The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland virus

The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland virus, also referred to as The Ministry of Public Safety of Ireland virus or The National Crime Prevention Unit virus are terms for a dangerous computer virus in the Urusay family of malware categorized as ransomware. The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland virus blocks access to an infected computer by displaying a full screen page or window that claims to contain a message from the Guardians of the Peace of Ireland and other departments of the government of Ireland that fraudulently states the computer has been “blocked up” for safety reasons including the viewing and storage of banned pornography and copyright material. The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland ransomware infection then claims a fine of €100 must be paid in an allotted amount of time via Ukash or Paysafecard services in order to remove the restriction and unlock the computer system.

This computer virus is not associated with the government of Ireland or any government agency. The claims made on the screen-lock page are fraudulent and should be ignored. Paying the fine will not remove The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland computer infection. Paying the fine may initiate further complications.

Common text detailed on the Ministry of Public Safety lock-screen is listed below:

Attention!
Your computer has been blocked up for safety reasons listed below.

You are accused of viewing/storage and/or dissemination of banned pornography (child pornography/zoophilia/rape etc). You have violated World Declaration on non-proliferation of child pornography. You are accused of committing the crime envisaged by Article 161 of Ireland criminal law.

Article 161 of Ireland criminal law provides for the punishment of deprivation of liberty for terms from 5 to 11 years.

Also, you are suspected of violation of "Copyright and Related rights Law" (downloading of pirated music, video, warez) and of use use and/or dissemination of copyrighted content. Thus, you are suspected of violation of Article 148 of Ireland Criminal Law.

Article 148 of Ireland criminal law provides for the punishment of deprivation of liberty for terms from 3 to 7 years or 150 to 550 basic amounts fine.

It was from your computer, that unauthorized access had been stolen to information of State importance and to data closed for public Internet access.
The penalty set must be paid in course of 48 hours as of the breach. On expiration of the term, 48 hours that follow will be used for automatic collection of data on yourself and your misconduct, and criminal case will be opened against you.

Amount of fine is €100 Euro.
You can pay a fine in PaySafeCard or Ukash vouchers.

As soon as the money arrives to the Treasury account, your computer will be unblocked in course of 24 hours.

Then in 7 day term you should remedy the breaches associated with your computer. Otherwise your computer will be blocked up again and criminal case will be opened against yourself (with no option to pay fine).

If your computer has been fraudulently locked by The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland or other “fake” government department of Ireland, ignore the message and use the free removal instructions further below.

How does The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland malware infect a PC?

The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland malware and other forms of ransomware such as the FBI virus are often contracted from compromised (hacked) websites, torrent downloads, email spam attachments, malicious advertisements, and compromised social media content.

The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland virus gains access to a computer system via exploit kits and trojan horses.

1. The Guardians of Ireland removal software

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

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware   Editor’s Choice

Latest versions: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware PRO, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
Release date: 2013

   

2. Once Malwarebytes is installed, open the Anti-Malware program. If you are using the free version of Malwarebytes you will be prompted to update the database, please do so.

3. On the first tab labeled “Scanner” select the Perform full scan option and click the Scan button to perform a full system scan (pictured below).

4.  Malwarebytes will automatically detect the The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland virus and third-party malware on your computer. Once the scan is complete, Malwarebytes will prompt a message stating malicious objects were detected. Select (check) the malicious objects in the list and click the Remove Selected button to completely remove The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland malware from your computer (The image below shows a file that is NOT selected for removal – ‘Make sure the box is checked in’).

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 Guardians of the Peace of Ireland ransomware. To learn more please select a link below.

• Windows System Restore Instructions

• Windows 8 Refresh/Reset Instructions

The Guardians of Ireland removal tips:

If removing the The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland virus and other forms of ransomware is difficult, 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 The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland ransomware 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.