Europol virus

The Europol virus is a computer threat and browser locking virus categorized as ransomware that claims to contain a message from the European Cybercrime Centre. The Europol virus restricts access to a computer system or affected internet browser, encrypts personal documents and folders, claims to record all computer activity, displays a fraudulent message from “EC3” stating that the computer user or owner has violated Copyright and Related law, distributed prohibited pornographic content, or allowed illegal access to the computer and must pay a fine in order to unlock the computer and avoid legal consequences.

The generic variant of the Europol virus displays a message on a webpage or system window starting with “All activities of this computer have been recorded. All your files are encrypted,” followed by content that says something similar to “ATTENTION! All your files are encrypted to prevent their distribution and use. Due to violated of the law, your browser has been blocked because of at least one of the reasons below.”

The Europol virus screen will then list several violations related to the violated of Copyright and Related Rights law, the distribution of prohibited pornographic content, and computer negligence in order to scare users into paying an unnecessary fine.

The message displayed by this computer virus is not actually sent from any legitimate organization and paying the fine will not remove this virus or any undetected malicious files, including trojan horses used to progress the initial infection.

There are less severe forms of this infection, usually initiated by advertisement serving platforms that only locks internet browsers in place using a set number of iframes that allow it to display pop-up messages and disallow users from closing the browser window. This version of the infection does not actually place malicious files on a computer system and can simply be ignored by following the correct procedures to close or reset the internet browser.

This Europol removal guide will help you remove Europol virus, associated malicious files, and other forms of ransomware. To remove Europol malware use the steps provided on this webpage.

1. Europol virus removal software

1. We highly recommend writing down the toll free number below in case you run into any issues or problems while following the instructions. Our techs will kindly assist you with any problems.

2. Install the free or paid version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

3. Once Malwarebytes is installed, run the program. *Malwarebytes may automatically begin to update and scan your computer at this point.

4. Once the Malwarebytes program has been open, if a scan has not initiated, please click the large Scan Now button or visit the “Scan” tab to initiate a scan. Before the scan is started Malwarebytes may ask to update the software, make sure to do so if prompted to.

5. Once the scan is complete, click the Quarantine All button to remove the files.

6. You may also chose to visit the History tab and click Delete All to remove these files from the Quarantine log, although these files no longer prove a threat.

2. System Restore

A System Restore is an easy solution to restore an infected computer to a date and time before it became infected with the Europol computer virus. To learn more please select a link below:

• Windows System Restore Instructions

• Windows 8 Refresh/Reset Instructions

Europol virus removal tips:

If the Europol virus is difficult to remove there are several steps you can use to troubleshoot the removal process:

User accounts

Ransomware often infects 1 user account on Windows systems at a time. Here are some tips to remove ransomware by using different user accounts.

• Log into an account not affected by malware (with administrative rights) and perform a scan with reputable software to detect and remove malware.

• You can also delete the infected account.

• Other options include creating a new user account to remove malware if only 1 Window’s user account is present on the computer system.

Denying flash

Some variants of ransomware use flash and symptoms of the infection can be halted by denying flash via Macromedia’s real-time options. To learn more and deny flash please visit: http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/help09.html

Troubleshoot internet/network issues

Safe Mode With Networking can be used to access the Internet for updates, drivers, removal software, or other files if internet and network connectivity is compromised.