The Haruna virus belongs with the ransomware type of infection. A harmful program of this type encrypts all the data on your PC (images, text files, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and adds its extra extension to every file.
What is known about the Harunavirus?
☝️ A strictly accurate denomination for the Haruna would be “a ransomware-type infection”.
Haruna appends its own .Haruna extension to every file’s name. For instance, a file named “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.Haruna”. Likewise, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will be changed to “table.xlsx.Haruna”, and so forth.
The ransom note usually contains instructions on how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is how they do it.
Haruna overview:
| Name | Haruna Virus |
| Extension | .Haruna |
| Detection | MSIL/Qhost.CH, Trojan:Win32/CryptInject.RBB!MTB, PWS:Win32/Zbot!AQ |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .Haruna extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Haruna virus |
The note coming in package with the Haruna malware states the following:
Haruna WARNING! WARNING! Ur cfg have been encrypted by Haruna! What the HELL is it? Highspeed battleship \"Haruna\" turn your some file in to love. It can\'t be recovered without this application because they are fall in loove with highly strong encryption algorithm, using key made of love. Status Loader Process Status :Not Found Decryption :Not Approved! How can I recover my cfg? That\'s easy. You just have to made an helloworld(no matter in what language) named \"I_luv_haruna.exe\" ,and then show your love to Haruna. This application will detect your love automatically. DO NOT TRY USING FAKE EXE OR TERMINATE THIS APPLICATION IF YOU DON\'T WANT TO BLOW UP THE LOVE STORY KEY!
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Haruna looks like. Each filename has the “.Haruna” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.Haruna” files look.
How did my computer get infected with Haruna ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most popular ways for hackers to have ransomware acting in your system. These are email spam, Trojan injection and peer file transfer.
If you access your inbox and see emails that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is unknown to you, beware of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan horse scheme1. A Trojan is a program that gets into your PC disguised as something different. For instance, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that corrupts your data. As the installation wizard can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source 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 BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is complete.
How do I get rid of the Haruna virus?
It is important to note that besides encrypting your files, the Haruna virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned spyware2 can derive your credentials from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes tamperers would unblock some of your files to prove that they indeed have the decryption program. As Haruna virus is a relatively recent ransomware, security software developers have not yet found a way to undo its work. Nevertheless, the decoding instruments are constantly updated, so the effective countermeasure may soon be available.
Of course, if the criminals succeed in encrypting someone’s critical files, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. Nevertheless, paying to criminals gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After getting the money, the racketeers may send a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working upon when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your drives with the anti-malware utility after the OS restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Haruna, that work similarly. For instance, Ooii, Eucy, Ccps, and some others. The two main differences between them and the Haruna are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is the same: documents become inaccessible, their extensions changed, ransom notes emerge in each folder containing encrypted files.
Some lucky users were able to decode the arrested files with the help of the free software provided by anti-ransomware developers. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never rely on such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How do I avert ransomware injection?
Haruna ransomware has no superpower, so as any similar malware.
You can defend your system from ransomware infiltration in three easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailboxes with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, check all elements of the dubious letter with caution. A hoax letter will always contain a mistake.
- Do not use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But untrusted programs are difficult to tell from reliable ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal way is not to use such software.
- And to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This program will be a powerful defense for your system.
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 computer.
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 computer for Haruna 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 How can I open “.Haruna” files?Can I somehow access “.Haruna” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.Haruna” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
It’s good if you have fаr-sightedly saved copies of these important files elsewhere. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Haruna virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
Of course not. Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will remove active threats from your system. The malware that has attacked your system is most likely still functional and it scans your system periodically to encrypt any new files you might create on your computer after the attack. As it has been mentioned above, the Haruna ransomware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide criminals with easy access to your PC in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Haruna malware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
In such a case, you need to prepare a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or brought into your computer. To suppress this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Many of the encoded files might still be within your reach
- If you exchanged your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to post those pictures back to you.
- If you have initially got 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 too.
- Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, mobile, external storage, etc.
HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities5 to get your lost data back since ransomware arrests the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you kill the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.
Also, you can contact the following official 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.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove HARUNA Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: HARUNA Virus
Description: HARUNA Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .Haruna extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- You can read more on spyware variants and nature in the respective section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
