ArmaLocky Ransomware

Posted: September 11, 2017

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:	73

First Seen:	September 11, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The ArmaLocky Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts your files to force you into paying a ransom for the decryption key. After an infection, users may see such symptoms as a new extension on the names of their media, the presence of text instructions or local Web pages telling them to visit a TOR-based ransoming website and malfunctions in default security or backup software. Let your anti-malware programs delete the ArmaLocky Ransomware automatically and recover any encrypted files through their most recent backups.

The Name of Locky Keeps Coming Back (to Your Files)

Although the '.locky File Extension' Ransomware family of file-locking Trojans has its share of minor variants, not every threat can be relied upon to produce self-identifying symptoms. Malware experts only recently identified possible samples of a fake version of the '.locky File Extension' Ransomware still in the apparent testing stages of its development. The ArmaLocky Ransomware does lock files in exchange for ransom payments, but its symptoms only imitate the above family superficially.

The ArmaLocky Ransomware's installer doesn't use fake extensions or other methods of disguising itself as being anything other than an executable currently. After installing, the ArmaLocky Ransomware begins searching for media to block with an AES and RSA-based encryption routine, with the most frequent targets of such attacks including documents, spreadsheets, archives, audio and pictures. The ArmaLocky Ransomware also adds the 'armadilo1' string, as an extension, to each name; this tag has no connections to other Trojans available to malware experts for analysis.

Along with blocking your files, the ArmaLocky Ransomware also creates new ones, such as its HTML and text-based ransoming messages. This message asks the victim to install the TOR browser for navigating to the ransom-processing website, and malware experts have yet to determine any details regarding the costs or currency formats. However, paying these ransoms for restoring your data always comes with the inherent danger of not getting access to a real decryption solution.

Keeping Imitations of Bigger Problems out of Your File System

The reasoning behind pretending to be related to the '.locky File Extension' Ransomware family could be one of depriving the victim of any compatible, public decryptors, or simply using a previous brand's name to pressure the victims into paying their ransoms in short order. Although it lacks any legitimate familial identifier, the ArmaLocky Ransomware does cause damage to your files with its encryption feature. This attack isn't always curable, and malware researchers encourage having robust backup strategies to protect any valuable content on your PC.

Although the ArmaLocky Ransomware includes an internal file marker that helps distinguish it from the Trojans it copies, its distribution exploits are still open to further analysis. The ArmaLocky Ransomware may arrive through email attachments targeting specific users, circulate randomly on torrent or other piracy-oriented resources, or install itself with the assistance of third-party threats like exploit kits. However, most anti-malware programs should preempt any encryption attacks and delete the ArmaLocky Ransomware by default.

Imitation is flattery for the Trojan industry, but also a provider of new decryption problems for those whose files are under attack. For those who do need to try to unlock their media, guessing at reverse-engineering the ArmaLocky Ransomware's cipher without a backup plan only may cause more harm than good.

ArmaLocky Ransomware

Threat Metric

The Name of Locky Keeps Coming Back (to Your Files)

Keeping Imitations of Bigger Problems out of Your File System

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