ProposalCrypt Ransomware

Posted: December 22, 2016

Threat Metric

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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.

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% 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:	89

First Seen:	December 22, 2016
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The ProposalCrypt Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts your files and demands a Bitcoin ransom to restore them back to usability. The ProposalCrypt Ransomware attacks are most likely to distribute themselves as fake documents, which are common in campaigns against businesses with poor e-mail security protocols. Use free decryption solutions and backups for recovering all locked content after deleting the ProposalCrypt Ransomware with any preferred brand of anti-malware software.

An Eight Hundred Dollar Proposal

Prolific families of threats like the Crysis Ransomware may make up the bulk of cyber security headlines, but individual, overlooked Trojans are being released just as often and may cause very comparable kinds of damage. Samples of custom threats like the ProposalCrypt Ransomware show that con artists are continuing to use social engineering tactics for installation, which they follow-up with attacks that are detrimental to most types of data and software on the infected PC. With the ProposalCrypt Ransomware, the goal is money in the form of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency that it extorts from its victims.

Originally, the ProposalCrypt Ransomware installs itself by faking the identity of a Word document with the '.DOC' extension concealing its executable format. A successful compromise of the system lets the ProposalCrypt Ransomware scan and encrypt various data types, including program EXE files, JPG pictures, XLS spreadsheets, TurboTax TAX returns and over a hundred others. Malware experts stress that since the ProposalCrypt Ransomware doesn't restrict its attack to non-executable content, it can encrypt and block full applications potentially, in addition to work media.

After the encryption, the ProposalCrypt Ransomware creates a pop-up window-based ransom request for a single Bitcoin (approximately eight hundred USD value) payment. Since the decryption feature is built into the same UI that handles the ransom demand directly, victims may respond by attempting a payment before considering the potential disadvantages, such as the possibility of the ProposalCrypt Ransomware's decryptor malfunctioning.

Getting the Tag of Encryption Off What's Yours

To help you determine which files are being blocked, the ProposalCrypt Ransomware also appends the '.crypted' extension to the same content that it enciphers. Although this extension is also part of the payloads of other campaigns, such as those for the Masterlock@india.com Ransomware and the Nemucod Ransomware, malware experts can't ascertain any direct relationships between them and the ProposalCrypt Ransomware, at this time. Removing it doesn't reverse the encryption modification that's blocking the file from opening.

Early research by malware experts shows that the ProposalCrypt Ransomware may be decryptable by previous or upcoming decryption software that victims can download from free sources. The lack of good faith in illicit ransom transactions provides an additional degree of risk for file recovery that malware experts suggest avoiding whenever practical. Although the ProposalCrypt Ransomware does encrypt some formats of local backups, storing backups on uninfected sources like a cloud server can facilitate a speedy recovery.

Although this threat uses a favorite trick of a misleading format to gain system ingress, competent anti-malware programs can identify and delete the ProposalCrypt Ransomware without any regard for obfuscating filenames. PC owners with data worth saving should continue keeping a sharp lookout for download links for fake documents, which con artists continue favoring for distributing both new and old threats.

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: 33.79 KB (33792 bytes)
MD5: c471c1d03557e657777c4b5ce9f02cb7
Detection count: 29
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: December 23, 2016