‘.73i87A File Extension’ Ransomware

Posted: January 4, 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.

Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	23

First Seen:	January 4, 2016
Last Seen:	April 25, 2020
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware is a file encryptor seen in late 2015 circulating through downloadable file bundles. Its payload consists of scanning any accessible hard drives for data to encrypt, which makes the files unreadable. While the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware also displays instructions for ransoming your files back from its administrators, malware experts advise rejecting this ransom offer and, instead, using standard anti-malware software and data recovery strategies to delete the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware and recover.

The '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware: Turning Your Precious Memories into a Cipher

Although the new year has brought with it both advances in malware and anti-malware technology, it also has continued showing the efficacy of old tactics, such as the still-reliable file-encrypting ransom. This strategy relies on relatively simple but specialized threats, such as the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware, to compromise your system, selectively modify your files and then issue instructions asking you to spend money to gain your data back. At present, malware researchers have seen the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware distributing itself in compromised software downloads through torrents and freeware sites, such as GPS navigational map updates. However, similar threats also use seeded e-mail attachments for gaining access.

After being installed by any means necessary, the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware scans your hard drive for files to encrypt. Removable storage devices, such as DVDs and USB plug-ins, also may be affected if they're accessible at the time of the scanning. Only irreplaceable files, including popular image formats and audio files, have been seen being encrypted by the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware, which prevents them from being read or opened. Victims trying to open these files may, instead, launch a '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware's ransom message.

Like most file encryptors, the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware also provides an easy way to identify these encrypted files without opening them individually: a '.73i87A' text string that's appended to each file name.

Unraveling the EncryptionTactic of the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware

File encryption Trojans require that their victims pay con artists in exchange for the possibility of getting their files decrypted willingly. Instead of depending on the reliability of the con artists attacking your PC in the first place, malware researchers would suggest using robust backup strategies, such as cloud servers, that are unassailable by most file-encrypting payloads. Removable storage devices also should prove sufficient for restoring backup file data, provided that they aren't compromised by the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware during the infection.

Recent reports of the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware attacks have shown evidence of various PC security solutions experiencing difficulties in detecting or uninstalling this Trojan. On the other hand, malware experts have seen no meaningful signs of the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware possessing unique features for blocking anti-malware solutions or evading detection. Victims can increase their chances of deleting the '.73i87A File Extension' Ransomware by making sure that their anti-malware programs are using fully-updated databases and scanning from within Safe Mode, which is a security feature available to most OSs.

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:

file.exe

File name: file.exe
Size: 292.86 KB (292864 bytes)
MD5: 989a8e1bdc6cb85977566baa234300fa
Detection count: 95
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: April 1, 2020