What is ILOVEYOU Virus
ILOVEYOU Virus, also known as the “Love Bug” or “Love Letter,” is a notorious malware that first appeared in May 2000. It spread primarily through email, disguising itself with a subject line that reads “ILOVEYOU” and an attachment labeled “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs”. When unsuspecting recipients opened the attachment, the VBScript within executed and sent copies of the virus to all contacts in the user’s Microsoft Outlook address book. This rapid propagation method led to widespread infection, causing significant disruption and financial damage estimated at around $10 billion globally. Beyond merely replicating itself, the virus also overwrote a variety of file types such as JPEGs and MP3s, leading to permanent data loss for many users. The outbreak forced major organizations, including government entities and multinational corporations, to shut down their email systems temporarily to contain the spread. The ILOVEYOU Virus highlighted the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures and raised awareness about the dangers of social engineering and phishing attacks.
How ILOVEYOU Virus infected your system
The ILOVEYOU virus, also known as the Love Bug, infects computers primarily through email. Disguised with a subject line stating “ILOVEYOU” and an attachment masquerading as a love letter, the virus exploits human curiosity and emotions. When the recipient opens the attachment, which is a VBScript file, it executes automatically, embedding itself into the system. The virus then scours the user’s Microsoft Outlook address book, sending copies of the infected email to all contacts, thus propagating rapidly. Additionally, it overwrites essential files, such as JPEGs and MP3s, leading to significant data loss. This combination of social engineering and destructive payload made ILOVEYOU one of the most devastating worms in cybersecurity history.
- Download ILOVEYOU Virus Removal Tool
- Use Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool to remove ILOVEYOU Virus
- Use Autoruns to remove ILOVEYOU Virus
- Files, folders and registry keys of ILOVEYOU Virus
- Other aliases of ILOVEYOU Virus
- How to protect from threats, like ILOVEYOU Virus
Download Removal Tool
To remove ILOVEYOU Virus completely, we recommend you to use SpyHunter 5. It can help you remove files, folders, and registry keys of ILOVEYOU Virus and provides active protection from viruses, trojans, backdoors. The trial version of Spyhunter 5 offers virus scan and 1-time removal for FREE.
Download Alternative Removal Tool
To remove ILOVEYOU Virus completely, we recommend you to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. It detects and removes all files, folders, and registry keys of ILOVEYOU Virus and several millions of other malware, like viruses, trojans, backdoors.
Remove ILOVEYOU Virus manually
Manual removal of ILOVEYOU Virus by inexperienced users may become a difficult task because it does not create entries in Add/Remove Programs under Control Panel, does not install browser extensions, and uses random file names. However, there are pre-installed instruments in the Windows system, that allow you to detect and remove malware without using third-party applications. One of them is Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. It comes with Windows Update in Windows 11, 10, 8. 8.1. For older operating system you can download it here: 64-bit version | 32-bit version.
Remove ILOVEYOU Virus using Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
- Type
mrtin the search box near Start Menu. - Run mrt clicking on found item.
- Click Next button.
- Choose one of the scan modes Quick scan, Full scan, Customize scan (Full scan recommended).
- Click Next button.
- Click on View detailed results of the scan link to view the scan details.
- Click Finish button.
Remove ILOVEYOU Virus using Autoruns
ILOVEYOU Virus often sets up to run at Windows startup as an Autorun entry or Scheduled task.
- Download Autoruns using this link.
- Extract the archive and run Autoruns.exe file.
- In Options menu make sure there are checkboxes near Hide Empty Locations, Hide Microsoft Entries, and Hide Windows Entries.
- Search for suspicious entries with weird names or running from locations like:
C:\{username}\AppData\Roaming. - Right-click on suspicious entry and choose Delete. This will prevent the threat to run at startup.
- Switch to Scheduled Tasks tab and do the same.
- To remove files themselves, click on suspicious entries and choose Jump to Entry…. Remove files or registry keys found.
Remove files, folder and registry keys of ILOVEYOU Virus ILOVEYOU Virus files and folders
{randomname}.exe
ILOVEYOU Virus registry keys
no information
Aliases of ILOVEYOU Virus no information How to protect from threats, like ILOVEYOU Virus, in future
Standard Windows protection or any decent third-party antivirus (Norton, Avast, Kaspersky) should be able to detect and remove ILOVEYOU Virus. However, if you got infected with ILOVEYOU Virus with existing and updated security software, you may consider changing it. To feel safe and protect your PC from ILOVEYOU Virus on all levels (browser, e-mail attachments, Word or Excel scripts, file system) we recommend a leading provider of internet security solutions – BitDefender. Its solutions both for home and business users proved to be one of the most advanced and effective. Choose and get your BitDefender protection via the button below:
