French ransomware / virus (Decryption Steps Included) - Improved Instructions

French virus Removal Guide

What is French ransomware virus?

Another under-development French ransomware is expected to encrypt entire data on the PC

French ransomware illustration

French virus is known for its encrypting abilities and easily recognized by the .lockon file extension. The ransomware is currently in the development stage and encodes files which are located in C:\testrw only. However, cybersecurity experts believe that hackers will try their best to successfully grow this file-encrypting virus and benefit from inexperienced computer users.

Thus, if the crypto-malware has already infiltrated on your PC, protect your data which is still accessible by performing French removal instantly. We aim to support ransomware victims and attach alternative methods at the end of this article which will help you to restore your files. Make sure to check them, since it is the best option to recover after such cyber assault.

Furthermore, those who are curious how the virus works should know that currently, French ransomware infiltrates on the victim’s PC via fake software updates or malicious e-mail attachments[1]. After it finishes data encryption, the victims are informed about the attack from a ransom note which is placed on the desktop.

The message is written in French and demands to pay a ransom to a personalized Bitcoin account for a decryption tool. Even though it may seem that the only way to recover encrypted data is to follow the crooks’ rules, we once again recommend you to never agree to make a transaction.

French ransomware imageFrench ransomware encrypts files which are located in the C:\testrw directory.

Note that you can find numerous ransomware stories when the victim has made a settlement with the criminals, and they failed to keep their promises — the decryption key was never sent. French ransomware attack is not an exception, and another possible outcome of the agreement might be that the hackers will increase the amount of the demanded money once you make a transaction.

Be aware that it is a profitable sphere and crooks won’t give access to your files without enormous financial losses. Therefore, we suggest you to remove French virus and try to retrieve your data in an alternative way. Employ FortectIntego or SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and get rid of the malicious program without further computer damage.

Spam e-mails and fake software updates — the most commonly used techniques to distribute ransomware

If you wonder how crypto-malware infected your computer or simply how to protect yourself from such attack, malicious e-mail letters and fraudulent offers to update your regular software is the answer.

Criminals attach the executable files of the ransomware to an e-mail message, which in most cases looks legitimate. Once computer users receive such letter, they do not expect it to be malicious and open the attachment which triggers an automatic infiltration of the infection.

Another method employed to spread the ransomware is placing software update pop-ups[2] on suspicious websites. Typically they are designed to imitate official upgraders of applications which are used worldwide. This way people think that they are updating their program while in reality, they manually infect their computers with the file-encrypting virus.

Therefore, we highly recommend you to do not browse in unreliable pages and definitely do not download any applications which are offered there. Additionally, avoid opening suspicious e-mail letters and delete them instead.

French ransomware can be terminated automatically

While you can eliminate various computer infections manually, French removal requires specific IT skills. Thus, you have two options — employ certified IT experts or use a professional security program to terminate the ransomware automatically.

We do believe that a vast of people want to save their time and prefer antivirus system over an IT technician. Therefore, we have collaborated with LosVirus.es[3] analysts and picked out the most efficient anti-malware programs for you.

To remove French virus, you should use FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes since they will quickly identify the executable files of the virus and eliminate them from your computer entirely. You can start by downloading a security software of your choice and running a full system scan.

Remember that ransomware elimination does not decrypt the corrupted data. Thus, it is wise to use the instructions below which will present the alternative data recovery methods.

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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 French virus. Follow these steps

Manual removal using Safe Mode

Experts warn that even though French ransomware is under development, it might block the installation of the antivirus system. Thus, you should start the ransomware removal by rebooting your PC to Safe Mode. Follow the guide below to learn how to do it safely:

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 French using System Restore

We have prepared an alternative method to boot your computer into Safe Mode since the first method might sometimes fail.

  • 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 French. 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 French removal is performed successfully.

Bonus: Recover your data

Guide which is presented above is supposed to help you remove French 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 French, you can use several methods to restore them:

Use Data Recovery Pro to recover the corrupted data

This professional tool is developed to help victims after ransomware attack as well as to recover data if the computer users have accidentally deleted some valuable files. 

  • Download Data Recovery Pro;
  • Follow the steps of Data Recovery Setup and install the program on your computer;
  • Launch it and scan your computer for files encrypted by French ransomware;
  • Restore them.

Employ Windows Previous Versions to get back access to your files

This is a great method to deal with the consequences of the file-encrypting virus. However, this technique requires that System Restore function would have been enabled before the ransomware infiltration. If it was, follow the guide below:

  • Find an encrypted file you need to restore and right-click on it;
  • Select “Properties” and go to “Previous versions” tab;
  • Here, check each of available copies of the file in “Folder versions”. You should select the version you want to recover and click “Restore”.

ShadowExplorer might help you

Since there are no reports that French ransomware deletes Shadow Volume Copies from the victimized computers, you can try to retrieve your most important files with the help of this tool.

  • Download Shadow Explorer (http://shadowexplorer.com/);
  • Follow a Shadow Explorer Setup Wizard and install this application on your computer;
  • Launch the program and go through the drop down menu on the top left corner to select the disk of your encrypted data. Check what folders are there;
  • Right-click on the folder you want to restore and select “Export”. You can also select where you want it to be stored.

The official French ransomware decryptor is not released yet

Finally, you should always think about the protection of crypto-ransomwares. In order to protect your computer from French 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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