DODO Virus 🔐 (.DODOV2 Files) — How to Remove?

The Dodo virus falls under the ransomware type of infection. Malware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file, creating the dodov2_readit.txt text files in each directory with the encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is Dodo virus?

☝️ A scientifically correct description for the Dodo would be “a ransomware malicious agent”.

Dodo adds its own .dodov2 extension to the title of every encrypted file. For example, a file named “photo.jpg” will be changed to “photo.jpg.dodov2”. In the same manner, the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will be renamed to “table.xlsx.dodov2”, and so forth.

In every directory containing the encoded files, a dodov2_readit.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money note. It contains information on the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is how they do it.

Dodo abstract:

In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Dodo looks like. Each filename has the “.dodov2” extension appended to it.

That is how encrypted “.dodov2” files look.

How did my computer get infected with Dodo ransomware?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most exploited ways for malefactors to have the Dodo virus working in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.

If you open your mailbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious item attached to them. Thus it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus model². A Trojan is an object that gets into your PC pretending to be something legal. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. However, what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that corrupts your data. As the installation package can have any name and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the things you’re downloading. The optimal way is to use the software companies’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-peer networks like torrents or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never know what you download until you get it. Our suggestion is that you use trustworthy websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is done.

How do I get rid of the Dodo virus?

It is important to note that besides encrypting your data, the Dodo virus will probably install the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.

Often criminals would decrypt few of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. Since Dodo virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures developers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.

Sure thing, if the tamperers do the job of encrypting someone’s essential data, the desperate person will most likely fulfill their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The optimal solution against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud drive or at least on an external disk. Of course, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that one you were working upon when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Dodo, that work similarly. For instance, Erqw, Vvmm, Hhee, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Dodo are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become encoded, their extensions altered, ransom notes are created in every directory containing encoded files.

Some fortunate people were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decryption key to the wronged in the ransom readme. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But naturally, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware infection?

Dodo ransomware doesn’t have a superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from its injection taking three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A hoax email will always have a mistake.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown software. Trojan viruses are often shared as a part of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” to prevent the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to tell from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information on this program on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
• And to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful defense for your personal computer.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft³

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft⁴.

Download Removal Tool.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your system.

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your PC for Dodo infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has completed, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

FAQ

🤔 How can I open “.dodov2” files?Are the “.dodov2” files accessible?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.dodov2” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

If the “.dodov2” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. In case you haven’t, there is still a chance that you do have a Restore Point from some time ago to roll back the whole system to the moment when it had no virus yet, but already had your files. All other solutions require time.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Dodo malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your computer off the actual viruses. The virus that has infected your device is most likely still functional and it scans your system periodically to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has already been said, the Dodo malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC after some time.

🤔 What should I do if the Dodo virus has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.

In such a case, you need to prepare a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your PC. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What could help the situation right now?

Some of the blocked data can be found elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to give those images back to you.
• If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud drives might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, phone, external storage, etc.

HINT: You can use data recovery programs⁵ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the original ones. In the tutorial below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but be advised: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following governmental fraud and scam sites to report this attack:

• In the United States: On Guard Online;
• In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
• In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
• In Australia: SCAMwatch;
• In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
• In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
• In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
• In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;

To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.

How to Remove DODO Ransomware & Recover PC

Name: DODO Virus

Description: DODO Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .dodov2 extension. So, you can't use them at all.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Virus

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