It’s may be probable that you could achieve data restoring through different means, so research them before anything else. Maybe a decryption tool has been developed by people who specialize in malware research. Or maybe you have backed up the files some time ago but forgotten about it. Or maybe the Shadow copies of your files are available, which means they might be restorable using a certain application. And start using backup so that you do not end up in this kind of situation again. If backup is available, you ought to only access it after you entirely remove GoldenEye Virus.

How to remove GoldenEye Virus

First of all, we should emphasize that we do not think manual termination is the best idea. While you couldbe successful, you might do irreversible damage to your device. It would be much safer to use a malware elimination tool instead. There should not be any trouble because those utilities are created to uninstall GoldenEye Virus and similar threats. As this tool won’t aid you in decrypting files, don’t expect to find your files restored after the threat has been terminated. This means you’ll have to find out how to recover data yourself.

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Learn how to remove GoldenEye Virus from your computer

• Step 1. Remove GoldenEye Virus using Safe Mode with Networking.
• Step 2. Remove GoldenEye Virus using System Restore
• Step 3. Recover your data

Step 1. Remove GoldenEye Virus using Safe Mode with Networking.

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.
• b) Step 2. Remove GoldenEye Virus.

a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.

For Windows 7/Vista/XP

1. Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options appears.
3. Choose Safe Mode with Networking

For Windows 8/10 users

1. Press the power button that appears at the Windows login screen. Press and hold Shift. Click Restart.
2. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. Choose Enable Safe Mode with Networking.

b) Step 2. Remove GoldenEye Virus.

You will now need to open your browser and download some kind of anti-malware software. Choose a trustworthy one, install it and have it scan your computer for malicious threats. When the ransomware is found, remove it. If, for some reason, you can't access Safe Mode with Networking, go with another option.

Step 2. Remove GoldenEye Virus using System Restore

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
• b) Step 2. Restore files and settings.

a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

For Windows 7/Vista/XP

1. Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
2. Press and keep pressing F8 until Advanced Boot Options appears.
3. Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

For Windows 8/10 users

1. Press the power button that appears at the Windows login screen. Press and hold Shift. Click Restart.
2. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. Choose Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

b) Step 2. Restore files and settings.

1. You will need to type in cd restore in the window that appears. Press Enter.
2. Type in rstrui.exe and again, press Enter.
3. A window will pop-up and you should press Next. Choose a restore point and press Next again.
4. Press Yes.

While this should have taken care of the ransomware, you might want to download anti-malware just to be sure no other threats are lurking.  

Step 3. Recover your data

• a) Using Data Recovery Pro to recover encrypted files.
• b) Restore files through Windows Previous Versions
• c) Using Shadow Explorer to recover files

While backup is essential, there is still quite a few users who do not have it. If you are one of them, you can try the below provided methods and you just might be able to recover files.

a) Using Data Recovery Pro to recover encrypted files.

1. Download Data Recovery Pro, preferably from a trustworthy website.
2. Scan your device for recoverable files.
3. Recover them.

b) Restore files through Windows Previous Versions

If you had System Restore enabled, you can recover files through Windows Previous Versions.

1. Find a file you want to recover.
2. Right-click on it.
3. Select Properties and then Previous versions.
4. Pick the version of the file you want to recover and press Restore.

c) Using Shadow Explorer to recover files

If you are lucky, the ransomware did not delete your shadow copies. They are made by your system automatically for when system crashes.

1. Go to the official website (shadowexplorer.com) and acquire the Shadow Explorer application.
2. Set up and open it.
3. Press on the drop down menu and pick the disk you want.
4. If folders are recoverable, they will appear there. Press on the folder and then Export.

* SpyHunter scanner, published on this site, is intended to be used only as a detection tool. More info on SpyHunter. To use the removal functionality, you will need to purchase the full version of SpyHunter. If you wish to uninstall SpyHunter, click here.