Remove .Verasto Virus Ransomware (+File Recovery)

.Verasto in depth

If you are currently facing problems with a nefarious computer infection called .Verasto Virus Ransomware, which has managed to render most of the files in your hard-drives inaccessible by applying an encryption code to them, then you should really read the current article in order to find out what possible ways of counteracting this malicious virus there are. The first thing we need to inform you about .Verasto with regards to this nasty malware piece is that, sadly, there aren’t many things you can try in order to deal with this particular infection. .Verasto is a brand new representative of the Ransomware cryptovirus category of viruses and as such it is still not fully researched by the security specialists. Still, we will do our best to give you some adequate options that you can try as means of minimizing the consequences of the attack of this malicious program as well as making your computer safe for use in the future. Before we give you our instructions, however, we must provide you with some general info about the specific characteristics of this particular category of malware programs as the Ransomware cryptoviruses significantly differ from other commonly encountered forms of malware such as Trojans, Spyware, Rootkits, Worms and so on.

.Verasto Removal guide for windows and mac
Screenshot of .Verasto Virus File

Finding difficulty removing .Verasto?

The first unique thing about such Ransomware threats that you may have already noticed is that they do not try to harm the computer or mess with its system settings. The files that have gotten locked by it are also not damaged and are instead simply inaccessible. The hackers behind .Verasto, .Moresa, .Norvas are interested in not harming your data because they would need the files to stay intact in order to blackmail you for the restoration of the access to them.

If .Verasto has indeed infiltrated your system and has deprived you of the access to your files, then it has also likely made you an “offer”, with that offer being pay a specific amount of money following the hacker’s instructions and get your files restored to their accessible state. The instructions related to the ransom payment are typically given to the user in the form of a ransom-demanding note that gets shown on the screen of the infected machine upon the completion of the encryption procedure. At that point, the user is faced with a decision – follow the hacker’s instructions and hope that they would keep their end of the “bargain” or try some potential alternative solutions. We must be honest with you, neither course of action can give you any guarantees about the future of your files. Paying the money doesn’t necessarily mean that you will actually be given the access key to your files and opting for the alternative solutions may also not work in all instances. We, however, advice our readers to try the guide below and remove .Verasto with its help. Then, one can try some of the suggested file-recovery methods we have on our site instead of risking their money by sending it to the hackers. Remember, if you pay the ransom, no matter whether you get your files back or not, there won’t be any refunds.

SUMMARY:

Name .Verasto
Type Ransomware
Danger Level High (Ransomware is by far the worst threat you can encounter)
Symptoms The sneaky nature of the Ransomware threats makes them really difficult to manually notice as there are very few symptoms such as high RAM and CPU use that are usually barely noticeable.
Distribution Method Phishing sites and pages, illegally distributed games and programs, spam, malvertisements and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove .Verasto Virus Ransomware

1: Preparations

Note: Before you go any further, we advise you to bookmark this page or have it open on a separate device such as your smartphone or another PC. Some of the steps might require you to exit your browser on this PC.

2: Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to enter the Task Manager. Go to the Tab labeled Processes (Details for Win 8/10). Carefully look through the list of processes that are currently active on you PC.

If any of them seems shady, consumes too much RAM/CPU or has some strange description or no description at all, right-click on it, select Open File Location and delete everything there.

Also, even if you do not delete the files, be sure to stop the process by right-clicking on it and selecting End Process.

3: IP related to .Verasto

Go to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Open the hosts file with notepad.

Find where it says Localhost and take a look below that. 

hosts_opt (1)

If you see any IP addresses there (below Localhost) send them to us here, in the comments since they might be coming from the .Verasto.

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4: Disable Startup programs

Re-open the Start Menu and type msconfig.

Click on the first search result. In the next window, go to the Startup tab. If you are on Win 10,  it will send you to the Startup part of the task manager instead, as in the picture:

If you see any sketchy/shady looking entries in the list with an unknown manufacturer or a manufacturer name that looks suspicious as there could be a link between them and .Verasto , disable those programs and select OK.

5: Registry Editor

Press Windows key + R and in the resulting window type regedit.

Now, press Ctrl + F and type the name of the virus.

Delete everything that gets found. If you are not sure about whether to delete something, do not hesitate to ask us in the comments. Keep in mind that if you delete the wrong thing, you might cause all sorts of issues to your PC.

6: Deleting potentially malicious data – .Verasto

Type each of the following locations in the Windows search box and hit enter to open the locations:

%AppData%

%LocalAppData%

%ProgramData%

%WinDir%

%Temp%

Delete everything you see in Temp linked to .Verasto RansomwareAbout the other folders, sort their contents by date and delete only the most recent entries. As always, if you are not sure about something, write to us in the comment section.

7: .Verasto Decryption

The previous steps were all aimed at removing the .Verasto Ransomware from your PC. However, in order to regain access to your files, you will also need to decrypt them or restore them. For that, we have a separate article with detailed instructions on what you have to do in order to unlock your data. Here is a link to that guide.

Author:
Daniel Sadakov has a degree in Information Technology and specializes in web and mobile cyber security. He harbors a strong detestation for anything and everything malicious and has committed his resources and time to battling all manners of web and mobile threats. He has founded MobileSecurityZone.com, a website dedicated to covering the top tech stories and providing useful tips for the everyday user, in an effort to reach and help more people.

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