'.GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware

Posted: November 11, 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:	5

First Seen:	November 11, 2016
Last Seen:	September 10, 2021
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The '.GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware is a Trojan that encodes your files to block them and extort money through its offers to restore them after being paid. Although the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware uses high-visibility attacks, preventing file damage requires using good PC security practices and software to block this threat preemptively. Many anti-malware solutions should be able to identify and quarantine GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware as a minor variant of previously-analyzed threats correctly.

Determining the right course of action for resolving a Trojan infection isn't always a straightforward process, and con artists do their best to cloud their victims' judgment with misinformation. Malware researchers find many families of file-encrypting Trojans being especially relevant examples of profit-seeking hoaxes in action. Modern cases for the past few months include many re-releases of the Globe Ransomware, from the 'Orgasm@india.com' Ransomware and the '.blackblock File Extension' Ransomware to the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware.

That last threat is the subject of this article and shows all signs of being deployed by third-party threat actors under a rental model. The 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware is an under two hundred kilobyte executable, allowing con artists to install it with a minimal download footprint. When launched on a compatible Windows PC, the Trojan scans for media files to encrypt with the Globe Ransomware family's preferred algorithm, a variant of Blowfish. The cipher blocks your files while the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware also adds the '.gsupport3' extension to their names for identification.

The 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware also may lock your desktop background to an image of its choice. However, the bulk of its ransom information displays through an HTA pop-up window that the Trojan loads when your PC reboots. The window provides advice on transferring Bitcoins to the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware's administrator, in exchange for the promise of an 'interpreter' that decodes and restores your files.

Interpreting a Solution to Attempted Data Extortion

Some victims of file-encrypting Trojan campaigns choose to pay the threat's administrator and risk the possibility of not receiving any decryption services. Because many threat actors distribute Trojans like the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware without any intention of keeping good faith deals, other ways of recovering content always should be a priority for injured parties. The 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware's family does have multiple decryption tools available to the public, giving PC owners ways of restoring any encoded content that they don't save to external backups.

A slim majority of anti-malware products detect the latest samples of the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware currently, with most other members of the Globe Ransomware family sharing similar detection rates. As new Trojans like the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware are releasing into the wild, PC users should stay current with the updates of their security software. Recently-patched threat databases are more likely than otherwise to facilitate detecting and deleting the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware during its initial install attempt.

With third-party distribution maintaining a dominant presence in the threat black market, the threats and tactics for the 'GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware may take unpredictable formats. Constantly-active anti-malware security may be the best way to detect this latest attempt at placing your media files under lock and key.

'.GSupport3 File Extension' Ransomware

Threat Metric

Interpreting a Solution to Attempted Data Extortion

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