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ULocker Ransomware

Posted: October 3, 2012

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 10/10
Infected PCs: 5
First Seen: October 3, 2012
Last Seen: January 21, 2022
OS(es) Affected: Windows

ULocker Ransomware Screenshot 1Ulocker is a form of police ransomware that attempts to detect the target computer's country (based on the IP address) and display a region-specific legal alert by the International Police Association. While Ulocker's pop-ups claim that your PC has been locked down due to criminal activity occurring, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers note that Ulocker isn't affiliated with the IPA and doesn't have any valid reason to lock your computer. To unlock your PC, Ulocker may request a Ukash or Paysafecard payment, although these fines are unnecessary for removing Ulocker, which should always be considered malicious, criminal, fraudulent and a high-level threat to your PC's safety. Appropriate measures for disabling and deleting Ulocker Trojans are included in the rest of this article.

Ulocker: the Police Ransomware with Unlimited Linguistics Skills

Ulocker is part of the rising surge of ransomware Trojans that have significantly increased development within the past few years. First seen in July of this year on a private forum for carding (an activity associated with credit card fraud), the Ulocker package is sold to criminals who wish to create their own variants of ransomware Trojans, with support included for various languages.

Ulocker appears to have been born in Russia, although Ulocker attacks have been found to target numerous countries, as SpywareRemove.com malware researchers note with this list:

  • Austria
  • Cyprus
  • Germany
  • Finland
  • France
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • the Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

After detecting which of these countries your PC is based in, Ulocker locks your computer and launches an alert that includes fake IPA credentials (such as the organization's logo). While this pop-up will insist that you've committed some crime that's guilty of causing Ulocker to lock your computer, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers can confirm that Ulocker isn't related to any attempts to detect actual computer crimes and isn't supported by the International Police Association. Paying the ransom that Ulocker demands (usually via Ukash or Paysafecard) does nothing but spend your money for no benefits to your PC, and you should consider Ulocker a hostile Trojan to be removed promptly.

Picking the 'Lock' Part of a Ulocker Infection

Besides its basic attacks, Ulocker may also make changes to the Registry that harm your computer's security – for instance, by disabling your firewall or other critical programs. Given that Ulocker can be a high-level threat to your PC's safety, Ulocker's removal should always be accomplished quickly and with a good anti-malware application.

If Ulocker blocks the software that you'd use to remove Ulocker and related PC threats, SpywareRemove.com malware research team encourages you to use a Safe Mode boot or a boot from an external device (USB flash drive, etc) to prevent Ulocker from starting. By default, Ulocker starts with Windows, which makes using your computer as normal while Ulocker is installed highly difficult.

ULocker Ransomware Screenshot 2

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