Remove Buddy virus (Simple Removal Guide)
Buddy is a name of a malicious computer threat, which is known as ransomware. Ransomware is a type of a computer virus that enters victim’s computer as a Trojan horse, encrypts user’s personal files and demands to pay ransom to get the lost files back.
This virus targets audio, video, music, document files. When it finds them, it locks them using a malicious encryption algorithm. Buddy virus leaves a small mark on each encrypted file – it changes the file name by adding a .cry extension to it. For example, a file named photo.jpg will be renamed to photo.jpg.cry. It seems that the cyber-criminals who have developed this ransomware enjoy making fun of its victims – the name of the virus and the extension it adds to the infected files sound sardonically.
Questions about Buddy virus
Once the data encryption is done, this malicious computer threat leaves a message in every folder that stores the encrypted data. It may also place the same message on your desktop background. The ransom note says:
Hi, Buddy!
f you see this message, all your important files are been crypted 🙂
What can you do? You can pay with bitcoin and wait 10 min for decryption!
This note also includes explanations how to buy bitcoins and how to transfer them into the cyber-criminals’ account. It demands to buy and transfer 0.77756467 bitcoins (approximately $290). If these criminals have successfully hacked your computer, we do not recommend you to pay the ransom, because it is unlikely that they are going to help you to recover the encrypted files.
You must delete this malicious threat from your computer as soon as you can. You can do that manually, but we strongly advise doing that automatically. To remove the virus, you can use Reimage or any other anti-malware software. To decrypt the files, you can use one of the following applications:
However, please take the recovery actions only after you entirely banish Buddy malware from your computer.
How did Buddy virus was installed on my computer?
This particular kind of file-encrypting viruses is mostly distributed via malicious e-mails. That is why you should never open letters that are categorized as “Junk Mail” or “Spam”. What is more, you should avoid opening emails that come from unknown senders. Especially try to avoid opening suspicious files that might be attached to them. Sometimes, cyber-criminals send suspicious hyperlinks that might state that you have won a prize or a huge amount of money; do not click on such links, because they might pull the trigger and kickstart an automatic download of a malicious computer threat.
The discussed virus can also be spread via unreliable high-risk websites. Avoid browsing through suspicious web pages; you can accidentally download Buddy ransomware by a clicking on a corrupted hyperlink placed on an infectious website.
If you want to get rid of this virus manually, look for manual Buddy removal instructions on page 2.
Buddy removal methods
Speaking of ransomware, it is better to secure your computer before some malicious threat attacks you. That is why we recommend keeping a backup copy of your personal data stored on an external drive. If you did not have such backup, there is nothing much you can do now. You can try to use the decryption tools that we have listed on page 1, but there is no guarantee that they are going to decrypt your files. Each ransomware is programmed in a different way, and these programs might not be able to decrypt files that were encrypted by Buddy. However, it is still worth to try every possible data recovery option. Before doing so, you must remove the virus. The automatic removal option and a manual removal guide are given below:
To remove Buddy virus, follow these steps:
Remove Buddy using Safe Mode with Networking
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Step 1: Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Networking
Windows 7 / Vista / XP- Click Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
- When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
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Select Safe Mode with Networking from the list
Windows 10 / Windows 8- Press the Power button at the Windows login screen. Now press and hold Shift, which is on your keyboard, and click Restart..
- Now select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings and finally press Restart.
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Once your computer becomes active, select Enable Safe Mode with Networking in Startup Settings window.
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Step 2: Remove Buddy
Log in to your infected account and start the browser. Download Reimage or other legitimate anti-spyware program. Update it before a full system scan and remove malicious files that belong to your ransomware and complete Buddy removal.
If your ransomware is blocking Safe Mode with Networking, try further method.
Remove Buddy using System Restore
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Step 1: Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Windows 7 / Vista / XP- Click Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
- When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
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Select Command Prompt from the list
Windows 10 / Windows 8- Press the Power button at the Windows login screen. Now press and hold Shift, which is on your keyboard, and click Restart..
- Now select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings and finally press Restart.
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Once your computer becomes active, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt in Startup Settings window.
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Step 2: Restore your system files and settings
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Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter.
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Now type rstrui.exe and press Enter again..
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When a new window shows up, click Next and select your restore point that is prior the infiltration of Buddy. After doing that, click Next.
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Now click Yes to start system restore.
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Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter.
Finally, you should always think about the protection of crypto-ransomwares. In order to protect your computer from Buddy and other ransomwares, use a reputable anti-spyware, such as Reimage, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes
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February 3rd, 2016 at 12:32 pm
scary. I must backup my files! I have never heard about such viruses before. I did not know that they can destroy personal files permanently..
February 3rd, 2016 at 12:34 pm
Freaking virus, it attacked my cousin. Guys, Buddy hackers do not help you to recover the files!!!!!!