To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Additional password-stealing trojans and malware infections can be installed together with a ransomware infection. Infected email attachments (macros), torrent websites, malicious ads.Īll files are encrypted and cannot be opened without paying a ransom. Cyber criminals demand payment of a ransom (usually in bitcoins) to unlock your files.
A ransom demand message is displayed on your desktop.
Threat Summary: NameĪvast (Win32:Trojan-gen), BitDefender (Gen.1), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of MSIL/Filecoder.FG), Kaspersky (HEUR:), Full List Of Detections ( VirusTotal)Ĭannot open files stored on your computer, previously functional files now have a different extension (for example, my.docx.locked).
Rather than activating any software, these tools often install malicious programs.įake software updaters infect systems by installing malicious software rather than updates/fixes, or by exploiting bugs/flaws of outdated software that is installed on the computer. Tools that supposedly activate licensed (paid) software free of charge can lead to installation of ransomware and other malware.
Examples of these sources are third party downloaders, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule, etc.), unofficial websites, freeware download websites, free file hosting pages, and so on.Ĭomputers become infected when people download and open malicious files that are disguised as useful and harmless.
Examples of files that can be used to infect computers are Microsoft Office, PDF documents, executable files (.exe), archives (RAR, ZIP, and so on) and JavaScript files.įurthermore, people can be tricked to install malware through dubious download channels. Criminals send files that, if opened, cause installation of malicious programs. Malware is also spread by sending emails (spam campaigns) that contain web links or attached files. A Trojan is a type of malware that, if is already installed on the computer, proliferates and installs other software of this kind.
Malware such as ransomware is usually distributed via Trojans, spam campaigns, untrustworthy download sources, unofficial software activation ('cracking') tools, and updaters. Some examples of other ransomware-type software include Veracrypt, Reco, and Bguu. Having data backed up is the best way to avoid data and monetary loss in case of a ransomware attack. Therefore, have your data backed up and store it on a remote server (such as Cloud) or an unplugged storage device. The only way to recover files free of charge is to restore them from a backup. In most cases, only cyber criminals have decryption tools and it is impossible to decrypt files without having to pay for them, unless the ransomware is not finished (has bugs, flaws, and so on). Common differences are sum (typically, in cryptocurrency) that must be paid for decryption and cryptographic algorithm ( symmetric or asymmetric) that is used to lock/encrypt files. Generally, cyber criminals use ransomware to encrypt files so they can make ransom demands. Sapphire is similar to many other programs of this type. Screenshot of a message encouraging users to pay a ransom to decrypt their compromised data: Generally, the second option is the only free way to recover files. Typically, victims of ransomware have two options: pay the ransom and hope that cyber criminals keep their promise and send a decryption tool/key, or restore files from a backup. Unfortunately, encrypted files cannot be decrypted without tools held only by the ransomware designers. Despite these demands, no cyber criminals can be trusted - there is a high probability that they will provide no decryption tools or keys even after payment. The money (Bitcoins) must be transferred to the wallet address provided. In this case, victims must pay for a decryption key, which cyber criminals supposedly provide after payment. Generally, programs of this type encrypt files with strong encryption algorithms - the only way to decrypt them is to use a decryption tool and/or key that can be purchased only from the cyber criminals who designed the ransomware. To decrypt files, victims of Sapphire ransomware are forced to pay cyber criminals $25 in Bitcoins.
To decrypt their files, victims are asked to pay a specific cryptocurrency sum. For example, " 1.jpg" becomes " 1.jpg.sapphire". It renames encrypted files by adding the ". Discovered by MalwareHunterTeam, Sapphire ransomware encrypts data and displays a pop-up window containing a ransom message with decryption instructions.