Home Malware Programs Ransomware Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware

Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware

Posted: May 2, 2016

Threat Metric

Ranking: 14,941
Threat Level: 2/10
Infected PCs: 269
First Seen: May 2, 2016
Last Seen: August 22, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows

The Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware is a Trojan that forces its victims to pay a Bitcoin ransom in return for reversing the encryption-based attacks the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware makes on their files. While the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware implies that alternative solutions are tantamount to a 'miracle,' malware researchers still recommend traditional methods of preserving your data from these attacks, which don't require paying its ransom. It is of no importance what choice you make in dealing with the consequences of the infection, always remove the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware with a suitable anti-malware program beforehand.

The Trojan that Kills Your Bitcoin Wallet

Threatening file encrypting campaigns rarely target specific individuals or entities, and, in most situations, are free to conduct their attacks without any concern for the integrity of the victim's data. The Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware is one blatant example of a Trojan without any particular target in mind, being distributed in the wild and conducting encryption attacks against files of over a thousand different formats. Potential victims can take some limited reassurance from the fact that the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware, like other file encryptors, only targets valuable and work-based files, rather than data that's necessary for your operating system's critical functions.

The Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware identifies files of appropriate types while scanning all available hard drives and then sends them through an encryption routine using an as of yet unconfirmed algorithm. The data also is renamed with extra extensions including both an e-mail address and a unique ID number, similar to the renaming formats of threats like the HydraCrypt Ransomware or the UmbreCrypt Ransomware. Because these files no longer can be read until another program decrypts them, the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware is free to demand a Bitcoin payment in exchange for this service.

Formats most at risk of being attacked by the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware include media files, such as MP3, AVI, or JPG, along with Microsoft Office content (Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Word documents). Malware experts don't recommend that you rename any affected content, which does not reverse the encryption attack and can make it difficult to identify which data has been attacked.

Killing a File Killer at a Low Cost

The Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware equates non-ransom-based methods of recovering your data as being equivalent to an act of God and places additional pressure on its victims by warning that any delays could incur an increase in its fees. While free decryption solutions are not always available, malware researchers can always recommend using backups that restore your data without needing to have a working decryptor. Detached storage devices remain the most secure means of protection from a file encryptor like the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware, although cloud server-based storage is targeted very rarely.

Despite its similarity to past Trojans of the same category, the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware is a new threat whose distribution methodologies are still under verification. Scanning unusual files before launching them, keeping macros disabled, and blocking in-browser script content from untrustworthy sites all are helpful defenses against threatening software installers. Malware experts always endorse protecting your PC with proper anti-malware defenses that can find and remove the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware before its payload triggers, thus avoiding any need to deal with its ransoms.

Possibly as a means of strengthening its bargaining position, the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware keeps the sums demanded in its ransoms ambiguous. Whether the ransom demanded is affordable or not, paying the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware's con artists may not give a victim a decryption service as expected. If the contents of your hard drives are worth preserving, then you should always take steps for data preservation sufficient to make the Kill CryptFILe2 Ransomware's demands irrelevant.

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