Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware

Posted: August 21, 2017

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:	35

First Seen:	August 21, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts media to hold it hostage in return for ransom payments, which it may ask for through Bitcoins or other currencies with limited refund protections. Any files that the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware encrypts will not open until an appropriate decryption program can reverse the encoding, and other symptoms will include changes to their extensions. Backup your files, when necessary, and have anti-malware programs active for deleting the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware at the first chance of doing so.

Trojans Doing Their Best to Hide Where They Come From

The black market industry of file-encrypting software is one that's rich in theft from competitors, but this doesn't always make identifying any single threat easier than usual. Some Trojans even obscure themselves by using the brand names, or other components, of an unrelated one deliberately, like the extremely well-publicized Jigsaw Ransomware. Such ambiguity also appears to be the case with the new Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware, whose appearance malware experts are just confirming.

The Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware appears to be in deployment against unknown targets currently, although its data-encrypting attacks are often most profitable against the compromised servers of business entities. The Trojan uses a partial encryption routine to encipher and block content such as pictures, databases, documents, or audio, and also adds a bracketed e-mail address and the '.anubi' extension to the ends of their names.

The term 'anubi' is an Italian variant spelling of the Egyptian god Anubis, but malware experts' further analysis of the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware isn't finding any other Italian-based components. Instead, the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware generates English-based text messages that threaten to delete the decryption key after thirty-six hours, unless the user pays a Bitcoin ransom. Although the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware's ransoming message is identical to the template that BTCWare Ransomware uses virtually, this Trojan employs a different victim ID string and may not use the same encryption algorithm.

The Right Protection from a Threat with Unknown Standing

The Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware's author has good reasons for keeping the identity of this Trojan obfuscated: using the wrong decryptor on an encoded file causes a data corruption that's truly irreversible, in almost all cases. While some variants of the BTCWare Ransomware have free, compatible decryption utilities available for any user to download, malware experts recommend backing up any encoded data before you experiment with freeware solutions. Users who still have intact backups earlier than the infection can ignore the decryption routine, and, with it, the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware's demands for ransom money.

While malware researchers search for confirmation of the installation methods the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware employs currently, its victims can limit these attacks by avoiding unnecessary exposure to the most archetypical infection vectors. Email attachments with content designed to look legitimate to the reader, such as a package delivery notice or fax machine message, are the favorite methods of compromising business entities. Other methods threat actors might use include unsafe content loading through your Web browser (such as via an exploit kit) or brute-forcing their way through simple passwords.

Anti-malware programs may delete the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware initially and prevent it from encoding any files or remove it afterward. Interested users may wish to quarantine the Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware instead of deleting it to provide samples to interested researchers in the PC security industry and render assistance for a decryption breakthrough.

Following a Trojan's tracks is often an activity requiring the viewer to look past the outward signs and symptoms of an infection. The Anubi NotBTCWare Ransomware and file-locking threats similar to it are more than happy to seed the Web with misleading footprints.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

%SystemDrive%\locker.exe

File name: locker.exe
Size: 55.8 KB (55808 bytes)
MD5: 418da7a795c80e45775f822098e1e85b
Detection count: 55
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %SystemDrive%
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: October 17, 2017