Recover MS Outlook Data Corrupted With the Vvew Virus
I was devastated when I lost Microsoft Outlook data from PST files infected with a “vvew” virus recently, and a ransom of 600 USD was requested by the hacker. The Recovery Toolbox for Outlook tool helped me recover MS Outlook data and my email database in just a few minutes, even though the data seemed to be completely lost and inaccessible.
The vvew virus is a type of ransomware that targets computers by encrypting files and requesting a fee to unlock them. Data loss and financial losses are the outcomes of these ransomware attacks. My files were encrypted by Vvew, which renamed them by adding the .vvew extension and produced files with the name “_readme.txt” that contain the ransom note. The extremely harmful ransomware “vvew’ virus spread in the form of mail, program Trojans, and web pages. It used various encryption algorithms to infect, delete, and encrypt my Outlook PST files adding its .vvew extension, making it impossible to access my Outlook mailbox.
The virus only encrypted the beginning and end of the file, modified them, and applied a combination of encryption with the substitution of places because the PST/OST file used by Outlook to store emails is typically large. Using the Recovery Toolbox for Outlook’s potent analytical algorithms, I was able to retrieve up to 99% of the emails and contacts from the surviving file. I safely retrieved and restored practically all emails, contacts, attachments, and other data thanks to its offline and online file recovery methods, which read and analyze the complete file without relying on service headers, service tables, or service links.
I was able to fix all issues with Recovery Toolbox for Outlook. The tool made it easy, and I was able to repair PST files of various versions, including ANSI (Outlook 97–2003), Unicode (Outlook 2007 and higher), and password-protected files. With the help of the Online Outlook Recovery Tool, it was a simple task to recover corrupt Outlook .PST data files online on any device or restore any version of .PST files
Before repairing the infected .PST file, I started by finding my Outlook Data Files in Outlook.
- First, I selected File, Choose Account Settings, and click Account Settings.
- Next, I selected the Data Files tab.
All Outlook Data Files (.PST) and Offline Data Files (.OST) were listed, along with the account name the files are associated with.
Method 1: How I Recover My Infected .PST Offline With Recovery Toolbox for Outlook
Step 1: Identify the infected Outlook data file location
To recover an infected Outlook data file, first Exit Microsoft Outlook and go to one of these locations:
- For Outlook 365: C:\Users\Username\AppData \Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2019: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2016: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2013: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2010: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2007: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2003: C:\Users\username\Documents\Outlook Files\
- For Outlook XP: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- For Outlook 2000: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Step 2: Download, install, and Run the program.
Step 3: Select the corrupt file and click Next.
Step 4: Choose Recovery Mode and Click Next.
Step 5: Confirm Yes to start the recovery process.
Step 6: Inspect the data preview and click Next to save the recovered file to a new location.
Step 7: Enter the location to save the .pst file and click Next.
Step 8: Save recovered data as the new .pst file
Step 9: After checking the successful recovery results, click Finish to exit the Recovery Toolbox for the Outlook tool.
The encrypted file should then be replaced with a recovered one, or the recovered.pst file should be added to Outlook’s list of data files. The following steps apply to Outlook versions 2021, 2019, 2016, and 2013:
- Choose the menu item File | Info.
- Next, click the button Account Settings.
- Finally, choose Account Settings in the pop-up menu.
- Choose the Data Files tab and click Remove.
- Click Open File Location and select the recovered file. Click Set as Default.
Done! The problem of an infected .PST file has been solved.
Method 2: How I Recovered My PST File Online With the Recovery Toolbox for Outlook
With the online Outlook Recovery Tool, it was easy to recover my virus-infected database online on my device, and I had no difficulty fixing encrypted PST files or recovering OST files of any version.
To change the file extension from vvew to PST – the service determined which recovery algorithm to use
- I clicked Select file and selected an Outlook data file with the extension .pst or .ost
- I entered my e-mail address
- I then proceeded by pressing the Continue button
- I waited for the corrupted .pst/.ost file to be recovered
- And then, I downloaded the recovered Microsoft Outlook pst file
The data I recovered from the corrupt Microsoft Outlook file was stored as a brand-new file with the PST extension for Microsoft Outlook 2016, which made recovery of PST files for Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders on any device with a browser possible, and I was happy.
Advantages of the Recovery Toolbox
Advantages of the Recovery Toolbox for Outlook include:
- You can fix any PST files of different versions of Microsoft Outlook: ANSI (Outlook 97-2003), Unicode (2007 and above)
- You can fix PST files of any size (successfully tested on files with size 180Gb+)
- You can fix password-protected files
- You can fix encrypted PST files
- You can fix the error online on any device at Outlook Recovery Tool
- You can recover OST files of any versions
With the use of the online Outlook Recovery Tool, I easily restored the corrupt PST files as well as other PST files of different versions and also important Outlook data online on my computer. Give the Recovery Toolbox for Outlook a try right now to prevent a virus from slowing down your work!
Highly acclaimed by users Recovery Toolbox for Outlook utilizes the most advanced PST file-analysis methods aimed at opening Outlook data files with different degrees of damage inflicted by all types of accidents like virus attacks, network errors, hardware problems, software bugs, RAID or HDD failure, and others.
Recovery Toolbox for Outlook can recover all types of objects from damaged Exchange Server (OST) and Outlook (PST) storage files, including email messages with attachments, contacts, notes, tasks, and more. You can gain immediate access to all the necessary work files you sent to your colleagues using the MS Outlook e-mail client in a few simple steps.
Bottom Line
Recovery Toolbox is a software developer, ISV vendor, and distributor company based in Varna, Bulgaria. The company’s multinational team of software engineers specializes in developing and introducing easy-to-use practical tools like Recovery Toolbox for Outlook for .OST/.PST recovery and repair. Over the past 20 years, more than 100,000 customers have endorsed our data care solutions tailored to the needs of end-users and enterprises. We offer industry-leading online data recovery/repair technology and offline data recovery software to repair a wide range of corrupted and damaged files. Being an ISDEF member – of the International Society of Data Engineers – the company has made every effort to provide users with innovative, value-adding data recovery software products, making Recovery Toolbox one of the most trusted data care companies in the world.
See Also: Internet Faxing Made Simple: A Beginner’s Guide to FoIP