CryptoJoker Ransomware

Posted: January 4, 2016

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:	14

First Seen:	January 4, 2016
Last Seen:	May 30, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The CryptoJoker Ransomware is a file encryption Trojan that may modify your files for the purpose of making them unreadable. The Trojan accompanies this attack with deleting any locally-stored backup data, to force its victims into paying a negotiable ransom fee. As always, the uncertainty involved in such transactions has malware researchers recommending other means of recovering lost data, along with using anti-malware tools for detecting and deleting the CryptoJoker Ransomware's hidden components.

When Your File Extensions are Laughing at You

The CryptoJoker Ransomware is a new file encryptor only seen in limited distribution this year, without any tools yet developed specifically for counteracting its payload. The CryptoJoker Ransomware's PDF file installer is estimated to be circulated primarily through corrupted e-mail attachments that use social engineering to convince its victims to open them voluntarily. After being installed, the CryptoJoker Ransomware uses a combination of fake Windows component names and randomized text strings to hide its files.

The CryptoJoker Ransomware's components are responsible for different, specialized functions, ranging from deleting your Windows backup data to contacting a C&C server. Malware experts also verified that the CryptoJoker Ransomware also goes so far as to disable the Windows startup repair feature. Most importantly, however, the CryptoJoker Ransomware scans for files of specific types on your PC and encrypts them, causing them to be unable to be interpreted by their compatible programs. Encrypted files are notable through the additional, cosmetic '.crjoker' extensions.

Along with targeting text files, images, and documents, the CryptoJoker Ransomware also encrypts spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, SQL databases, HTML Web pages and PDFs, among other file types. Once the attack concludes, another component of the CryptoJoker Ransomware opens an image file containing its ransom instructions in English and Russian.

Getting a Final Laugh on CryptoJoker Ransomware

Although the CryptoJoker Ransomware takes multiple steps meant to thwart any attempt at data recovery, non-local storage solutions, such as cloud storage or USB devices, can continue providing efficient means of restoring encrypted files from backups without necessitating any ransom payments. However, as per usual security standards, you should disinfect your PC before trying to recover any files lost to the CryptoJoker Ransomware's encryption attack. In most cases, identifying a CryptoJoker Ransomware infection should be almost immediate since the CryptoJoker Ransomware launches highly-visible attacks, including pop-up messages that are designed to load on top of any previously open windows.

Since malware researchers have seen the CryptoJoker Ransomware's components using multiple means of confusing their identities, manual identification of this threat is non-ideal and may lead to your deleting legitimate Windows files. Well-designed anti-malware products, particularly ones given a Safe Mode environment for scans and equipped with the latest threat databases, should be capable of removing the CryptoJoker Ransomware during their system scans.

Due to the CryptoJoker Ransomware's limited distribution, no PC security companies have provided tools for decrypting the files harmed in its attacks. However, this policy may change, should the CryptoJoker Ransomware ever see a wider release than current.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

E:\6158595127017472\ba4e7b8df8d78a961b30e890c8721fe78c730c0f2c2a85c858369cd3a55f0f13

File name: ba4e7b8df8d78a961b30e890c8721fe78c730c0f2c2a85c858369cd3a55f0f13
Size: 628.6 KB (628606 bytes)
MD5: bca6c1fa9b9a8bf60eecbd91e08d1323
Detection count: 97
Path: E:\6158595127017472\ba4e7b8df8d78a961b30e890c8721fe78c730c0f2c2a85c858369cd3a55f0f13
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 15, 2021

9e8935d647bdc323ae6862993badfb48

File name: 9e8935d647bdc323ae6862993badfb48
Size: 79.87 KB (79872 bytes)
MD5: 9e8935d647bdc323ae6862993badfb48
Detection count: 83
Group: Malware file