BNFD Ransomware

The BNFD Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that's a part of the AES-Matrix Ransomware family. The BNFD Ransomware blocks media files on the computer to demand a ransom out of the victim and cause symptoms such as adding extensions and hijacking the desktop. Users should let their anti-malware tools delete the BNFD Ransomware automatically, although the recovery of files without a safe backup is questionable.

The Next Trace of a Trojan Family Floats to the Surface of the Web

As one of the quieter but well-maintained families of file-locker Trojans, the AES-Matrix Ransomware makes fewer waves and acquires less publicity than the average Ransomware-as-a-Service of much more widespread use and abuse. Even so, it marks a notably-consistent presence in the threat landscape, with encryption being its reliable tool for making strangers' files into premium hostage opportunities. The BNFD Ransomware is one of the latest catches of this family available to malware researchers.

The BNFD Ransomware is a quick arrival after other variants, such as the ANN Ransomware, the BDDY Ransomware, the JB88 Ransomware, and the FDFK22 Ransomware, and differs minimally from their samples. The BNFD Ransomware remains Windows-based, with secure AES encryption that blocks media files in various folders and network-shared drives. Besides blocking the files this way, the Trojan also deletes their backups by wiping the Shadow Volume Copies with a CMD command.

More aesthetic symptoms of the BNFD Ransomware's payload include resetting the desktop's wallpaper to a custom random warning, adding extensions with its name and creating RTF documents. The RTF files are ransom notes with the details for paying over a file recovery process from the attacker, although not to any good effect necessarily. Users partaking of any 'free demo' options should remember that attackers transferring files back to victims may use the supposed samples as additional infection vectors.

Shrinking Down the Matrices of Data in Dispute

Like most long-term families of file-locking Trojan, different versions of the AES-Matrix Ransomware will use various exploits for compromising targets, according to the needs of the moment and the attacker's preferences. Some infection scenarios use third-party tools like the RIG Exploit Kit, which abuses software vulnerabilities for downloading threats through the victim's browser. Updating software and disabling some features, such as JavaScript and Flash, helps prevent many EK attacks.

Malware researchers always advise that all users maintain passwords strong enough for resisting brute-force attacks that crack credentials by guessing or selecting them from preset lists. Other possibilities for the BNFD Ransomware's distribution include e-mail attachments with the ever-likely abuse of documents' macros and illicit or inauthentic downloads, such as game cracks or fake software updates. The BNFD Ransomware is built for Windows, although users should remember that equivalent Trojans exist for all widely-in-use Oses.

Effective anti-malware products will block most of the drive-by-download exploits that attackers might use against PCs. Malware experts also confirm appropriate detection rates for this variant of the AES-Matrix Ransomware and recommend using such programs for uninstalling the BNFD Ransomware, in most cases.

Much of the BNFD Ransomware's payload is well-explored, but the Trojan's most crucial distribution and installation phases are mysterious relatively. Windows users should tend to their files as if they could be under attack at any moment – which they might be, either by the BNFD Ransomware or any of thousands of competing Trojans.