I Love You Worm (Virus Removal Instructions)
I Love You Worm Removal Guide
What is I Love You Worm?
I Love You Worm (also known as VBS/Loveletter) is perhaps one of the most widely-known viruses of this type
I Love You Worm showed up in 2001 and has infected a massive number of computers all over the world. The first country that was attacked by this worm was China. However, today we can hardly find a country that hasn't been attacked by I Love You Worm.
Just like any other worm, this I Love You Worm malware poses serious harm to the computer and its owner. What can be caused by it? First of all, it can be used for collecting personal information and other data. Such behavior leads to serious issues when personal information ends up in the wrong hands.
The loss of such data can lead to identity theft, money loss, privacy issues, and other serious problems. In addition, I Love You virus can also install other malware on your computer and disable security software, open backdoors to the system, so criminals access your PC remotely. As you can see, it's a serious threat that has to be avoided.
Ways of malware infiltration include spam email campaigns
I Love You malware has been spread through an email attachment. The infected letter is typically entitled as ''I LOVE YOU'' and includes an attachment that is named ''LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs''.
As you can see, this attachment has a .vbs extension, which means that it is an VBSCript-type file. Unfortunately, but the majority of people do not pay attention to files' extensions and download each of them to their computers. In this case, they are tricked into thinking that I Love You scam is a sweet letter from someone who decided to reveal his/her feelings.
However, after opening the file without even thinking that it can be infected with a virus, the computer gets infected. The text of the e-mail may contain words like ''I love you'' and everything that is similar to that. If you happen to get such a message from an unknown person, do NOT open the attachment!
This worm spreads around very fast, because, as soon as it gets to the system, it immediately sends its copies to all of the victim's contacts. It does that via the Outlook Express and other mail operators. In addition, it copies itself to the system folder and writes its information to the registry.
It may also block some of your files (images, audio files, video files, and others) by decrypting them. This worm has plenty of variants, so be careful with it. The filenames may be different from those listed here.
Removal of I Love You worm requires attention and professional tools
If you think that your computer is infected with the I Love You worm, then you can scan it with one of these programs: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes. This way you might remove the virus and repair the damage it has done to the system and its files or functionality.
Getting rid of I Love You Worm. Follow these steps
Manual removal using 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
- Click Start > Shutdown > Restart > OK.
- 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.
- Select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.
Windows 10 / Windows 8
- Right-click on Start button and select Settings.
- Scroll down to pick Update & Security.
- On the left side of the window, pick Recovery.
- Now scroll down to find Advanced Startup section.
- Click Restart now.
- Select Troubleshoot.
- Go to Advanced options.
- Select Startup Settings.
- Press Restart.
- Now press 5 or click 5) Enable Safe Mode with Networking.
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:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
- Click on More details.
- Scroll down to Background processes section, and look for anything suspicious.
- Right-click and select Open file location.
- Go back to the process, right-click and pick End Task.
- Delete the contents of the malicious folder.
Step 3. Check program Startup
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
- Go to Startup tab.
- Right-click on the suspicious program and pick Disable.
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:
- Type in Disk Cleanup in Windows search and press Enter.
- 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).
- Scroll through the Files to delete list and select the following:
Temporary Internet Files
Downloads
Recycle Bin
Temporary files - Pick Clean up system files.
- 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 I Love You Worm 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter.
- Now type rstrui.exe and press Enter again..
- When a new window shows up, click Next and select your restore point that is prior the infiltration of I Love You Worm. After doing that, click Next.
- Now click Yes to start system restore.
Finally, you should always think about the protection of crypto-ransomwares. In order to protect your computer from I Love You Worm and other ransomwares, use a reputable anti-spyware, such as FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes
How to prevent from getting system tools
Do not let government spy on you
The government has many issues in regards to tracking users' data and spying on citizens, so you should take this into consideration and learn more about shady information gathering practices. Avoid any unwanted government tracking or spying by going totally anonymous on the internet.
You can choose a different location when you go online and access any material you want without particular content restrictions. You can easily enjoy internet connection without any risks of being hacked by using Private Internet Access VPN.
Control the information that can be accessed by government any other unwanted party and surf online without being spied on. Even if you are not involved in illegal activities or trust your selection of services, platforms, be suspicious for your own security and take precautionary measures by using the VPN service.
Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack
Computer users can suffer from data losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Ransomware can encrypt and hold files hostage, while unforeseen power cuts might cause a loss of important documents. If you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work. It is also equally important to update backups on a regular basis so that the newest information remains intact – you can set this process to be performed automatically.
When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware strikes out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the data restoration process.