'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware

Posted: March 7, 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:	75

First Seen:	March 7, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware is a new version of the Xorist Ransomware, a Trojan that uses a TEA or XOR-based method of encrypting and locking your local files. A significant missing feature from this family, including the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware, is the lack of the preservation of a decryption key for unlocking the damaged content. Use anti-malware programs to, hopefully, block and remove the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware, and backups to keep it from causing any problems that you can't undo.

A Fake Avast Assistance Throwing You a Fake Lifeline

With more Trojans requiring complicity from their victims to turn a profit, con artists are continuing to experiment with new and old combinations of persuasive tactics with a foundation of real attacks. The 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware offers a look at two distinct ways in which trusting a Trojan's administrator can backfire on the victim, even when it comes to a simple goal like disinfecting your PC and reversing the side effects of that infection. The Trojan is a member of the comparatively small Xorist Ransomware family, whose latest activities are traceable to Russia.

The 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware enumerates your local drives for files matching its list of content to encrypt, which contains nearly two thousand formats, including documents, spreadsheets, audio and compressed archives. The 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware also encodes any files that don't use extensions to denote their formats. The Trojan does add an extension to each filename, but the string is a series of eight random characters, instead of a set phrase (such as '.encrypted' or '.locked').

In the accompanying text message that the Trojan creates afterward, the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware's authors pose as technical support from the Avast cyber security company. Although they offer to decrypt your files for a cash payment, malware experts note that the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware doesn't save or upload its key. This inaction makes any encrypted files unusable permanently without recovering them through a third-party decryptor (such as the one currently hosted by Emsisoft).

Implementing Real Recovery Strategies against Fraudulent Software

In addition to using a brand name to solicit a degree of trust that's unearned, the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware offers a sharp insight into the operating methodology of threat authors presenting false choices to their victims. With the presence of freeware decryption tools, most PC users should be able to recover from the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware without losing their files. By contrast, paying the ransom gives no advantages or data recovery features.

However, the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware also offers some unique challenges for an infected PC compared to Trojans not hailing from the Xorist Ransomware family. This Trojan damages more file types than most threats of its kind and may corrupt the Windows operating system incidentally. If Windows fails to boot after an 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware infection, you should use a DVD or USB-based recovery device to launch a non-compromised version of the OS. If using Safe Mode, malware experts recommend the 'with networking' option to allow your anti-malware products to update themselves and optimize deleting the 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware accurately.

The 'avastvirusinfo@yandex.com' Ransomware's low detection rates belie the legitimate danger and system damage this Trojan is capable of causing. However, as with any file encryptor Trojan, educating yourself and practicing safe internet behavior can keep you from making mistakes not readily rectified, both for your files and your bank account.

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:

file.exe

File name: file.exe
Size: 16.38 KB (16384 bytes)
MD5: abf075e08b7f9702c71005ae3099ed3e
Detection count: 13
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 14, 2017