“You have been hacked” ransomware / virus (Virus Removal Instructions)

“You have been hacked” virus Removal Guide

What is “You have been hacked” ransomware virus?

“You have been hacked”: HiddenTear ransomware levels up

You have been hacked virus signifies that your computer has been corrupted by a file-encrypting malware. According to the IT experts‘ observations, the newly emerged malware is a designed according to EDA2/HiddenTear [1]. As a result, virus researchers warn corporations to stay alerted as this open-source virus is likely to attack them first. However, individual netizens should not let their guard either. If you happen to be one of the victims of this malware, collect yourself and initiate You have been hacked removal. FortectIntego helps you do that correctly.

Ransomware infections not only vary in the used encryption methods but the design as well as goals [2]. Recently, there has been a surge of diverse file-encrypting malware which did not pose a significant threat to users data. Nonetheless, with You have been hacked malware, things are different. Specifically, open-source ransomware was released by cyber security experts for educational purposes. However, since the source code and encryption peculiarities are exposed publicly on the web, the hackers exploited it for their own intentions.

"You have been hacked" is surely not a good news

“You have been hacked” ransomware penetrates into the system and then starts the encryption process. Usually, the infection employs AES symmetric algorithm for encoding the files [3]. Since it performs a series of cipher cycles, a unique key comprised of numbers and characters is generated. Depending on what kind of alternation was used, the key might be 128 or 256 bit long. Therefore, by exploiting the main advantage of this technology, the racketeers might exert pressure on you to pay the ransom [4]. Consequently, all your files contain .hacked file extension. Even if the files are of importance, transmitting the money does not increase your chances of recovering the files.

When did the ransomware infiltrate the device?

Getting acquainted with the distribution techniques of the file-encrypting malware is a no less important than confronting it. If you are interested in computer security, you might be aware that complex virtual threats, such as crypto-viruses, tend to spread via spam in the form or .zip, doc, or .js files [5]. However, crooks, long time ago shifted from employing lottery or similar scans to catch your attention. Now they fish for new victims by disguising under the image of FBI, local court or a popular shopping domain. If you received a similar one recently, do not rush to review its contents but, instead, look for small grammar mistakes and typos. Additionally, modified logo image or credential might signal You have been hacked hijack attempt. In short, the cost of curiosity might be too expensive and nerve-racking.

You have been hacked termination steps

Firstly, you should remove “You have been hacked” virus with malware elimination tool, e.g. FortectIntego or Malwarebytes. Do not forget to update it before launching the scan. After you completed the termination, restart the device. Note that anti-spyware utilities do not recover the files, so you need to shift to alternative solutions. Some of them are proposed in the final section of the article. If you cannot remove “You have been hacked” virus because the malware locked your screen, use the below-indicated instructions.

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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 “You have been hacked” virus. 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
  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 “You have been hacked” using System Restore

  • 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 “You have been hacked”. 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 “You have been hacked” removal is performed successfully.

Bonus: Recover your data

Guide which is presented above is supposed to help you remove “You have been hacked” 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 “You have been hacked”, you can use several methods to restore them:

Opting for Data Recovery Pro recovery solution

If you don’t have a habit of backing your files, and now the virus has encoded your files, this program might be one of few solutions to retrieve your 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 “You have been hacked” ransomware;
  • Restore them.

Windows Previous Versions feature method

This solution is more time-consuming as you have to go through manually through each file manually.

  • 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”.

What is ShadowEdplorer?

It is software which uses automatically created shadow volume copies to recreate your corrupted data.

  • 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.

Finally, you should always think about the protection of crypto-ransomwares. In order to protect your computer from “You have been hacked” 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
Julie Splinters
Julie Splinters - Anti-malware specialist

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References