Remove .HORSELIKER file virus

What kind of infection are you dealing with

.HORSELIKER file virus malware is considered to be very harmful because of its intent to lock your files. It’s also referred to as ransomware, which is a term you should have heard of before. There is a high possibility that you recently opened an infected attachment or downloaded from malicious sources, and that’s how the infection entered. This will be discussed more in a later paragraph. There’s a reason ransomware is thought to be such a damaging infection, if you want to avoid likely severe damage, make sure you know how to stop an infection. If that isn’t an infection you are familiar with, finding out that your data has been encrypted can be particularly shocking. When you realize that files cannot be opened, you will see that you’re asked to give cyber crooks a certain amount of money so as to get a decryptor to decrypt files. It’s highly unlikely that a decryptor will be sent to you after you pay, because you are dealing with cyber crooks, who will not feel responsibility to help you. It’s quite possible that you will not get assistance from them. This, in addition to that money supporting an industry that does millions of dollars in damages, is why paying the ransom is not recommended. We should also say that malware researchers do help victims of ransomware to restore data, so you might get lucky. Research that before paying even crosses your mind. For those with backup available, just eliminate .HORSELIKER file virus and then access the backup to restore files.

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Ransomware spread methods

If you do not know about how file-encrypting malware spreads or what you may do to avoid such infections in the future, attentively read the following sections. Ransomware likes to to use rather simple methods for infection but a more elaborate method isn’t impossible. Low-level ransomware creators/distributors tend to stick to methods that don’t need much skill, like sending spam or hosting the infection on download platforms. By opening a spam email attachment is probably how you got the ransomware. The file infected with ransomware is attached to a kind of authentic email, and sent to all potential victims, whose email addresses they have in their database. Even if those emails will be pretty obvious to those who’ve ran into them before, less experienced users might not necessarily realize what they are dealing with. Particular signs can make it quite evident, like the sender having a nonsense email address, or countless mistakes in the text. It should also be mentioned that cyber criminals use known company names to put users at ease. Therefore, even if you do know the sender, always check whether the email address matches to the actual sender’s address. Be on the lookout for your name not used somewhere in the email, particularly in the beginning. Your name, instead of a general greeting, would definitely be used if you’ve dealt with the sender in the past, whether a company or a single user. As an example, if eBay sends you an email, they will have automatically included the name you have supplied them with if you’re their customer.

In short, before rushing to open email attachments, guarantee that the sender is legitimate and you will not lose your files by opening the attachment. And if you’re on a questionable page, avoid ads as much as possible. If you do, you may be redirected to a page hosting ransomware. It is best to ignore those adverts, no matter what they are advertising, seeing as they are always never reliable. Furthermore, don’t download from untrustworthy sources. If you’re an avid torrent user, at least make sure to read the comments from other users before downloading one. Program flaws may also be used for malware to enter. So as to stop malware from taking advantage of those flaws, your software needs to be updated. All you need to do is install the fixes that software vendors release.

How does ransomware act

As soon as you open the ransomware file, the ransomware will begin looking for files to encrypt. All files that may be important to you, such as photos, documents, etc, will be targeted. As soon as the data is found, the file-encrypting malware will encrypt them using a strong encryption algorithm. All affected ones will have a file attachment and this will help you identify encrypted files. A ransom message should also appear, in which criminals will demand that you obtain their decryption software. You could be demanded a couple of thousands of dollars, or just $20, it all depends on the ransomware. Whether to comply with the demands or not is your decision to make, but we don’t encourage the former option. It’s probable that you can restore files via other ways, so look into them before anything else. Malware researchers are occasionally able to crack ransomware, thus you may find a free decryptor. It is also possible that your files were backed up, and you simply don’t realize it. And if the ransomware did not erase the Shadow copies of your files, you might still recover them with the Shadow Explorer program. If you don’t want to end up in this type of situation again, ensure you back up files on a regular basis. If backup is an option, you ought to only access it after you fully erase .HORSELIKER file virus.

Ways to delete .HORSELIKER file virus

We should say that it’s not recommended to try to manually take care of everything. You machine may undergo severe harm if you make an error. Instead, you should get a malware elimination software and have it erase the threat. You shouldn’t run into issues since those utilities are created to eliminate .HORSELIKER file virus and similar threats. Your files won’t be recovered by the program, however, as it doesn’t posses that functionality. Instead, you will need to look into other file recovery methods.

Download Removal Toolto remove .HORSELIKER file virus

Learn how to remove .HORSELIKER file virus from your computer

• Step 1. Remove .HORSELIKER file virus using Safe Mode with Networking.
• Step 2. Remove .HORSELIKER file virus using System Restore
• Step 3. Recover your data

Step 1. Remove .HORSELIKER file virus using Safe Mode with Networking.

• a) Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking.
• b) Step 2. Remove .HORSELIKER file 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 .HORSELIKER file 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 .HORSELIKER file 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.