The Firewall of the United States Virus
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is The Firewall of the United States?
The Firewall of the United States message blocks computer users' screens and is a scam created by cyber criminals. In fact, this message is a virus (a ransomware infection), which infiltrates systems using Trojans and demands payment of a bogus $200 fine using MoneyPak.
The message states that the fine is for alleged law violations such as downloading copyrighted audio, video, software, etc. This screen locker originates from a family of ransomware called Epubb. Previous variants of this scam exploit the name of the FBI in order to extort fake fines from unsuspecting PC users.
No international authorities using these methods (blocking PC desktops) to collect fines for any law violations. To further scare PC users into believing the authenticity of this message, cyber criminals add a video recording screen, which purportedly records footage of computer users and sends collated information to The Firewall of the United States.
If you observe such a message on your computer, your PC is infected with a ransomware infection. Paying the $200 fine is equivalent to sending your money to cyber criminals. Do not fall for their trickery.
The Firewall of the United States scam is distributed using drive-by downloads, Trojans, and fake video codec downloads. The best way to protect your computer from ransomware infections such as these is by using legitimate antivirus and antispyware software.
Other safe computing practices include keeping your operating system and installed software up-to-date. Do not trust 'The Firewall of the United States' message - it is merely a scam designed to coerce you into paying a bogus fine. To eliminate this virus from your PC, use the removal guide provided.
A fake message displayed by 'The Firewall of the United States' virus:
THE FIREWALL OF THE UNITED STATES
COMPUTER BLOCKED
This computer has been blocked to Americans by the US Government Firewall.
Illegally downloaded material (audio, videos or software) has been located on your computer.
By downloading, those were reproduced, thereby involving a criminal offence under Section 106 of Copyright Act.
The downloading of the copyrighted material via the Internet or music sharing networks is illegal and is in the accordance with Section 106 of the Copyright Act subject to a fine or imprisonment for a penalty of up to 3 years.
Furthermore, possession of illegally downloaded material is punishable under Section 184 paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code and may also lead to the confiscation of the computer, with which the files were downloaded.
To perform the payment, enter the acquired GreenDot MoneyPack code in the designated payment field and press the "OK" button.
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Quick menu:
- What is The Firewall of the United States?
- STEP 1. "The Firewall of the United States" virus removal using safe mode with networking.
- STEP 2. "The Firewall of the United States" virus removal using safe mode with command prompt.
- STEP 3. "The Firewall of the United States" ransomware removal using System Restore.
The Firewall of the United States virus removal:
Some variants of this ransomware infection allow users to boot their operating system in Safe Mode with Networking. Use this mode to eliminate The Firewall of the United States MoneyPak virus:
Step 1
Start your computer in Safe Mode. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, click OK. During your computer starting process press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see the Windows Advanced Option menu, then select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.
Video showing how to start Windows 7 in "Safe Mode with Networking":
Step 2
Log in to the account infected with The Firewall of the United States virus. Start your Internet browser and download the recommended malware removal software. Run a full system scan and eliminate the entries detected.
Cannot boot in Safe Mode with Networking? (The Firewall of the United States virus blocks Safe Mode with Networking)
If you have more than one user account on your operating system, please log-in to a clean account and download recommended malware removal software, install it, and run a full system scan.
Remove all security infections detected. If, however, you have only one user account, please follow this guide (the guide describes how to create a new user account using Safe Mode with Command Prompt - using this newly-created user account, you will be able to remove the The Firewall of the United States ransomware).
If The Firewall of the United States also blocks your operating system's Safe Mode with Networking, follow these removal instructions:
1. During your computer starting process, press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, and then select Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list and press ENTER.
2. When Command Prompt Mode loads, enter the following line: net user removevirus /add and press ENTER.
3. Next, enter this line: net localgroup administrators removevirus /add and press ENTER.
4. Finally, enter this line: shutdown -r and press ENTER.
5. Wait for your computer to restart, then boot your PC in Normal Mode and login to the newly-created user account ('removevirus'). This account will not be affected by the ransomware infection and you will be able to download and install recommended malware removal software to eliminate this virus from your computer.
6. Download and install recommended malware removal software to eliminate this virus from your computer:
If the newly-created user account is also affected by the ransomware infection, try performing a System Restore (this function restores the operating system files to an earlier point in time). If successful, you will be able to restore you operating system to a point prior to this ransomware infecting your computer.
Video showing how to remove ransomware virus using "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" and "System Restore":
1. During your computer starting process, press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, and then select Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list and press ENTER.
2. When Command Prompt Mode loads, enter the following line: cd restore and press ENTER.
3. Next, type this line: rstrui.exe and press ENTER.
4. In the opened window click "Next".
5. Select one of the available restore points and click "Next" (this will restore your computer system to an earlier time and date, prior to the ransomware infiltrating your PC).
6. In the opened window click "Yes".
7. After restoring your computer to a previous date, download and scan your PC with recommended malware removal software to eliminate any remnants of The Firewall of the United States ransomware.
Other tools known to remove The Firewall of the Unites States virus:
If none of the above instructions removed The Firewall of the United States scam, try using a Rescue disk.
If you cannot access the Internet, use these instructions.
Outstanding!
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