Alma Locker Ransomware

Posted: August 23, 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:	89

First Seen:	August 23, 2016
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The AlmaLocker Ransomware is a file encrypting Trojan that holds your PC's non-essential files hostage. Although the Alma Locker Ransomware claims that it can restore your data after you pay for access to its decryptor, current decryption services for this threat are not functional. When dealing with threats of this category, malware experts suggest deleting the Alma Locker Ransomware through standard anti-malware methods and recovering your content from an unencrypted backup, such as a cloud service.

The Alma Locker Ransomware: Keeping the Soul of Your PC Under Lock and Key

The very nature of threatening file encryption-based hostage scenarios often requires various degrees of social engineering and deceit from a remote attacker. Although a con artist may make the process of paying a ransom as easy as possible, there is rarely any guarantee that doing so will help you recover from the effects of a threat infection. The Alma Locker Ransomware is a case in point demonstrating this truth, where victims may feel unable to proceed without submitting to extortion demands that, ultimately, have no payoff.

The Alma Locker Ransomware's distribution model uses the RIG Exploit Kit for downloading and installing itself without your consent by exploiting a variety of software vulnerabilities. The RIG Exploit Kit has been active for years, with its payloads including various threats, and even other file encryption Trojans, such as the CryptoWall Ransomware. Like most file encryption Trojans, the Alma Locker Ransomware doesn't target operating system-based content, only personal or work-related data.

After being installed via the exploit kit's drive-by-download, the Alma Locker Ransomware scans for content not kept on blacklisted folders (with blacklisted locations including the Windows and Program Files directories, as examples). The Alma Locker Ransomware also applies an extension filter so that it only attacks data of specific types, such as DOC, PNG and TXT. The threat concludes with an AES-128 encryption cipher.

The Alma Locker Ransomware provides a ransom strategy for restoring your content by downloading its decryptor program, making a Bitcoin transaction within five days, and then entering the relevant transaction information into the program's provided fields. The Alma Locker Ransomware also offers a limited 'trial' of its decryptor that, ironically, malware experts verify as being non-functional currently. Using this decryption feature returns a generic server error.

No Charge for Escaping a Skull and Crossbones Problem

Following the conventions of most file encryption Trojans of 2016, the Alma Locker Ransomware also uses a user-friendly pop-up interface that provides information and easy-to-use resource links. It also includes a countdown timer for accepting payments, uses piracy-themed logos, and offers custom fields (such as the victim's personalized infection ID) in its solutions. However, none of these trappings make it any more reliable to pay con artists for decrypting the files that the Alma Locker Ransomware encrypted. The Alma Locker Ransomware's decryptor being non-working is, potentially, an ideal circumstance when compared to other Trojan campaigns malware researchers have noted that offer decryptors that damage your data permanently.

You can identify your encrypted, unusable files by the new strings that the Alma Locker Ransomware appends to them. These strings are a set of characters randomized for each installation, which means that two of the Alma Locker Ransomware infections will use two different extension names. Since there are no current, freeware decryption solutions to this threat, you may need to restore your content from an unencrypted backup source.

Although the Alma Locker Ransomware offers a multitude of options for paying ransoms, buying back your digital data from con artists is always an uncertain recovery strategy. Malware experts can't endorse solutions that don't entail removing the Alma Locker Ransomware through appropriate anti-malware procedures, along with taking care to protect your data beforehand.

Alma Locker Ransomware

Threat Metric

The Alma Locker Ransomware: Keeping the Soul of Your PC Under Lock and Key

No Charge for Escaping a Skull and Crossbones Problem

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