‘.aaa File Extension’ Ransomware

Posted: January 20, 2016

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Ranking:	17,263
Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	89

First Seen:	January 20, 2016
Last Seen:	September 23, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware is an estimated variant of CryptoWall Ransomware, a file encryptor that holds your computer's data for ransom. Like its ancestor and similar file encryptors, the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware makes automatic modifications of files that rearrange their data and make them inaccessible to their associated applications. Due to the inherent difficulty of reversing these attacks directly, malware experts always recommend using backups to protect your files; meanwhile, your anti-malware products can delete the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware from your computer.

The Trojans Extending Old Ransoms to New Victims

Although the threat industry changes their 'products' regularly as part of avoiding detection countermeasures, these updates rarely include significant diversions from previously-reliable attack methods. The '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware is a 2015-era example of a threat changing some external features while staying the same, regarding what attacks the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware can launch against a PC user. Like the CryptoWall Ransomware, the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware uses a multistage process of creating computer problems that the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware then sells the solutions for resolving.

Steps of a the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware infection go through the following phases:

The '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware installs itself through means concealing its motives, such as a corrupted e-mail attachment or an in-browser exploit. The '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware usually requires the intervention of a second threat, such as an exploit kit or a Trojan dropper, for achieving installation.
With a successful install, the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware scans your hard drive, searching for specific file formats. Possible formats targeted by the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware include Word DOC, MP3 audio and Excel XLS spreadsheets.
Once it identifies appropriate files, the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware modifies them by running them through a basic encryption routine, such as RSA-2048. Afterward, relevant applications can't read the encrypted files.
The files also are modified with an additional the '.aaa' extension type, although this change is cosmetic, not impacting the real file format.
The '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware also drops a ransom message in BMP image format in the same directories as any encrypted files. The instructions direct the victim to a premium payment option that theoretically lets them pay the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware's admin team for decrypting their data.

PC owners impacted by the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware infections should keep in mind that the con artists may not be willing or capable of restoring any encrypted files even after they pay them.

Getting Rid of a File-Ransoming Problem without the Ransom

Although it does include some superficial payload changes and changes in ransom note formats, the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware continues the core tactic and features of the CryptoWall Ransomware. PC users recovering from these attacks can use standard backups, ideally ones stored on removable drives or cloud servers, for restoring their data. Some decryptor tools provided by third-party PC security companies also have limited effectiveness against specific file encryptors.

Even though an '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware attack shows visible symptoms, it can't install itself, and may be being supported by less obvious threats than itself that provide different attack features. Malware experts have seen some cases of the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware infections including symptoms not relevant to its tactic (such as Windows blue screen errors) that could be caused by other threats. No matter what solution you prefer for saving your files, removing the '.aaa File Extension' Ransomware from your PC should include using anti-malware tools able to scan your system for all related threats, including such common culprits as backdoor Trojans and Trojan droppers.

‘.aaa File Extension’ Ransomware

Threat Metric

The Trojans Extending Old Ransoms to New Victims

Getting Rid of a File-Ransoming Problem without the Ransom

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