FunFact Ransomware

Posted: January 26, 2017

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.

Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	68

First Seen:	January 26, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The FunFact Ransomware is a Trojan that blocks you from opening your files by locking them with asymmetric encryption. Other components that this threat drops on your hard drive will demand Bitcoin payments for recovering your content, although no guarantees of good faith service are possible with cryptocurrency-based transactions. After noting symptoms of this Trojan, such as extortion messages, you should use anti-malware products for deleting the FunFact Ransomware and recovering any affected content through a backup.

The Not-So-Fun Fact of Reoccurring Trojan Campaigns

Even though the industry for file-encrypting threat brims with more competition than ever, each campaign provides an original spin on how to commit these increasingly standardized attacks. One of the newer threats malware experts see this month, the FunFact Ransomware includes ransoming components that may indicate its threat actor's targeting smartphone users. However, the FunFact Ransomware also maintains the ability to lock, and, therefore, exploit for extortion, the files of a regular PC.

The FunFact Ransomware encrypts local data, such as JPG images or DOC documents, with what it claims to be an AES algorithm that it protects with another level of a RSA-based encoding. It also drops other components in the same directory as the locked content, including a DLL file with the encryption key, an INI-based ransoming message, and a JPG picture. The latter, which includes a Quick Response or QR Code, is of the greatest interest to threat analysts. Victims may scan the associated file to find out the wallet address where the threat actors are collecting their ransom payments.

The Trojan also includes a more well-developed extortion notification than its INI text: a pop-up that it may incorporate into a desktop-blocking 'lock-screen.' This window includes additional instructions for contacting the FunFact Ransomware's admins and paying Bitcoin currency for your files, along with a time limit for accepting payments and a built-in display of the QR code. Unlike most attacks of a similar nature, the FunFact Ransomware's authors don't include any extensions or filename changes for helping you see which files the Trojan is locking.

The Facts Behind Throwing Away Money for Uncertain Solutions

Threat campaigns against smartphone users aren't extraordinarily rare (see also: Lockerpin), although most file-encrypting threats prefer targeting business servers with large amounts of financially valuable data. Whether confidential customer data or pictures are the items that the FunFact Ransomware encrypts, taking the risk of paying its Bitcoin ransom is inadvisable. Con artists exaggerate the strength of the encryption algorithms they leverage in their Trojans' payloads habitually, and free decryptors for threats like the FunFact Ransomware often are available.

Although malware experts don't see samples of the FunFact Ransomware hiding their components, including the easily-detectable ransom-related data, these files are visible after the Trojan has locked your local content successfully. Use anti-malware products to scan new downloads and delete the FunFact Ransomware proactively, or employ backups for overwriting any encoded content without requiring a decryption service. Past campaigns of the FunFact Ransomware's category often, but not solely, prefer e-mail spam for compromising business systems, whereas personal PC users are more likely to endanger themselves while browsing threatening websites or unsafe file-sharing networks.

There may be no fun to have with the FunFact Ransomware, but it does have the side benefit of signposting the necessity of backing your hard drive up on a regular basis, possibly including the contents of 'simple' like your phone.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

dir\name

File name: name
Size: 230.4 KB (230400 bytes)
MD5: 405bedf1ff104b0d2f27fe7054869efc
Detection count: 80
Path: dir
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 5, 2017