SHURIKEN Ransomware 🔐 (.SHURIKEN File) — Removal Guide

The Shuriken virus belongs to the ransomware type of malicious agent. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all the data on your PC (images, documents, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, creating the READ-ME-SHURKEWIN.txt files in each directory containing encrypted files.

Shuriken virus: what is known so far?

The scheme of renaming is the following: [contact-email][user_ID]%original_name%.%original_extension%.Shuriken. As a part of encryption, a file named, for example, “report.docx” will be changed to “[[email protected]][9ECFA84E]report.docx.Shuriken”.

In every directory containing the encoded files, a READ-ME-SHURKEWIN.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about the ways of paying the ransom and some other information. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. You can obtain this decryptor after contacting [email protected] by email. That is it.

Shuriken Summary:

The READ-ME-SHURKEWIN.txt document coming in package with the Shuriken malware states the following:

>>>> Your data are encrypted ...

All your files have been encrypted by Shuriken !!!

To decrypt them send e-mail to this address : [email protected]

If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, send an email to this address: [email protected]

Need a quick decryption ? Send a telegram message @ShurikenAdmin


>>>> Your DECRYPTION ID :  -

Enter the ID of your files in the subject!


>>>>  What is our decryption guarantee?

Before paying you can send us up to 2 test files for free decryption !

The total size of files must be less than 2Mb.(non archived) !

Files should not contain valuable information.(databases,backups) !

Compress the file with zip or 7zip or rar compression programs and send it to us!

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

How did my machine catch Shuriken ransomware?

There are many possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for hackers to have ransomware settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer networks.

• Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan virus model. A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer pretending to be something else. For instance, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some service. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful program that encrypts your data. As the installation file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the files you’re downloading. The best way is to trust the software developers’ official websites.
• As for the peer-to-peer file transfer protocols like torrent trackers or eMule, the threat 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 items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.

How do I get rid of ransomware?

It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Shuriken virus will probably deploy Vidar Stealer on your computer to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

How do I avoid ransomware injection?

Shuriken ransomware has no superpower, neither does any similar malware.

You can defend your computer from ransomware infiltration within three easy steps:

• Ignore any letters from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without participating in it?). If the email subject is likely something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the dubious email carefully. A fake letter will always have mistakes.
• Avoid using cracked or unknown programs. Trojan viruses are often distributed as an element of cracked products, possibly as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, dubious programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, as trojans may also have the functionality you seek. You can try searching for information about this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the optimal way is not to use such programs at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 Is it possible to open “.Shuriken” files?

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

🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.Shuriken” files ASAP. How can I do that?

Hopefully, you have made a copy of those important files. 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.

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

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the blocked files can be found elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
• You might have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to give those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud storage might have all those files as well.
• Maybe you still have the needed files on your old PC, a laptop, cellphone, flash memory, etc.

HINT: You can use file recovery programs¹ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the ransomware itself with an anti-malware program.

1. Here are Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.