Is your computer suddenly being totally blocked because of some illegal reasons? Have you really done the online illegal activities specified on the locking screen? If not, then how come your computer is locked? Is £ 100 necessary in order to unlock your computer? What’s the alternative option?

A brief introduction on what is [email protected]

Is your computer being locked and you are required to pay 100 pounds for [email protected] to unlock your computer? Apparently, your computer has been infected by the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU) malware! This virus mostly targets at computer users from the United Kingdom. Once your computer is locked by it, please stay calm and do not believe what it says or even pay for it to unlock your computer. This is one of the most popular cyber scams that’s been quite active recently. It’s similar with the FBI Moneypak virus which targets at PC users from the United States at first but is now spreading to a lot more countries. You pay, you lose money and PC is still locked!

Basically, you can say that this [email protected] email address is used by hackers to steal your money. According to the PCeU locking page, your computer is locked mainly because you have visited and spread illegal content or your computer contains pornographic and violent files. Your IP address is also listed on the locking screen to make it more real. In order to unlock your computer, you will have to pay a fine of £ 100 either through Ukash or Paysafecard. If any errors occur, you can contact the above email address to help you finish the payment. If you do proceed the payment, will your computer be unlocked? Mostly the answer here is no. But exceptions do exist. However, it doesn’t mean that this malware has been removed out even if your computer is unlocked!

To completely get rid of this scam and unlock your computer, you will need to manually remove it. Following are the manual instructions for you to consider. But PC skills are needed if you want to do this alone. Or you are also welcome to contact YooSecurity 24/7 Online PC Experts now by starting a Live Chat for expert assistance.

Here’s the locking screen of [email protected] malware:

What are the other threats other than PC being locked?

Other than blocking you out of your computer, PCeU malware can also bring other damages to your computer. Hackers will not be satisfied from the £ 100 fines. Besides, most of us do not buy the trick and pay along. So they have to find other ways to steal money as well! For instance, this malware can bring other viruses and ransomware into your computer without permission. With the help of viruses inside, remote hackers may be able to take over control of your computer and collect valuable personal information to make illegal benefits! What’s more, functions of your computer can be disabled if you cannot remove the virus out quickly. It gives enough time for PCeU to bring more harms to your computer.

Step-by-step [email protected] manual removal guide

As mentioned above, the manual removal steps should be followed with better computer skills. Otherwise any mistakes might occur and cause unpredictable damages. Besides, due to the fact that this virus can change time from time, you may not be able to find the exact same files or folders as below. If you insist to do this one your own, please consider to spend some time on making a backup beforehand.

1. Restart the infected computer and keep pressing F8 key before Windows launches; then use arrow keys to select and log in with Safe Mode with Networking;

2. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time or right click on the Task Bar to open the Windows Task Manager; then end the processes related to [PCeU].exe;

3. Open Control Panel from Start menu and search for Folder Options;
4. Under View tab to tick Show hidden files and folders and non-tick Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and then click OK;

5. Press Windows+R keys and then type regedit in Run box to open Registry Editor;

6. Delete all the following or those related to the following files:
%Windows%\system32\[random].exe
%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\.dll
%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\.exe(random)
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Regedit32
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System “DisableRegedit” = 0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “Inspector”

7. Restart the computer to normal mode when you have done all the above to remove [email protected] virus.

Similar Video on How to Modify or Change Windows Registry

To sum up:

There are many versions of malware that can lock your computer up and require certain amount of fines from you to unlock your computer. PCeU is just one of them. This kind of virus normally appears to be very legit because it always has something to do with the laws of the nation. People who are too afraid of being caught to court will certainly pay the requested fines. But it is 100% assured that you will not be in any legal troubles if you don’t pay. If you pay, you will not only lose £ 100, but also give away sensitive information through the Internet. Therefore, you should not believe what this blocking screen says or contact [email protected]. What you should do is trying to remove it out of your computer immediately!

Notice: If you still cannot delete completely this PCeU malware (or variants related to [email protected]) from your computer and are afraid of losing more to the virus, please contact YooSecurity Experts now for a complete and satisfied online service.

Published by Tony Shepherd & last updated on November 27, 2012 7:07 am

Leave a Reply