Widia ransomware / virus (Removal Guide) - Simple Removal Guide

Widia virus Removal Guide

What is Widia ransomware virus?

Widia lock screen virus threatens users with data destruction but does not allow to pay ransom

Widia virus is a new cyber infection which follows the trend of lock screen viruses [1] and unlike crypto-ransomware, prevents victims from accessing their files by interfering with the regular system’s boot up process. The system’s bootup stops at a multicolored Widia’s lock screen window claiming that the victim’s files have supposedly been encrypted and the only way to get them back is to purchase the private recovery key from the virus developers. The victims are only spared miserable 24 hours to pay the ransom. The criminals set up the timer to countdown seconds until the payment deadline, after which the faith of the victim’s files becomes even more obscure. The most unique aspect of this malware is that the criminals behind it ask the victims to pay an unspecified amount of ransom via credit card transaction. Experienced crooks don’t do that simply because banking operations can be easily tracked down, exposing the scammers’ identities and resulting in their prosecution. This might suggest that either this virus was originally intended as a prank, or was designed by inexperienced cybercriminal wannabes as an attempt to generate easy money. If it’s the latter case, the crooks have failed miserably — the “Check” button which should submit credit card details does not work, and the ransomware itself does not seem to have any affect on the computer files. The documents remain healthy; the only problem is the lock screen removal. Virus executable Wd0w.exe disables system management utilities such as Task Manager, UAC [2] and kills processes such regedit.exe or Explorer.exe to prevent the victim from escaping the lock screen. Fortunately, there are alternative ways to get back the access to your computer. We will discuss them at the end of the article. It is important to note that after you regain control over your system, you must carry out a thorough scan with some malware-detection software immediately. You may use FortectIntego — a versatile tool which will remove Widia and clean malicious registry entries at the same time.

Widia virus

If you are interested to read through the actual ransom note that Widia leaves on the infected computer, you can find its transcription below:

Your documents, photos, databases and other important files have been encrypted with the strongest encryption and unique key, generated for this computer. Private decryption key is stored on a secret Internet server and nobody can decrypt your files until you pay and obtain the private key. The server will eliminate the key after a time period specified in this window.

We should emphasize that though this ransomware does not encrypt files, it does not mean it does not serve some other malicious purpose behind the surface. Perhaps it is some kind of phishing apparatus which collects your banking credentials in order to use them for heists in the future. Thus, you should not even attempt to enter any of your sensitive data in the given slots and proceed with Widia removal immediately.

A depiction of Widia virusIn the image above you can see a screenshot of Widia virus lock screen.

Scareware employs regular ransomware distribution techniques to infiltrate computers

Widia may not be a full-blown crypto-ransomware but it sure may spread like one. The virus can be easily implemented into freeware download links and you may unknowingly download it on your computer. Besides, you may accidentally allow the malware on your PC when opening infected email attachments disguised as speeding tickets, parcel delivery notifications and other files that provide seemingly relevant information. Regardless of what way Widia chooses to reach your computer, it will need you to activate it by launching its executable. So, memorize the file name Wd0w.exe and do not open it if you find it on your computer!

Widia removal can be completed after terminating the lock screen

It all sounds simple: exit the lock screen, run antivirus and allow it to remove Widia virus from your computer. But when it comes to actual Widia removal, things may get quite complicated. To lessen the chances of the malware elimination errors, we recommend to look through the guidelines our experts have prepared at the end of this article. We hope you will find them helpful!

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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 Widia virus. Follow these steps

Manual removal using Safe Mode

You may try exiting Widia’s lock screen by running your computer in Safe Mode:

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 Widia using System Restore

System Restore is another option you can go for in order to remove the undesirable lock screen from your computer and regain access to your system. Please note that System Restore will NOT delete your personal files.

  • 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 Widia. 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 Widia removal is performed successfully.

Bonus: Recover your data

Guide which is presented above is supposed to help you remove Widia from your computer. To recover your encrypted files, we recommend using a detailed guide prepared by 2-spyware.com security experts.

If your files are encrypted by Widia, you can use several methods to restore them:

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

How to prevent from getting ransomware

Access your website securely from any location

When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.

If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.

 

Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks

While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.

Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection. 

 

About the author
Gabriel E. Hall
Gabriel E. Hall - Passionate web researcher

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