AslaHora Ransomware

Posted: July 14, 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:	293

First Seen:	July 14, 2017
Last Seen:	March 16, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The AslaHora Ransomware is a Trojan that locks your files and displays a ransom note through a pop-up interface. Many details of the AslaHora Ransomware's campaign are still under analysis, but this Trojan should be assumed to be a danger to any media on your PC that's not backed up elsewhere. If possible, block this threat's install routine with appropriate security software, or use similar products for deleting the AslaHora Ransomware as soon as possible.

Trojans Asking for the Time

Malware researchers often find Trojan campaigns giving mixed signals about their creators' nationalities, which is partially a result of the preference for using English as a semi-universal means of communicating with any victims. However, closer analyses of the ransom notes and related file data of such attacks can lead to uncovering new details. For instance, the potentially incomplete AslaHora Ransomware, created by a supposed 'Malki' (a name common to both Sweden and Norway), apparently is the work of a user named Ron Cohen.

Internal directory information gives the AslaHora Ransomware its name, which translates from Spanish into 'at what time.' The Trojan also may be identified as the Malki Ransomware and uses standard encryption methods to encode and block the user's files. It adds the extension of '.Malki' to everything it enciphers. Afterward, it coerces the victims into paying ransoms by launching a screen-locking pop-up.

The Trojan is installing itself in a bundle with the decryption component, which, potentially, could decode and unlock your files. So far, malware experts have little information on the ransoms the AslaHora Ransomware's threat actor is demanding, and circumstantial evidence leans towards the Trojan not being finished and ready for deployment. Some sources also are reporting the AslaHora Ransomware as being another Hidden Tear variant, although that doesn't appear to be the case, which is significant for any users looking for decryptors from third parties.

The Surprisingly Simple Way to Save a Digital Hostage

One of the details that the AslaHora Ransomware's current payload configuration includes indicating that it's unfinished is its password, which is nothing more than the threat actor's name repeated three times ('MALKIMALKIMALKI'). Inputting that string into the AslaHora Ransomware's 'unlock code' field should remove the Trojan's pop-up and initiate the decryption function for decoding your media. However, it would be simple for Malki to modify the password, and users always should save backups of their content for the best protection against any file-encrypting Trojan.

With so much yet unknown about the AslaHora Ransomware's infection strategies, users will need proactive responses for protecting their computers from infection and potential hostage scenarios. Half of all brands of anti-malware products on the market are identifying this Trojan heuristically, which should let them block and delete the AslaHora Ransomware before its encryption can start. If you do need to decrypt any encoded content, malware experts recommend decrypting a copy of the file, to test the compatibility with all appropriate, freeware decryptors.

Between the mixed information it offers on its threat actor and the limited data available on how it's choosing targets, the AslaHora Ransomware is a relatively mysterious entry into its category. In spite of these questions, malware researchers aren't seeing even a single feature that would prevent a prepared user from keeping his files safe, by using traditional backup and security strategies.

AslaHora Ransomware

Threat Metric

Trojans Asking for the Time

The Surprisingly Simple Way to Save a Digital Hostage

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