Trojan:HTML/Browlock

Posted: August 16, 2013

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:	9/10
Infected PCs:	26

First Seen:	August 16, 2013
Last Seen:	March 16, 2021
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Trojan:HTML/Browlock is a fake Police Trojan that displays fraudulent legal warnings through your Web browser. While Trojan:HTML/Browlock has convinced you that your computer has been attacked by your nation's police force, Trojan:HTML/Browlock moves on to requesting a ransom fee through oft-exploited cash transferal services like Ukash and Paysafecard. Since Trojan:HTML/Browlock's pop-up is designed to be an unclosable window, Trojan:HTML/Browlock essentially blocks you from using your PC even though Trojan:HTML/Browlock has not been documented to include any other major system-locking features. As with all other kinds of ransomware, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers don't see any advantages to paying Trojan:HTML/Browlock's ransom – or, in fact, doing anything with Trojan:HTML/Browlock other than using anti-malware software and traditional security strategies to delete Trojan:HTML/Browlock immediately.

Trojan:HTML/Browlock: Browbeating Your Computer for Your Money

An extension of the continually-developed ransomware industry, Trojan:HTML/Browlock uses modified browser pop-ups to deliver fraudulent messages implying that Trojan:HTML/Browlock is a legitimate tool of your local police. Which police agencies are referenced in Trojan:HTML/Browlock's warning messages will vary with the IP address of the infected PC; Trojan:HTML/Browlock attempts to 'hone in' on the compromised PC's country by its IP address and loads an HTML warning page that's relevant to the country in question. So far, SpywareRemove.com malware experts have noted variants of Trojan:HTML/Browlock alerts referencing Europol, the Australian Federal Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Dutch Police (Politie Nederland) and the German police (Bundespolizei), amongst others. As one would assume from the above list, Trojan:HTML/Browlock's attacks are focused on Europe and North America.

Trojan:HTML/Browlock's pop-up alert claims to have encrypted all files on your PC as a penalty for your illegal online actions such as infringing copyright or viewing illegal types of pornography. However, SpywareRemove.com malware experts have not confirmed any file-encrypting capabilities on the part of Trojan:HTML/Browlock and particularly emphasize that Trojan:HTML/Browlock is not a law-enforcement program. Trojan:HTML/Browlock's attacks are not directed at specific criminally-used PCs, and the appearance of a Trojan:HTML/Browlock pop-up should be taken as a sign of poor online security rather than an indication of any illicit activities from your computer.

These attacks are meant to force the victim to pay a fee to get their files back, although there's no real reason to pay this 'fine' and no legal penalty for refusing to do so. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers personally suggest ignoring any further threats from the Trojan:HTML/Browlock and saving your money for anti-malware solutions that are certain to restore your PC back to normal.

The Quick Key to Unlocking a Trojan:HTML/Browlock Pop-Up

Trojan:HTML/Browlock's pop-up is modified to be unclosable and may prevent you from using other portions of the Windows interface. Ultimately, while Trojan:HTML/Browlock may make it seem appealing or even necessary to pay its ransom, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have found the best results combating Police Ransomware Trojans through appropriate security protocols. Anti-malware software loaded from a clean USB device should be able to find and remove Trojan:HTML/Browlock, while appropriate decryption utilities also may be used in the rare event of Trojan:HTML/Browlock including attacks that follow up on the often-used bluff of decrypting the files on your PC.

Trojan:HTML/Browlock, like the Ukash Virus or other ransomware-based Trojan families, most likely is distributed by online PC threats like the Blackhole Exploit Kit, Styx Exploit Kit and other Trojans that use drive-by-downloads to their advantage. Browser security is an important part of blocking potential Trojan:HTML/Browlock-installing attacks and SpywareRemove.com malware experts recommend using all available browser security features, updating your software regularly and taking advantage of security tools with Web-protection functions.

Trojan:HTML/Browlock

Threat Metric

Trojan:HTML/Browlock: Browbeating Your Computer for Your Money

The Quick Key to Unlocking a Trojan:HTML/Browlock Pop-Up

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