BlueKey Ransomware (.blueKey File Virus)

BlueKey is a dangerous ransomware that sneaks on the targeted machine without users’ permission. It is a data locking virus that is equipped with the latest encryption technology. It encrypts all the (documents, images, videos, audio, backup, database, etc.) and demands ransom for the decryption.

Encrypted files are marked with the “.blueKey” extension. For example, a file named “myphoto.jpg” would appear as “myphoo.jpg.blueKey” after encryption. Such renamed files are encoded and cannot be accessed without the decoder.

BlueKey ransomware also generates ransom note “DECRYPTION_INSTRUCTIONS.txt” containing instructions to contact attackers and payment details to buy decryption tools. Read this guide to learn how to remove this virus and restore your files.

What is BlueKey?

BlueKey is another nasty file-encrypting malware. This dubious threat is commonly known as the BlueKey File Virus. If you see this infection on your system, then you are in big danger. This harmful virus will silently sneak into your machine and encrypt all your personal files. It will add its own extension to your filename as a prefix and leave a ransom note behind.

BlueKey is a sneaky malware infection. Once inside your computer, it will immediately corrupt all your files. It can disable your anti-virus and firewall security. You will not be able to remove this infection from your system. It will show a ransom message on your computer demanding money through cryptocurrency. It is a tricky situation because you can lose all your files due to this BlueKey infection. So don’t make any decision in hurry.

BlueKey is programmed to force victims to pay the ransom money and buy decryption software. However, there is no guarantee that you will recover all your files. Most of the ransomware victims get cheated and never get the decryption tools. Do not trust cyber criminals and never pay them money to buy access to your own files. This guide will help you to remove this threat and recover all your data.

How does your PC get infected?

There are several ways through which your system can get infected by BlueKey. It often gets spread bundled with free third-party programs available for download on unreliable sites. Spam emails with malicious attachments could also drop this virus on your computer. It is very important to use custom installation and scan email attachments before opening.

BlueKey Virus can also get distributed via other small threats that redirect your browser to suspicious sites which host malicious codes. Trojan horse and malware downloaders can also bring this infection to your PC. Browsing to porn or torrent sites and downloading cracked software or games could bring this virus to your system.

BlueKey Ransomware: Threat Analysis

Name	BlueKey
Type	Ransomware, File-Encrypting virus
Extension	.BlueKey
Threat Level	High (Encrypt all your data and Restrict access to your files).
Symptoms	Victims cannot access any files on their PC and find Ransom notes asking for money.
Damage	BlueKey will  encrypt your data by adding its extension to file names and demand ransom money for the decryption key
Distribution	It is mainly distributed through spam emails, bundled freeware, porn, or torrent sites.
Removal	Download SpyHunter 5 Anti-Malware
File Recovery	Download Data Recovery Software

What to do after encryption?

As all your files are encrypted with military-grade encryption. Since you don’t have the decryption key, you need to get tricky. It is crucial that you do not contact cyber criminals. Remove your infected device from the network and create a backup copy of all the encrypted files on USB drives or cloud drives.

Paying ransom money to BlueKey creators will do no good. It is very much possible that attackers will stop communication after the payment. It is also possible that the decryptor won’t even work or bring more threats. So instead of paying the ransom, invest in a good security program.

Use powerful anti-malware software to completely remove BlueKey virus from your PC. It will not recover your files but it will prevent further encryption of data. Later you can recover your encrypted files through Backup files. If you don’t have a backup then try any data recovery software.

Ransom note “DECRYPTION_INSTRUCTIONS.txt” contains the following instructions :

Your important files are encrypted!

If you see this text, then your files are no longer accessible, because they have been encrypted. Perhaps
you are busy looking for a way to recover your files, but don't waste your time. Nobody can recover your
files without our decryption service.

In order to decrypt, please follow the instructions:

1. Send $20 USD worth in bitcoin to the following address:
17CqMQFeuB3NTzJ2X28tfRmWaPyPQgvoHV

2. Send an email with the payment proof and your personal installation key to thegodfather83@mailfence.com

Your personal instalation key: -

How to buy bitcoins? - hxxps://www.blockchain.com/learning-portal/how-to-get-bitcoins

How To Remove BlueKey Virus

BlueKey is a dangerous malware that can cause major damage to your computer. This nasty threat will bring several new problems to your PC. This is why it is quite imperative to delete this threat permanently before it completely damages your entire computer system. Once it manages to infiltrate your system, it will make your system vulnerable. This nasty malware is capable of bringing other harmful viruses to your system without your consent. It can completely obliterate your system performance in no time. This virus also has a tendency to hide its malicious copies at various locations on your PC under different names. It is not an easy job to find and remove those virus related files manually.

In this guide, you will find instructions for two very different techniques to get rid of BlueKey infection. The first one is the Automatic Removal which is quite fast, effective and accurate. The second method is Manual Removal which usually takes lots of time, needs technical expertise, and often fails to give desired results. However, it is advised to take the help of both techniques to ensure the complete removal of the malware from your system. In case you are not handy with system operations and technical stuff, just opt for the automatic malware removal process to eliminate BlueKey infection.

Automatic BlueKey Virus Removal Guide

As you already know, BlueKey Virus is a notorious and cunning malware that is not hard to remove easily by any user through manual means. This virus can keep coming back on the infected computer through files and shortcuts or settings that it has already created on your machine. Removing all those at once is the only way to get rid of this infection and stop it from getting into your system ever again.

So the best way to remove BlueKey effectively is to use a powerful Automatic Removal Tool and save your time and efforts. This software is a well-trusted and very powerful anti-malware program that can detect all hidden threats like Trojan, Ransomware, Worms, Spyware, Rootkits, and many others. It also provides 24X7 customer support and one-on-one Spyware HelpDesk support for Custom Malware removal. Advanced System Guard feature detects and removes threats in real-time. It has a very User-Friendly Interface and regular Malware updates make it most effective against the latest malware attacks.

How SpyHunter 5 Anti-Malware Works

• First, you need to click on the below download button to get the software.

Geek’s Recommendation

• Then double-click on the installer you downloaded to install the program.

• Launch the Anti-Malware application and click on Start Scan Now button.

• The software will scan your PC for all hidden threats and viruses on your system.

• Click on the Next button to see results and delete BlueKey and other threats.

How To Recover .BlueKey Files

Now all your files got encrypted by the .BlueKey Virus then you need to recover your data without paying ransom money to hackers. If your files are important then you must have created a backup and you can use that backup to recover your files. If you don’t have a backup or this virus has encrypted your backup files, then you are left to seek professional help.

As there is no BlueKey ransomware decryptor available, we recommend you use powerful data recovery software to decrypt .BlueKey Files. It is a risk-free and smart way. You can just download the free version and scan your PC for files. There is a high probability that it can recover most of your files in a fraction of the amount that hackers are demanding. It is also needless to say that paying hackers will only motivate hackers to carry out more attacks.

• First, you need to download Data Recovery software on your PC.

Download Data Recovery Software Now

• Install the program, launch it then select the Data type to recover, and click the Next button.

• Select the location from where you want to recover data and click the Scan button.

• After the scan, the software will list all files, select them and click the Recover button.

Manual BlueKey Removal Guide

 

Start PC in safe mode with networking

• Press Windows Key + R buttons together on the keyboard.
• Type msconfig in the Run Box then click the OK button.
• Click on the Boot tab then the System configuration window will appear.
• Choose Safe Boot, check the network box, Click Apply, and press the OK button.

Kill Malicious Process From Task Manager

• Press Windows Key + R buttons together on the keyboard.
• Type taskmgr in Run Box and then click the OK button.
• Find BlueKey related or any malicious process.
• Now right-click on it then click End process.

How To Uninstall BlueKey from Windows PC

• First of all Press Windows Key + R buttons together.
• Type appwiz.cpl in the Run box and then click the OK button.
• Now Programs and Features windows will appear on the screen.
• Find and remove all BlueKey related or malicious programs.

Remove Virus related IP addresses from Hosts’ Files

• Press Windows Key + R buttons together on the keyboard.
• Type C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc in Run Box and then click the OK button.
• Now open the host file with Notepad.
• Look for any suspicious IP addresses that might be related to BlueKey Virus.
• Delete all the malicious IP addresses and save the host files.

Remove Virus related Windows Registry entries

• Press Windows Key + R buttons together on the keyboard.
• Type regedit in Run Box and then click the OK button.
• Registry Editor will open, then press CTRL +F buttons together.
• Now type BlueKey and then click on Find Next button.
• Find all the related entries and delete them one by one

Delete Virus related files from your PC

When a threat gets on to a PC, it most likely creates some files at different locations on the system. These files are used to perform a specific action and also help malware in getting back to the computer once it’s removed. So you just need to find also delete all those files associated with this .BlueKey File Virus. Carefully follow the below instruction :

• Press Windows Key + R buttons together on the keyboard
• Type each of the following in Run Box and press the OK button

1. %AppData%
2. %LocalAppData%
3. %ProgramData%
4. %WinDir%
5. %Temp%

For the first four options, look for any recent folder related to the .BlueKey File Virus and remove them. For the Temp folder, you can delete all the files.

Remove BlueKey Virus via system restore

• Press Windows Key + R buttons together on the keyboard.
• Type cmd in Run Box and then click the OK button.
• Type cd restore and press Enter, then type rstrui.exe and press Enter.
• When the System Restore window opens on your computer screen click the Next button, then choose a System Restore point you have created in the past and click the Next button.
• Finally, click on the Yes button to start the system restoration process.

Note: This will only work if you have a restore point set on your PC or it will give an error message. Restoring the computer to a previous version may or may not remove .BlueKey File Virus. Most of the time, viruses just delete all the restore points. If this trick does not work for you then don’t get disappointed.

After restoring your computer, we recommend you run a thorough scan of the PC using a Powerful Anti-Malware program to detect and remove any hidden threats. In most cases, viruses may spread through any files outside of the C drive because system restoring only affect the C drive. There may be some Virus related files hiding your PC, and it never hurts to double-check.

Sometimes, system restore doesn’t work or viruses can just remove the restore points. As such you will probably have no other choice than to choose the Automatic Removal Process. It is the best and error-free method to find and remove threats from your computer. Additionally, you should also check some important malware prevention tips provided here in this guide to avoid similar virus attacks in the future.

Remove BlueKey Virus From MacOS

If you are a mac user, and your machine got infected by this nasty file-encrypting malware then you need to remove it as soon as possible. Although Mac systems are quite safe they still do get infected. So you can delete this infection using the below steps:

Stop Malicious Program From Activity Monitor

• First, you need to open Utilities folder on your Mac system.
• Find the Activity Monitor icon and double-click on it to open it.
• Find BlueKey related process, click the cross button from the upper left side corner to end task.
• A pop-up dialogue box will appear on the screen, click on the Force Quit button.

Remove Virus From Application Folder

• First, go to the Dock option (bottom of your screen) then click on Finder App.
• Now you have to open the Applications Folders to see all the programs.
• Find BlueKey or any other unwanted program then move it to Trash.

Remove BlueKey Virus Related Files From Mac

When any program is installed on your Mac, it creates several files on your system that support the functioning of that application. If you need to remove any virus from your Mac, then you need to delete all related files completely. These files could be found at :

1. LaunchAgents
2. Application Support
3. LaunchDaemons

Follow the below steps to remove virus related files from these locations:

• First of all press the Command+Shift+G buttons together on your keyboard.
• Now you can see Go To Folder option on your Mac screen.
• Type in /Library/LaunchAgents in the text field and click on Go button.
• Find and remove any BlueKey Virus related or malicious file.

Now follow the same process for Application Support and LaunchDaemons folders. But be careful, don’t delete any important files or you can break down your entire system.

How SpyHunter Mac Anti-Malware Works

• First, download the SpyHunter for Mac by clicking on the below button.

• Now go to the Download Folder from the Docs and Install the SpyHunter Anti-Malware For Mac.

• Launch the Program, and click on Start Scan Now button.

• The software will start running a full scan of your mac instantly to look for any malware, virus, threats, malicious programs or security risks, and so on.

• Finally, you will see a list of malware detected on your mac, now click on the Next button to start the removal process.

Tips To Prevent .BlueKey Virus in Future

• Use a good anti-virus, be it a free version but don’t use cracked security programs.
• Make sure that your Windows firewall is active, so it can block upcoming threats.
• Keep your Windows/Mac OS and other programs updated to avoid vulnerabilities.
• Download updates only from official websites, don’t use suspicious sites.
• Never download and install pirated software, games, or illegal patches on your PC.
• Do not open spam emails from an unknown sender and scan all attachments before opening.
• Never download freeware third-party programs from unreliable sources or websites.
• Avoid connecting your PC to unsafe public Wi-Fi to protect your privacy.
• You can also use a VPN to spoof your connection and avoid malicious sites.
• Create a system restore point on your system for security purposes.
• Keep a backup of all your important files to avoid data loss.