Zeta Ransomware

The Zeta Ransomware is a Trojan that uses encryption technology to block and ransom, rather than protect, your data. Although the Zeta Ransomware's payload normally includes instructions for how to pay to decrypt the data, malware experts find such ransom methods frequently unreliable regarding delivering reliable recovery options. Most PC users are well-served by removing the Zeta Ransomware with their anti-malware programs and then recovering all encrypted content from a backup.

The A to the Zeta of the Zeta Ransomware Infections

While originality in threat authorship has its rewards of its own, many threat campaign administrators prefer to use programs based on already-available 'products' from the Web black market. The Zeta Ransomware is one of the newest extensions of such a work philosophy in action. This Trojan differs from past threats sufficiently to require updated security countermeasures, but not enough to make its payload any less reliable than previously.

Seemingly based on the same core of Rakhni code as Trojans like the Green_Ray Ransomware and countless others, the Zeta Ransomware conducts the same form of file encryption terrorism:

• The Zeta Ransomware scans for files matching pre-specified extensions, excluding any data required by your operating system and similarly essential programs. Typical targets for attack include text documents, spreadsheets, Web pages and entertainment media.
• These files then are encrypted with an algorithm standard that the Zeta Ransomware claims of being the RSA-2048, making it particularly uncrackable. Whether or not that claim is true (malware experts have not confirmed it), your encrypted content is unreadable.
• The Zeta Ransomware also adds new extensions to your files, with the new text referencing an ID number, an e-mail address (for ransom communications), and an additional cosmetic format: '.scl.' The latter is a minor divergence from past Rakhni Trojans, potentially showing that the Zeta Ransomware's configuration is in the hands of yet another threat actor.

The Zeta Ransomware's last act is to deposit its ransom messages, which ask for Bitcoin currency within a brief duration before prices rise. The Zeta Ransomware's perpetrators also authorize a free 'sample' of their decryption process for a single file, most likely as a social engineering technique for encouraging the victims' submission to payments.

The Zeta Ransomware does include Registry changes related to auto-start exploits, and malware experts recommend assuming that the Zeta Ransomware is launching with each unprotected system reboot.

Wiping the Ransom Problem from Your Hard Drive as Quick as a Flash

While the Zeta Ransomware's auto-start routine could put it in a position to attack your data before you can do anything about it, the Zeta Ransomware also provides samples of Registry entries potentially giving away its central distribution tactic. Evidence currently points to the Zeta Ransomware installing itself as a fake Flash update, which you may download through corrupted pop-up 'upgrade' prompts or from an exploit kit's attack. The latter hinges on the presence of software vulnerabilities, making security patches for all Web-browsing software especially important.

The con artists involved in threatening file encryption campaigns often behave erratically and dishonestly, and you shouldn't pay the Zeta Ransomware's ransom to reacquire your content. For confining the damages of a Zeta Ransomware infection, most PC users should find restoring from one or more backups to be a wholly adequate solution. However, you never should use local backups as your only strategy for data protection; many Trojans delete Windows backup content, such as the Shadow Copies automatically.

When protecting your hard drive from further attacks, malware experts suggest deleting the Zeta Ransomware and all other threats before overwriting or otherwise recovering other content. Well-designed anti-malware products should experience no issues with finding the Zeta Ransomware, which is based on a well-known source of code, and has no advanced self-preservation features.

Technical Details