Gaeilge Ransomware

Posted: September 10, 2012

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:	19

First Seen:	September 10, 2012
Last Seen:	February 5, 2020
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Gaeilge Ransomware is a rare example of a ransomware Trojan that targets the nation of Ireland in its attacks. Like similar examples of ransomware Trojans from various branches of the Ukash Virus and Lockscreen families, Gaeilge Ransomware pretends to be an alert from a local government agency that has locked your PC due to illegal behavior. However, Gaeilge Ransomware is unrelated to law enforcement or any other branch of the government of Ireland and SpywareRemove.com malware experts have noted that it's unlikely that the Gaeilge Ransomware will unlock your computer even if you do pay its demanded ransom. Other than its choice of a country to victimize, Gaeilge Ransomware displays all the expected habits for its subtype of Trojan, and SpywareRemove.com malware analysts recommend shutting Gaeilge Ransomware down and deleting Gaeilge Ransomware with good anti-malware methodology and software.

Another Example of Why No Country is Safe from Gaeilge Ransomware and Its Kin

Recent ransomware Trojans like Gaeilge Ransomware tend to specialize in alarming content for specific countries, and Gaeilge Ransomware, with its warning messages in clumsy Gaelic, is no exception. Given the half-garbled nature of Gaeilge Ransomware's alert, SpywareRemove.com malware research team believes that Gaeilge Ransomware is an automatically-translated variant of a similar ransomware Trojan, with conversion assisted by online tools. However, like other recent ransomware Trojans, Gaeilge Ransomware's pop-up alert includes various trappings of official government sponsorship – such as a depiction of the Irish flag – and attempts to look as legitimate as possible.

Gaeilge Ransomware claims that your PC has been locked due to illegal pornography-related acts associated with it, although, in reality, Gaeilge Ransomware is even more illegal than the crimes that Gaeilge Ransomware says your computer has a hand in enabling. Gaeilge Ransomware insists on a payment of one hundred Euros before your PC will be unlocked although SpywareRemove.com malware experts note that it's not hard to tell that this claim is fraudulent, since Gaeilge Ransomware uses the same questionable payment methods (such as Ukash and Paysafecard) that are common to most types of modern ransomware Trojans.

Depriving Gaeilge Ransomware of Its Stolen Pot of Gold

Although Gaeilge Ransomware was first seen in western Donegal in early September, Gaeilge Ransomware's distribution vectors have yet to be analyzed. Until that time comes to pass, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you avoid known means of distribution for ransomware Trojans like Gaeilge Ransomware:

File attachments and links from unusual e-mail spam.
Websites that exploit Java, JavaScript and/or Adobe software to initiate drive-by-download attacks. These attacks can install Gaeilge Ransomware without symptoms or your permission.

Gaeilge Ransomware can be unlocked forcibly if you're willing to boot Windows into Safe Mode or, better yet, boot your PC from a removable media device (USB drive, etc.). Once you've launched your operating system without Gaeilge Ransomware's pop-up alert, you can delete Gaeilge Ransomware through anti-malware scans from appropriate software.

Gaeilge Ransomware relatives (ransomware Trojans that exhibit identical attacks for different countries) include the Polícia de Segurança Pública Portuguese Virus, Strathclyde Police Ukash Virus, Guardia di Finanza Ransomware, 'Die offizielle Mitteilung des Bundeskriminalamtes' Trojan and the Scotland Yards Ukash Virus.

Gaeilge Ransomware

Threat Metric

Another Example of Why No Country is Safe from Gaeilge Ransomware and Its Kin

Depriving Gaeilge Ransomware of Its Stolen Pot of Gold

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