Croc Ransomware

The Croc Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that can encrypt your media files and hold them hostage. There are limited recovery options for this threat, and users should try protecting their content beforehand with backups, whenever it's practical. However, the anti-malware services of most reputable companies are adequate for identifying and deleting the Croc Ransomware quickly and safely.

Facing the Unmistakable Bite of Encryption

Another version of the Scarab Ransomware's release against PC users in unknown regions is making itself apparent, with victims reporting of locked files and previously-unseen extensions that are tagging them. There are some other, minor format changes that malware experts notice that, while they're trivial, could be indications of more important alterations 'underneath the hood' of the program. The Croc Ransomware, the new entrant, is using completely unexamined and unknown propagation exploits for finding its victims.

The Croc Ransomware is a Windows-based program, no different from fellow Scarab Ransomware members like the Burn Ransomware, the French101 Ransomware, or Scarab-Bomber Ransomware variants like the Yourhope@airmail.cc Ransomware. It uses a traditional but effective method of locking Word or PDF documents, JPG or GIF images, and other media on the PC: AES primary encryption with RSA security. The '.croc' extensions it adds into their names without taking out the previous format identifier is unique to the Croc Ransomware, and other versions of the Scarab Ransomware display different ones.

The Croc Ransomware generates Registry entries for launching without requiring any intervention from its victim and proceeds with the previously-outlined attack automatically. It also can erase some backups, such as the Windows ShadowVolume Copies. Like most versions of the Scarab Ransomware, the files it leaves behind after an attack are extortionist instructions for purchasing a criminal's recovery solution, although this Trojan uses a new filename of 'HELP_BY_CROC' that malware experts see no equivalent for in the other members.

Outwrestling a Cyber-Crocodile

The ransoming strategy that the Croc Ransomware uses doesn't issue an immediate price, which offers the threat actors more space for adjusting their demands to the victim's circumstances. However, this may not be beneficial since these ransoms can rise to hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on the financial resources of a target. There is no freeware decryption service for the Scarab Ransomware family, and decryption could only be possible with the attacker's help.

Non-local, secure backups are the only strategy that provides one hundred percent recovery rates from file-locking Trojan s of most genealogies. For the Croc Ransomware's family, malware experts also recommend against saving backups on networks that other programs can access without going through additional security, such as a login – since the Scarab Ransomware can damage media over a local network. Sufficiently strong anti-malware services should stop and delete the Croc Ransomware, like all iterations of its family, without problems.

Some of the Croc Ransomware's earliest victims are in Romania, but the Scarab Ransomware is a family that attacks anywhere and everywhere. Opening an e-mail attachment or following a corrupted advertisement can be the quickest path to never seeing your files again – except through a digital crocodile's teeth.