MMLocker Ransomware
Posted: August 10, 2016
Threat Metric
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: | 8/10 |
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Infected PCs: | 2,059 |
First Seen: | August 10, 2016 |
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Last Seen: | April 8, 2023 |
OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
The MMLocker Ransomware is a Trojan that uses data encrypting attacks for extorting money from any victims. While malware experts see no free decryption applications for the MMLocker Ransomware currently, backing up your information can keep the MMLocker Ransomware from being able to cause permanent data loss. This threat creates files in multiple, easily-overlooked locations, and you should use the services of your anti-malware products to find and remove the MMLocker Ransomware in full.
A Not-Quite Poignant Story of a Threat Author
The boom in the black market industry of ransom-based Trojans, including both screen-locker and file encrypting types, has led to a variety of examples of how con artists may use social engineering. In some ways, the MMLocker Ransomware's ransom notes offer the most emotive showcases yet, with its extortion demands coupling themselves with unusually autobiographical information and an overall informal tone. However, the choice of words in its ransom messages doesn't change the MMLocker Ransomware's core functions, which malware experts consider in-line with typical file encryption attacks.
The MMLocker Ransomware targets data types not associated with your operating system's essential functions and uses AES-based encryption standards to modify them into being unopenable. Each file so affected can be detected by the '.locked' flag, which the MMLocker Ransomware shares with unrelated threats, such as the Stampado Ransomware and the Zyklon Ransomware. The Trojan also loads a static image that redirects the PC's user to its ransom note, which is a lengthy text file.
The ransom message uses standardized methods for threats of this type, including demanding Bitcoin currency, putting the victim under a deadline before the remote attacker deletes the decryption key, and providing general instructions on how to make a payment and (potentially) decrypt the data. The message also includes information that malware analysts outlined as being unusual for this archetype of Trojan, including warnings about the inefficacy of the law enforcement, boasts about the developer's experience in threat campaigns, and even some generic security advice.
Depriving a Threat Author of an Unearned Living
The personal, colloquial tone that the MMLocker Ransomware uses could persuade some PC users to pay its three hundred USD (once converted from Bitcoin currency) fee, particularly since the author claims to need the money solely for living expenses. However, the MMLocker Ransomware's author disregards the risks of paying for a decryption program that may not function as advertised and offers no new solutions to victims who pay but can't recover their information. Keeping data stored in safe locations that can't be decrypted, such as backups not connected to your PC at the time of the infection, is the standard solution to a hostile file encryption like the MMLocker Ransomware's payload.
Malware experts have seen moderate evidence associating the MMLocker Ransomware with cracks for triple-A video game downloads, such as the latest entry in the Far Cry series. Torrents, while a theoretically neutral download resource, remain a highly likely source of Trojan droppers and downloaders that could install the MMLocker Ransomware. Avoiding illegal downloads offers a high degree of safety from most threats of these types; otherwise, scanning legal files with anti-malware tools should detect any remainders.
Since the start of its campaign, the PC security industry has had months to analyze this Trojan. Removing the MMLocker Ransomware should need no unusual precautions besides having anti-malware products capable of identifying the infection. No matter how many appeals to emotion a Trojan's author gives his victims, the best response always is to ignore advice from a con artist.
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