'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware

Posted: August 8, 2016

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:	10/10
Infected PCs:	28

First Seen:	August 8, 2016
Last Seen:	January 21, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware is a Trojan that locks your desktop and asks you to contact a phone number for support on reactivating your version of Windows. Although the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware imitates a real Microsoft alert, it has no legitimate connections to that company or the status of your operating system. Malware experts advocate using standard recovery techniques and anti-malware tools for overcoming this threat's screen-locking function and then removing the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware.

A Software License that's Worth Losing Fast

Just as nature cycles through the seasons, the threat industry often undergoes cyclical shifts in its favored themes and strategies. One theme less-often seen in 2016 is the Windows activation or verification variant of screen-locking Trojan. However, the PC security industry recently confirmed small-scale distribution of the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware, which modernizes its old tactic with additional social engineering techniques.

The 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware seemingly is distributed through illicit downloads, with its original installation file named to resemble a download managing application. Various PC security solutions may identify the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware as being a member of the Ransomlock family, although the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware has no definitive ties to previous threats. Once it restarts the infected PC, the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware loads a screen-locking Windows in imitation of the actual Windows activation screen, claiming that your copy of the OS is expired simultaneously.
The 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware's screen has several differences from a Microsoft-endorsed Windows activation prompt. It asks the user to call a hotline for activation help (most likely for ransoming, although malware experts can't verify any responses from this number). The 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware also includes icons for two well-known remote desktop programs. These programs could be ways to let con artists gain backdoor access to your PC, or simply smokescreens for providing comfort to the victims that a remote entity could reactivate the operating system theoretically.

Restoring an OS that Never Needed Renewing

The 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware's con artists seem to be taking steps towards disseminating misinformation about their campaign that could prevent PC users from identifying the correct recovery solutions. Current Google search results show signs of a 'SEO poisoning,' which exploits keywords to cause a page's ranking to be higher than its content indicates. These results tend to suggest paying the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware's fee or calling its number, rather than correctly identifying the screen as being a symptom of a Trojan infection.

The 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware campaign appears to be isolating itself to American victims, despite using spelling common to UK-style English (along with incorrect punctuation). Even though malware analysts only see small numbers of this threat in deployment, its installer's disguise could enable a seamless transition into broader installation platforms.

Familiarizing yourself with the standards in OS activation screen requests can keep you from mistaking the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware for being a legitimate warning. Avoid the screen-locking properties of this threat by booting into Safe Mode immediately, booting with a remote drive, or inputting the Trojan's hard-coded activation key ('8716098676542789'). Then delete the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware with any anti-malware tool you feel comfortable using.

Hopefully, the 'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware's campaign will not prove to be a new trend in threat authors exploiting Google for adding undeserved authenticity to their attacks.

'Your Windows License has Expired' Ransomware

Threat Metric

A Software License that's Worth Losing Fast

Restoring an OS that Never Needed Renewing

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