'This is Hitler' Ransomware

Posted: January 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.

Ranking:	10,042
Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	614

First Seen:	January 31, 2017
Last Seen:	October 3, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The 'This is Hitler' Ransomware is an updated re-release of the Hitler Ransomware, a fake file-encrypting Trojan that pretends to lock your files so that it can ask for a ransom. Even though the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware doesn't encrypt any data, it can cause permanent file damage through other methods, and malware experts recommend backing up your files to prevent any consequences of an infection. Anti-malware protection that detects previous versions also may delete the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware with no issues.

A Cyber Warfare with a Deceptive Pretext

Even though the psychological leverage of a genuine file-encrypting attack is significant, not every threat actor has the time, interest or technical capacity for launching a threatening encryption campaign. For those people, Trojans like the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware often make an efficient replacement by giving their victims the same appearance of file-locking attacks without offering any of the more technical aspects of them. This Trojan operates as a clear derivative of the previous Hitler Ransomware campaign from 2016.

The 'This is Hitler' Ransomware seems to be disguising its installers as fake bills in PDF format that con artists may attach to forged e-mails. However, like the Hitler Ransomware, the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware is an executable or EXE and uses a batch file-based routine for infecting your computer. A successful attack can include symptoms such as:

While the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware has no file-encrypting features, it may delete your data or erase their extensions, which makes them unreadable until you revert the filename changes.
The 'This is Hitler' Ransomware's initial startup may include a fake error window to distract the user in addition to restarting the system automatically.
After a reboot, the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware loads an HTA ransoming message which still uses Hitler-themed imagery. The message offers a temporary e-mail address for contacting the con artist and, potentially, buying a 'decryptor' for restoring your blocked content.

Putting the War against Your Files to Rest

While the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware is far from being harmless to the pictures, spreadsheets and other media of an infected computer, its attacks demonstrate how victims can be confused into worsening their situation predominantly. Third-party researchers have already freeware solutions for reversing the fake decryption the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware uses, and many PC users can consider the even simpler solution of renaming all of their content back to normal. Paying con artists a ransom to restore your data, even from an actual encryption attack, is a solution malware experts discourage habitually.

Any anti-malware application that can detect the Hitler Ransomware also should be able to identify the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware, which has limited changes from the first Trojan. Malware experts also recommend examining any unusual e-mail attachments cautiously and being aware of the tendency for Trojan installers to use fake extensions, icons and file data. Deleting the 'This is Hitler' Ransomware with active anti-malware tools before its installation can prevent any potentially unrecoverable loss of data.

The 'This is Hitler' Ransomware campaign continues targeting Germany-based businesses and residents. For users in the affected region, opening an e-mail automatically could be a mistake with a price (and a dictator) attached.

'This is Hitler' Ransomware

Threat Metric

A Cyber Warfare with a Deceptive Pretext

Putting the War against Your Files to Rest

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