Winnix Cryptor Ransomware

The Winnix Cryptor Ransomware is a Trojan that blocks your PC's contents by encrypting it, using the opportunity to display a ransom message asking for payment for any data restoration. Paying these ransoms often backfires on the victim, who may be provided with a non-working decryption service or nothing, at all. Besides catching and removing the Winnix Cryptor Ransomware through standard anti-malware protocols, malware experts also suggest using regular backups to cripple any attempted extortion.

Playing the Wrong Melody on Your Files

One of the characteristic traits of a modern, file-encrypting Trojan's campaign is the frequent use of new extensions. These file tags provide simple ways for victims to tell which content has been attacked and is up for ransom, particularly for simple Trojans without dynamic, interactive HTML content. Coincidentally, these extensions aren't always unique to the Trojan in question, which is a case of overlap malware experts see with the new Winnix Cryptor Ransomware.

The Winnix Cryptor Ransomware's deployment traces back no further than September of 2016, with various sources reporting its distribution still ongoing as of the following month. The Trojan's payload surveys the available files of your PC, including documents, images, audio, and spreadsheets, and uses a simple encryption for encoding them. Victims can detect all affected files by searching for the Winnix Cryptor Ransomware's extension, the '.wmx' string, that it adds to each name's end. The same extension also can be found in non-threatening usage by unrelated software related to audio and video playback, including, most prominently, the Windows Media Player.

Malware analysts also saw the Winnix Cryptor Ransomware continuing the standard pattern of delivering extortion demands through text messages in more than one format. The Winnix Cryptor Ransomware's choices include both Notepad TXT and Web HTML. The Winnix Cryptor Ransomware's payment requests for restoring your content also include a minor attempt at disguising the extortion as a form of technical assistance from a 'qualified system administrator,' but the notably poor usage of the English language hinders the believable nature of its disguise.

Stopping Your Files from Dancing to the Same, Old Tune

The Winnix Cryptor Ransomware's author is unlikely of being a native English speaker, but the widespread availability of free translation tools makes it unlikely that this fact limits the reach of its campaign. The Winnix Cryptor Ransomware's almost three thousand USD fee makes it more likely than not that the Trojan is in distribution against corporate targets and small businesses, which could bear the burden of the payment than personal computer owners more easily. Infection methods malware experts recommend watching include attached e-mail documents, which often use mislabeled extensions or embedded vulnerabilities for installing Trojans.

Although the Trojan uses an extension similar to a preexisting one superficially, the Winnix Cryptor Ransomware doesn't convert files to a Windows Media Player-compatible extension. The encryption process isn't always possible to reverse, and PC users with valuable data should use backups that they can restore when under duress. All data-recovering possibilities aside, malware experts always endorse using dedicated anti-malware products for uninstalling the Winnix Cryptor Ransomware, or other programs operating with deliberate malice.

Samples of the Winnix Cryptor Ransomware installers and related threats are in limited supply, which, ideally, speaks to the brevity and lack of effectiveness of this particular attempt to ransom files for money.