ANN Ransomware

The ANN Ransomware is a file-locker Trojan from the AES-Matrix Ransomware's family. It can use a secure encryption routine to lock the user's files and hold the contents of businesses' unprotected servers for ransom. Windows PC users should have anti-malware security services for removing the ANN Ransomware on sight and reliable backups for restoring any files.

Trojans with Friendly-Sounding Names

As it arrives on the threat landscape at roughly the same time as the CORE Ransomware, the ANN Ransomware's timing is unlikely a coincidence. These two similarly-named threats are parts of AES-Matrix Ransomware, a file-locking Trojan family that makes ransoms off compromising business entities. Whether it's infecting a business's network or an unlucky user's home computer, the ANN Ransomware is a minor update to file-locking Trojan code that can harm files in mass quantities.

As its family's name suggests, the ANN Ransomware uses AES encryption for blocking media, with additional RSA protection for keeping users from cracking it. The attack will target and barricade files of media formats such as Word or Adobe PDF Reader documents, spreadsheets, pictures, databases, and other ransom-suitable data. As is typical for a threat of this type, the ANN Ransomware also changes their names by appending extra ransoming information (random strings, e-mails, and its name).

This family has had substantial analysis, over time, through variant occurrences like the ANN Ransomware's relatives of AB89 Ransomware, AL8G Ransomware, and FDFK22 Ransomware. Although the threat has few built-in stealth features, breaking its locking method is highly-difficult. Most users can only recover their work through backups secured on other devices, as malware researchers always advise to do.

Keeping a PC from Giving Trojans a Welcome Mat

Users saving their backups on other devices can recover their files without going through the ANN Ransomware's ransoming process, which uses a standard RTF document-based template and free e-mail services for negotiating with the victims. Otherwise, preventing infections is the only reliable means of saving documents and other files from frequently-permanent encryption, corruption or secure deletion. Only Windows users are prone to infections from the AES-Matrix Ransomware family, despite gradually-increasing incidents from other file-locker Trojans for macOS and Android environments.

All users should concentrate on preventing well-known security vulnerabilities from inviting Trojan-delivering attacks. Strong passwords will block brute-force hacking, and software updates will remove many exploit possibilities from an attacker's kit, as will disabling features like macros, Flash, and JavaScript. Workers should consider interactions with e-mail attachments with particular care, given the frequency with which Trojans abuse fake invoices, printer updates and similarly-fraudulent documents.

However, renowned anti-malware products offer a significant bright spot against file-locking Trojans. These products should remove the ANN Ransomware as a threat and prevent any encryption attacks from occurring.

The ANN Ransomware has little other than a name and addresses that separate it from the CORE Ransomware, but dual-wielded Trojans isn't an event to dismiss. Competent backup and Web-browsing habits are the defense lines that distinguish a still-solvent company from a broke one.