The Velar virus falls under the ransomware type of infection. Malware of this type encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel sheets, music, videos, etc) and adds its own extension to every file, creating the readme.txt files in each folder which contains the encrypted files.
What is Velar virus?
☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Velar is “a ransomware malicious agent”.
Velar adds its extra .velar extension to every file’s name. For instance, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.velar”. Likewise, the Excel sheet named “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.velar”, and so forth.
In every folder that contains the encoded files, a readme.txt text file will appear. It is a ransom money memo. It contains information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note usually contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the ransomware developers. That is how they do it.
Velar overview:
| Name | Velar Virus |
| Extension | .velar |
| Ransomware note | readme.txt |
| Detection | MSIL/Spy.Agent.DSV, TrojanSpy:Win32/Delgent, Trojan.Ransom.Magniber |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) get a .velar extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Velar virus |
In the image below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Velar looks like. Each filename has the “.velar” extension added to it.
That is how encrypted “.velar” files look.
How did my computer get infected with Velar ransomware?
There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
There are currently three most popular methods for hackers to have ransomware planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan introduction and peer-to-peer networks.
If you open your mailbox and see emails that look like familiar notifications from utility services providers, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose mailer is unknown to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a malicious item attached to them. Therefore, it is even more dangerous to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan file scheme1. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something different. Imagine, you download an installer of some program you want or an update for some service. However, what is unboxed turns out to be a harmful agent that encodes your data. As the installation file can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the source of the files you’re downloading. The best thing is to use the software developers’ 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 know what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is reasonable to scan the directory containing the downloaded items with the antivirus as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Velar virus?
It is important to inform you that besides encrypting your data, the Velar virus will probably deploy the Azorult Spyware on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling cardfile.
Sometimes racketeers would unblock some of your files to prove that they really have the decryption tool. As Velar virus is a relatively new ransomware, security software designers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. Nevertheless, the decryption tools are constantly upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.
Of course, if the tamperers succeed in encrypting victim’s essential data, the desperate person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to racketeers gives no guarantee that you’re getting your blocked information back. It is still risky. After obtaining the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption code to the victim. There were reports about malefactors just vanishing after getting the money without even bothering to reply.
The optimal countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud storage or at least on an external drive. Surely, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that file you were working on when it all went down. But at least it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the OS is rolled back.
There are other ransomware products, besides Velar, that work similarly. Examples of those are Udla, Tuid, Kxde, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Velar are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: documents become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in each folder containing encoded files.
Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the criminals accidentally send the decoding code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the victim to restore the files. But of course, one should never expect such a chance. Make no mistake, ransomware is a tamperers’ technology to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avoid ransomware injection?
Velar ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, so as any similar malware.
You can defend yourself from ransomware infiltration taking several easy steps:
- Ignore any emails from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are waiting for (how can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are waiting for, scrutinize all elements of the questionable email carefully. A hoax letter will surely have a mistake.
- Never use cracked or untrusted software. Trojans are often shared as a part of cracked software, most likely as a “patch” preventing the license check. Understandably, potentially dangerous programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy ones, because trojans sometimes have the functionality you seek. Try to find information on this software product on the anti-malware message boards, but the best solution is not to use such programs at all.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the objects you downloaded, check them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful shield for your PC.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft2
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft3.
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 PC.
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 Velar 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 finished, 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 “.velar” files?Is it possible to open“.velar” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.velar” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?
If the “.velar” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. 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.
🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Velar virus?
Of course not. Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with active viruses. The virus that has infected your system is probably still functional and running scans every so often to arrest any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been said above, the Velar virus comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your computer in the future.
🤔 What to do if the Velar ransomware has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation code.
In such a case, you need to have a memory stick with a previously installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. The point is that the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your system. To block this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the essential programs to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 And what should I do now?
Many of the encrypted files might still be at your disposal
- If you exchanged your important files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
- You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Simply ask them to post those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Web, you can try doing it again.
- Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files too.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old PC, a portable device, mobile, external storage, etc.
USEFUL TIP: You can employ file recovery utilities4 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the authentic ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you can do it only after you eradicate the virus with an anti-malware 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 VELAR Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: VELAR Virus
Description: VELAR Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .velar 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.
- 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.
