vCrypt1 Ransomware

The vCrypt1 Ransomware is a Trojan that encodes your files with a XOR encryption algorithm, modifying them so as to be unreadable to their related programs. Its latest installation exploits include spam e-mails targeting Russian speakers, although its attacks can block and damage files regardless of the compromised system's language settings. Use a combination of anti-malware protection for eliminating the vCrypt1 Ransomware, along with regular backups to keep an attack from harming your files.

The E-mails Carrying File Attacks and Lies about Them

One of the first, well-known rules in military conflict is to deceive one's enemy whenever possible, which is a guideline that malware researchers often see applying to cyber warfare. The Russian vCrypt1 Ransomware is one of several, recent demonstrations of Trojan campaigns that launch real attacks that they then describe in misleading terms intentionally, putting their victims off on the wrong footing. However, whether or not you believe the vCrypt1 Ransomware's messages, the Trojan can inflict long-term damage to your local files.

The vCrypt1 Ransomware is installing itself through an e-mail-based campaign carrying its executable inside of compressed archives. Malware experts can verify a minimum of two variants of the threat, but both versions include similar payloads: encryption attacks that scan for just under twenty formats of data to encipher with a XOR algorithm. As usual, documents and spreadsheets form a core part of the media the file-encrypting Trojan locks. Every filename also acquires '.vCrypt1' extensions.

The Trojan completes its attacks by trying to extort money through its accompanying Notepad-based TXT messages, which, like its spam e-mails, is in Russian Cyrillic. Other than offering a limited 'sample' decryption service without any initial ransom, the note also is significant for claiming that the vCrypt1 Ransomware is using an RSA-2048 encryption routine. Although such a cipher would be highly impractical to crack, malware analysts point out that the XOR encoding process of this Trojan is simpler comparatively.

Giving a Trojan the Only Thing It Deserves

The vCrypt1 Ransomware may receive further development, but at this time, the Trojan makes no attempt to contact a Command & Control server or generate other network-based traffic. The lack of such a feature is vital since threat actors who don't program their Trojans to upload the decryption information can't help their victims recover their blocked media. Free decryption services may soon be available from various entities in the anti-malware sector, although malware experts recommend keeping daily backups to prevent placing the safety of one's files in a single solution.

Even though Russia has built up a reputation of being an unfavorable target for Trojan campaigns, threats like the vCrypt1 Ransomware are becoming more common than previously. No matter where you live, protection from e-mail-based infection vectors includes having anti-malware products scanning your downloads and avoiding contact with suspicious content such as macro-enabled documents. Update your anti-malware protection when appropriate to increase your rate of detection for new threats and delete the vCrypt1 Ransomware before its encryption starts.

The vCrypt1 Ransomware's threat actors want you to believe that paying them is the best way to recover your work with little trouble. The real life, however, is more complicated than that, and, for some victims, seeing its ransoming demands may mean that their files have no hope of recovery.