Master Penalty Document Virus Ransomware

Posted: January 2, 2013

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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	2

First Seen:	January 2, 2013
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Using the names of two yet-to-be-implemented legal bills – SOPA and PIPA – the Master Penalty Document Virus pretends to have the legal authority to block your computer while the Master Penalty Document Virus demands ransom money to reverse this attack. Although the Master Penalty Document Virus claims to have detected criminal activity affiliated with your computer, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers haven't found any such crime-detecting functions related to any Master Penalty Document Virus infection, which should be considered to be malicious and illegal, itself. Like all ransomware Trojans, you shouldn't try to reward the Master Penalty Document Virus for its misdeeds, but, instead, delete the Master Penalty Document Virus with strong anti-malware software that will allow you to resume normal computer usage.

Master Penalty Document Virus: Not Exactly a Master of Disguise

The Master Penalty Document Virus is a ransomware Trojan that targets German-speaking PC users, although the Master Penalty Document Virus lacks the nationality-specific details of most similar PC threats (such as GVU Gesellschaft zur Verfolgung Ransomware, Bundespolizei National Cyber Crimes Unit Ransomware, ' Es ist die ungesetzliche Tätigkeit enthüllt!' Bundespolizei Ransomware and other examples of prominent Ukash Virus variants). Despite having its fake alert using German text, the Master Penalty Document Virus references only American legal bills – and, in fact, references only bills that have not yet been voted into law. In this respect, SpywareRemove.com malware experts surmise that the Master Penalty Document Virus is relying on a combination of ignorance of American law and fear over the United States' reputation for strict IP law enforcement to achieve its goals.

Although the Master Penalty Document Virus's pop-up accuses your PC of being involved in viewing child pornography and related crimes, the Master Penalty Document Virus doesn't have any way to detect such behavior – whether you consider yourself guilty or innocent. This cheap threat merely is the Master Penalty Document Virus's way of justifying its computer lockdown, which will prevent you from using other programs or even most of the Windows interface.

Sending the Master Penalty Document Virus to the Shredder

The Master Penalty Document Virus may also be capable of conducting other attacks, such as installing other malware, hijacking your browser or altering your security settings. Although the Master Penalty Document Virus asks you to pay a fine through Paysafecard, Ukash or similar methods, there's no need to do this if all you want to do is get the Master Penalty Document Virus out of your PC. As a preliminary step, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers suggest using a system boot that's loaded from a removable device in conjunction with the Safe Mode feature of Windows whenever possible. This will disable the Master Penalty Document Virus and related types of malicious software.

After you've disabled the Master Penalty Document Virus and its pop-up, appropriate anti-malware scanners can be used to remove the Master Penalty Document Virus without giving in to its fake legal demands.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following messages's were detected:

#	Message
1	Master Penalty Document SOPA (Software Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT Intellectual Property Act) has detected that you used piracy content on your computer such as: Operating system (OS) which has NOT been installed IN LEGAL WAY: Child Porno materials (CP) on your PC, Software you used right now (installed with OS) ARE NOT LEGITIMATE. Your system HAS BEEN LOCKED and your data has been encrypted. To unlock your PC, decrypt your data and avoid arrest you MUST pay a penalty of 100 EURO. You can choose one of payment methods below: PaySafeCard, Ukash, CashU or MoneyPack. You should buy a voucher in many places near you: Walmart, OMV, 7 eleven, ESSO, Avia, epay, kiosks. Enter-code below to unlock your PC.

Message

Master Penalty Document
SOPA (Software Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT Intellectual Property Act) has detected that you used piracy content on your computer such as:
Operating system (OS) which has NOT been installed IN LEGAL WAY: Child Porno materials (CP) on your PC, Software you used right now (installed with OS) ARE NOT LEGITIMATE. Your system HAS BEEN LOCKED and your data has been encrypted. To unlock your PC, decrypt your data and avoid arrest you MUST pay a penalty of 100 EURO. You can choose one of payment methods below: PaySafeCard, Ukash, CashU or MoneyPack. You should buy a voucher in many places near you: Walmart, OMV, 7 eleven, ESSO, Avia, epay, kiosks. Enter-code below to unlock your PC.