Trojan.LockScreen

Posted: July 23, 2012

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:	9/10
Infected PCs:	1,677

First Seen:	March 19, 2012
Last Seen:	March 1, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The LockScreen family is a group of ransomware Trojans that display fraudulent alerts about Internet-oriented crimes and lock your computer down while requesting that you pay a Ukash-facilitated fine. Similar to the Ukash Virus or Ransom.DU family of ransomware Trojans, LockScreen family members attempt to determine the infected PC's country (based on its IP address) and display a region-appropriate pop-up (for example, by including your country's flag colors or references to a local branch of the police). LockScreen-based PC threats are distributed thoroughly in regions of Europe without English as a primary language, such as Poland and Switzerland, and use incorporate IPA references to make their pop-up warnings seem believable. Since LockScreen Trojans aren't linked to any real form of law enforcement and can't detect the crimes that it claims are associated with your computer, SpywareRemove.com malware analysts can't recommend a solution better than disabling and removing LockScreen with reliable anti-malware strategies and security software.

LockScreen: the Iron Clasp Over Your OS with a Fake Badge Behind It

Ransomware Trojans from the LockScreen family don't have any real legal standing and can be considered as illegal and harmful as any other type of Trojan. However, the primary symptom of a LockScreen infection – a pop-up alert that covers the entire desktop – will attempt to convince you otherwise by referencing the IPA, your country's flag, your IP address and the official Ukash logo. Old variants of LockScreen Trojans may vary from this description, although the above is accurate to the latest-reported variants of LockScreen ransomware. While a LockScreen Trojan's pop-up can be adjusted for your country as determined by your IP, the contents will always accuse you blindly of crimes such as illegal file-trafficking or child pornography-viewing. This is punctuated via a demand to pay a fee through Ukash services for either fifty or one hundred Euros.

Although LockScreen-based PC threats will claim that your computer will be unblocked once you pay this fine, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend against it. Since LockScreen Trojans aren't capable of detecting the crimes they claim to notify you about, there's no reason to bother frittering away Euros on a LockScreen infection's ransom request.

The Magic Key to LockScreen's Poor Rationale for a PC Lockdown

LockScreen infections have a near-certainty of preventing you from accessing other programs, including security programs that could disinfect LockScreen. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have found that alternative boot up sequences are effective for disabling LockScreen and similar types of PC threats until they can be removed by qualified anti-malware programs. Two common methods include booting Windows into Safe Mode (by tapping F8 during a reboot until the relevant menu displays itself) or by booting from a portable drive device. Once you can launch Windows without LockScreen's pop-up appearing, you should be able to access any required anti-malware products for LockScreen's removal.

Modern variants of LockScreen are noteworthy for being distributed throughout much of Europe, with over a dozen confirmed LockScreen-infected countries at the time of this article's writing. The International Police Association (I.P.A.) ransomware (or Trojan:Win32/LockScreen.CI) is a confirmed member of LockScreen, with very similar PC threats including 'Votre ordinateur est bloqué' Belgium Ransomware, West Yorkshire Ransomware and the Gema 'Access to your computer was denied' Virus.

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:

%APPDATA%\tmp.exe

File name: tmp.exe
Size: 641.16 KB (641160 bytes)
MD5: cc38bd5181872b54c10bf1c3317fb2a2
Detection count: 1,614
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %APPDATA%
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 26, 2016

file.exe

File name: file.exe
Size: 367.1 KB (367104 bytes)
MD5: 6D8DB0D28948A4D91A30E51C6901BBA0
Detection count: 67
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: April 24, 2012

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Combat\Combat.exe

File name: Combat.exe
Size: 3.3 MB (3304960 bytes)
MD5: 6d7fcc24f48c0ddafe8e9c337dbca1da
Detection count: 41
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Combat
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 6, 2015

%SystemDrive%\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\1.exe

File name: 1.exe
Size: 391.57 KB (391573 bytes)
MD5: 403767a08cc494ea623bd407ac2b55da
Detection count: 28
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %SystemDrive%\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: September 17, 2012

%APPDATA%\1.exe

File name: 1.exe
Size: 391.5 KB (391505 bytes)
MD5: 9b079876e1077eb7e74c56e8814c41a0
Detection count: 16
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %APPDATA%
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: September 3, 2012