Master Ransomware

Posted: May 31, 2017

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:	94

First Seen:	May 31, 2017
Last Seen:	November 4, 2019
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Master Ransomware is an update of the BTCWare, a Trojan that blocks files with an encryption algorithm and can create additional messages for delivering its ransom demands. Paying such fees is inferior in reliable data recovery compared to other methods malware experts might recommend such as using free decryptors. However, you always should block and delete the Master Ransomware, like all similar threats, with anti-malware protection that can prevent this file loss from happening.

Why Your Filenames are an Extortionist's Contact Address

Attacking PCs with its close relative synchronously, the Oled Ransomware, yet another, minor revision of the BTCWare family is in deployment for late May. The next Trojan that's arising from this old family of file encryptors, the Master Ransomware, also is reusing old components, although its administrators are utilizing slight differences in how they communicate their ransoming demands. Any PC users struggling with disinfecting the Master Ransomware will find few differences between the two campaigns, both of which lock similar types of local data.

While the Oled Ransomware is verifiable for its installation via Remote Desktop Protocols, malware analysts still are examining all suspected distribution exploits for the Master Ransomware. Besides the manual installation methods that an RDP attack could facilitate, the Master Ransomware also may compromise new PCs via spam e-mail attachments or a website-based exploit kit. The Master Ransomware suppresses the majority of possible symptoms of its presence until after it encrypts the media of your PC, such as documents.

Along with encrypting this content, the Master Ransomware also changes the names to use '.master' extensions, along with inserting an instant messaging address. Reading the INF file that the Master Ransomware places on the compromised system's desktop elaborate on the purpose of the contact address: paying a ransom to unlock and restore your media. The message features minimal customization, in comparison to the Oled Ransomware's equivalent, which malware experts note is suggestive of the Master Ransomware being part of a RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service) business model.

Besting a Supposed Master of Hostage-Taking Attacks

While the Master Ransomware distracts its victims by offering them a sample of its decryption feature without a charge, decryption via this Trojan should be considered unnecessary for most users. Malware analysts already noted significant vulnerabilities in most versions of BTCWare that can enable free decryption solutions to unlock any files that Trojans of this family might attack. Bitcoins also aren't subject to traditional industry refund models, further raising the risks of paying ransoms for receiving potential help from a con artist.

Along with the ever-relevant data protection that backups can provide, you can protect any vulnerable Windows system by engaging in safe Web-browsing habits and having active anti-malware protection. Letting standardized anti-malware tools analyze e-mail attachments and other, prolific infection vectors usually will identify and remove the Master Ransomware and the threats responsible for installing it. This preventative security is both less time-consuming and unsafe to your PC's files than retrieving all of your hard drive's media with a decryptor.

To an underground industry that sees new imitators daily, the Master Ransomware is nothing new or masterful. While it may be more of a counterfeit than a brand-new threat, the Master Ransomware does pose a potential problem to any computer owner without the sense to back up their files when appropriate.

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:

dir\name.exe

File name: name.exe
Size: 236.03 KB (236032 bytes)
MD5: 5940d1ee535b763b8affa8df6daca100
Detection count: 32
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: dir
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 2, 2017

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

Regexp file mask%APPDATA%\!#_RESTORE_FILES_#!.inf