KawaiiLocker Ransomware

Posted: September 8, 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:	25

First Seen:	September 8, 2016
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The KawaiiLocker Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts your files and creates instructions on how to pay for getting them restored. PC users with the option to do so always should use a free method of salvaging the contents of their hard drive without paying this threat's ransom. Although standard anti-malware products don't provide decryption features, they can delete the KawaiiLocker Ransomware to stop it from harming any other data.

What's not So Cute About Getting a Trojan Infection

Much like threat campaigns, memes, and social fads come and go, and the former often exploit the latter for purposes of visual design or publicity. The KawaiiLocker Ransomware ('kawaii' being Japanese for 'cute') is one of the more unusual cases of a threat development team picking an odd theme, but malware experts also find other aspects of its campaign as being of interest. According to its attacks, the KawaiiLocker Ransomware is a file encryption Trojan and, like most of its kind uses an AES cipher to block your data.

The KawaiiLocker Ransomware scans for files and looks for one of slightly over eighty formats, including DOC, RTF, RAR, HTML and MP4. The KawaiiLocker Ransomware encrypts any content matching the list with an AES Output Feedback mode-based algorithm. Readers of past articles of similar threats may note that using AES OFB is uncommon, most likely due to its introducing vulnerabilities into the encryption process that the cracker can exploit for decrypting purposes.

The Trojan also creates a Russian-targeting ransom message on the PC's desktop, asking for a 6000 Rubles payment within a week before the con artists delete your key and make your data irretrievable (in theory).

Malware experts noted an absence of data-renaming or appending features. The affected content will look identical to its previous, non-encrypted format, except for failing to open. However, victims can determine which content the KawaiiLocker Ransomware attacks by examining the entries in its 'crypt_list' component.

Ditching the Cutest of Digital Extortionists

Some of the KawaiiLocker Ransomware's components include callbacks to previous threat campaigns as long ago as 2014, but no distinct relatives of the KawaiiLocker Ransomware are verifiable, as of the present day. While the KawaiiLocker Ransomware's ransom note encourages paying its ransom within a very sharp and threatening time limit, it also supports this timer with inaccurate boasts about the strength of its encryption routine. The PC security sector has available tools for decrypting any content that the KawaiiLocker Ransomware encodes.

Some file encrypting Trojans lack the above resource, which is why malware experts also would recommend keeping a backup elsewhere. Most localized backups are not secure; the KawaiiLocker Ransomware and most similar Trojans scan for and delete local Windows backups actively.

Preserving the contents of your hard drive against attacks is half of the proper defense against file encryptor Trojans like the KawaiiLocker Ransomware. Removing the KawaiiLocker Ransomware through anti-malware tools able to stop it from causing additional damage is equally important. No matter how 'cute' these exaggerated threats may seem, a Trojan like the KawaiiLocker Ransomware is nothing to take lightly.

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:

file.exe

File name: file.exe
Size: 455.16 KB (455168 bytes)
MD5: ffdded13a21ff8eeba9ccc815ee7d448
Detection count: 87
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: September 8, 2016