Caleb Ransomware

The Caleb Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that can block your PC's files by encrypting them. The Caleb Ransomware includes various supporting features for monetizing its attacks, such as inserting ransom-negotiating contacts into the filenames. Users should have a backup for making any extortionist efforts moot and use anti-malware services for removing the Caleb Ransomware safely.

Fear Wears the Hat of a Windows Tool

The Phobos Ransomware family, etymologically based off of the Greek word for 'fear,' and programmatically spun out of the Crysis Ransomware, has another variant in 2019. The Caleb Ransomware is coming in after similar attacks by the Adage Ransomware, the Adame Ransomware, and the Banta Ransomware, but 2018 and 2017 showed the same campaigning patterns. What makes the Caleb Ransomware slightly different from those that came before it is its disguise of preference.

The Caleb Ransomware is, like its kin and most file-locker Trojans, a Windows program. It can encrypt both media formats like documents and pictures, as well as essential components of installed applications, such as their executables or EXEs. The encryption routine blocks the file from opening until the user decrypts it, which the threat actor recommends through a ransom-based 'business.' However, the Caleb Ransomware's only signal of the extortion attempt is the e-mail address it inserts into filenames, in brackets.

Along with its conventional attacks, malware experts are seeing samples of the Caleb Ransomware bearing unusual names unto themselves. The Caleb Ransomware could be gaining access to PCs by pretending that it's an update for Windows Task Manager, thanks to its name of '07.09.2019Taskmgr.exe.' Users who aren't getting their Windows updates from Microsoft may be at increased risk of having their work hostage.

Soothing Fears of Unlockable Files

Even though the base of the Caleb Ransomware code is years-old, age doesn't weaken the security around its encryption algorithms. A rigorous backup schedule that employs removable or network-protected devices can give victims the best recovery option for any files that they can't reacquire by reinstalling affected programs. File-locker Trojans like the Caleb Ransomware, often, make the most profits from targeting vulnerable business entities through software vulnerabilities or phishing e-mails. However, ordinary, single PC users are also at risk.

The Caleb Ransomware can disable some network firewall features that could stop it from contacting its server. Always disable Internet and local network connections for compromised systems as soon as possible. This step may make the difference between recovering your work or losing most of the system's files (besides the operating system) permanently.

Anti-malware products also offer significant protection from almost all file-locking Trojans. Rates for removal of the Caleb Ransomware should remain as positive as with other Phobos Ransomware releases.

Knowing what you're OS looks like when it's working right is just as sensible as having stable ground beneath your feet. A copycat like the Caleb Ransomware should be caught easily by any Windows user who knows what Task Manager is 'supposed' to be.