Reveton. Virus description and removal steps (2018 update)

Reveton Trojan Removal Guide

What is Reveton Trojan?

Reveton – a malicious ransomware virus mimicking governmental authorities to swindle users' money

Reveton TrojanReveton Trojan - a dangerous screenlocker which installs ransomware on the infected computer right after infiltration.

Reveton – a dangerous ransomware[1] application which is known to display a fake governmental notice to its victims. Typically, it claims that the user was caught while performing illegal actions on his/her computer. The virus also disables its victims from using the computer/mobile device properly and requires specific ransom for unblocking it. Also known as Trojan:Win32/Reveton, this harmful program has mostly been spreading around Europe (Spain, France, Turkey, Italy),[2] the US, and other world's regions. Typically, crooks behind Reveton ransomware claim that they are representing a particular law enforcement authority which is situated in the victim's location. After starting infecting Windows OS, it switched to mobile devices. While it is unknown how active this malware is at the moment of writing, hackers who had used it for generating the money are known to be sentenced.[3]

Name Reveton
Category Trojan horse/Ransomware
detected as Trojan:W32/Reveton; Ransom:Win32/Reveton; TROJ_REVETON.SM4; TROJ_REVETON.SM6
Users affected Users located in Europe, USA, Middle East
Purpose To lock the desktop screen and demand a ransom to unlock it
Can be tricky Once the virus locks the screen, it claims to be from a law enforcement authority (e.g., FBI, Police, etc.)
Distribution Dubious programs, spam emails
Deletion Install FortectIntego and get rid of the infection ASAP

Reveton ransomware can be recognized as %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\[reveton_filename].dll.lnk on Windows XP, and as %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\Startup\[reveton_filename]dll.lnk on Windows 7. As you can see from its location, it sets itself for launching once the PC is rebooted.

If you see signs showing you the Reveton, e.g. you cannot use your computer, you are urged to pay a particular price to unlock your computer screen, your program's don't work, your computer's desktop is covered by an unusual warning, do not rush to follow commands of cybercriminals. We recommend staying away from any contact with these crooks as their main aim is to swindle the money. Even if you transfer the demanded payment, there is no guarantee that the crooks will keep their promise and unlock your desktop.

Nevertheless, Reveton can also be filled with other damaging abilities that are familiar with other Trojan infections. For example, such viruses might perform various actions in the background, monitor internet activities, run software without the user's permission and even seek for stealing personal information that can be found in the infected computer.

If you overcome such infection, you need to remove Reveton as it is not just a Trojan that acts like a screen-locking ransomware-type virus. It can also install another malware on your computer or steal your personal data. For such purpose, we suggest using anti-malware tools such as FortectIntego. Make sure you get rid of the threat as soon as you spot the first symptoms to avoid damaging consequences.

Be quick to perform the Reveton removal. After you do so, make sure you take some precautionary measures in the future. Trojans[4] can come together with regular software, or the harmful payload can be dropped as a spam message to the victim's email box. Be careful while performing any actions on the Internet.

Reveton virus Reveton - a dangerous infection which urges ransom to unlock the desktop screen. However, it can also act as a typical trojan horse.

Avoid serious malware by following tips of security experts

According to IT experts[5], various malware forms such as Trojans or ransomware-type viruses often distribute through spam messages. Crooks drop harmful payload straight to victims' email boxes. Virus-related content comes in the form of an attachment clipped to the phishing message or as a dubious link. If you click on such components and activate the damaging payload – you can get your computer infected with a serious infection.

Furthermore, various malware can spread widely throughout questionable web pages or software that is downloaded by using third-party installers. Avoid damaging consequences by installing strong antivirus protection. Make sure you keep the security tool always updated. If taken care of properly, this type of software will protect your system from various damaging components that might slip in the system secretly.

Get rid of Reveton without any delay

If you want to remove Reveton virus, you need to choose a professional anti-malware tool for such purpose. We recommend picking FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, or Malwarebytes. These types of programs will let you deal with the infection as effectively as possible. However, if you are thinking about manual elimination, notice that such a method is not possible for those who do not have experience in such situations.

After you perform the Reveton Trojan removal, make sure you do not forget to do one more necessary step. You need to carry out some system backups to make sure that the cyber threat has vanished successfully and there are no more damaging components left. Take care of your computer in the future – pay attention while browsing the web, do not open dubious email attachments and regularly update your antivirus program.

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What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.

Getting rid of Reveton Trojan. Follow these steps

Manual removal using Safe Mode

Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Networking by using these instructions:

Important! →
Manual removal guide might be too complicated for regular computer users. It requires advanced IT knowledge to be performed correctly (if vital system files are removed or damaged, it might result in full Windows compromise), and it also might take hours to complete. Therefore, we highly advise using the automatic method provided above instead.

Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking

Manual malware removal should be best performed in the Safe Mode environment. 

Windows 7 / Vista / XP
  1. Click Start > Shutdown > Restart > OK.
  2. When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 button (if that does not work, try F2, F12, Del, etc. – it all depends on your motherboard model) multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
  3. Select Safe Mode with Networking from the list. Windows 7/XP
Windows 10 / Windows 8
  1. Right-click on Start button and select Settings.
    Settings
  2. Scroll down to pick Update & Security.
    Update and security
  3. On the left side of the window, pick Recovery.
  4. Now scroll down to find Advanced Startup section.
  5. Click Restart now.
    Reboot
  6. Select Troubleshoot. Choose an option
  7. Go to Advanced options. Advanced options
  8. Select Startup Settings. Startup settings
  9. Press Restart.
  10. Now press 5 or click 5) Enable Safe Mode with Networking. Enable safe mode

Step 2. Shut down suspicious processes

Windows Task Manager is a useful tool that shows all the processes running in the background. If malware is running a process, you need to shut it down:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details.
    Open task manager
  3. Scroll down to Background processes section, and look for anything suspicious.
  4. Right-click and select Open file location.
    Open file location
  5. Go back to the process, right-click and pick End Task.
    End task
  6. Delete the contents of the malicious folder.

Step 3. Check program Startup

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
  2. Go to Startup tab.
  3. Right-click on the suspicious program and pick Disable.
    Startup

Step 4. Delete virus files

Malware-related files can be found in various places within your computer. Here are instructions that could help you find them:

  1. Type in Disk Cleanup in Windows search and press Enter.
    Disk cleanup
  2. Select the drive you want to clean (C: is your main drive by default and is likely to be the one that has malicious files in).
  3. Scroll through the Files to delete list and select the following:

    Temporary Internet Files
    Downloads
    Recycle Bin
    Temporary files

  4. Pick Clean up system files.
    Delete temp files
  5. You can also look for other malicious files hidden in the following folders (type these entries in Windows Search and press Enter):

    %AppData%
    %LocalAppData%
    %ProgramData%
    %WinDir%

After you are finished, reboot the PC in normal mode.

Remove Reveton Trojan using System Restore

Activate the System Restore feature and disable the virus. Follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt
    Windows 7 / Vista / XP
    1. Click Start Shutdown Restart OK.
    2. When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
    3. Select Command Prompt from the list Select 'Safe Mode with Command Prompt'

    Windows 10 / Windows 8
    1. Press the Power button at the Windows login screen. Now press and hold Shift, which is on your keyboard, and click Restart..
    2. Now select Troubleshoot Advanced options Startup Settings and finally press Restart.
    3. Once your computer becomes active, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt in Startup Settings window. Select 'Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt'
  • Step 2: Restore your system files and settings
    1. Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter. Enter 'cd restore' without quotes and press 'Enter'
    2. Now type rstrui.exe and press Enter again.. Enter 'rstrui.exe' without quotes and press 'Enter'
    3. When a new window shows up, click Next and select your restore point that is prior the infiltration of Reveton Trojan. After doing that, click Next. When 'System Restore' window shows up, select 'Next' Select your restore point and click 'Next'
    4. Now click Yes to start system restore. Click 'Yes' and start system restore
    Once you restore your system to a previous date, download and scan your computer with FortectIntego and make sure that Reveton Trojan removal is performed successfully.

Finally, you should always think about the protection of crypto-ransomwares. In order to protect your computer from Reveton Trojan and other ransomwares, use a reputable anti-spyware, such as FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes

How to prevent from getting ransomware

Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool

Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.

 

Lost your files? Use data recovery software

While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.

To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.

About the author
Ugnius Kiguolis
Ugnius Kiguolis - The mastermind

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References
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