CryptFuck Ransomware

Posted: September 1, 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:	8/10
Infected PCs:	10,406

First Seen:	September 1, 2016
Last Seen:	September 13, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The CryptFuck Ransomware is a Trojan whose attacks block your files by encoding them with an encryption algorithm. The con artists monitoring the campaign use these attacks as opportunities for selling decryption services back to the victims, although paying their ransom may be unnecessary and could be harmful to your files. Adhering to common standards of data preservation and having anti-malware programs to find or uproot are the two defenses most important for weakening its campaign.

A Private Liaison with Trojan Attacks

Time management is an important factor in dealing with Trojan infections, and the administrators of threat campaigns are just as aware of that fact as the PC security sector. Such a simple truth may be responsible for the increase in file encryption Trojans with messages or features emphasizing rapid responses from their victims. Besides guaranteeing quick payments to con artists, these attacks also can encourage rash actions by victims who, otherwise, would realize the dangers of making such payments, over time. The CryptFuck Ransomware's campaign is one instance of this trend in action.

Malware researchers rate the CryptFuck Ransomware as a likely variant of EDA2, which serves as a code source for various Trojans with file encrypting payloads. The CryptFuck Ransomware determines which files to attack by searching for extensions, such as DOC, JPG or TIFF. The CryptFuck Ransomware encrypts these files, making them de facto unusable, and adds the fake '.URfucked' extension to the end of each name (but doesn't overwrite the original extension). Then it creates a Notepad message telling the victim how to pay to get the ciphering effect on their content reversed.

If the victims don't act within three days, the CryptFuck Ransomware warns, its threat actors will delete the key required for their data recovery procedure. When placed under this pressure, PC owners are left with limited time to consider their options, encouraging them to submit to an otherwise reluctant extortion payoff potentially.

Getting Your Files out of a FUBAR Infection

With many data encoding Trojans, the shared commonalities make it clear that either the Trojan or its administrators share relationships with similar campaigns. In the recent past, malware experts saw one campaign using references to the hacker-based TV series Mr. Robot via the FSociety Ransomware. However, that threat lacked any notable ransom instructions, unlike the CryptFuck Ransomware, which may be an evolution or variant of the other Trojan. The media references, while memorable, change nothing about the unreliability of paying the CryptFuck Ransomware's con artists for a decryption service that they have no pressure to provide.

Just as significantly as the above fact is this one: the files encrypted by EDA2-based Trojans often are candidates for decryption by free tools available to the public at large. Instead of rushing to pay a Trojan's administrator for services with no guarantees, victims may wish to consider more reputable decryptors, or even keeping backups out of accessibility from the CryptFuck Ransomware's payload.

Television themes and file recovery options aside, removing the CryptFuck Ransomware is the first duty of any PC owners who fail to protect their system from its initial installation exploits. Acting with robotic reflexes within the recommendations of a Trojan's 'Mister Robot' is a response more likely to backfire than help your files.