Maoloa Ransomware

The Maoloa Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that may encipher or delete files without automatically through a series of hidden Command Prompt instructions. The users should ignore the ransoming directions that it provides, if possible, and use data recovery options, such as backups or free decryption tools, after disinfecting the PC. The users should prioritize uninstalling the Maoloa Ransomware with dedicated anti-malware solutions for keeping any further attacks from occurring.

A Case of Familial Confusion

Most file-locking Trojans are classifiable according to different, family-based archetypes that inform upon both their obvious symptoms and their less-evident features, such as which encryption algorithms they use. Because these differences can help the victims with recovering their files – or provoke them into destroying them accidentally – an accurate identification is all but mandatory. However, that identity isn't always transparent, and malware experts are unsure yet of the true genealogy behind the new the Maoloa Ransomware.

This file-locker Trojan is being detected as being a variant of the Globe Imposter Ransomware family inaccurately, which, further muddying the waters, imitates the symptoms of the Globe Ransomware. However, because it uses a different ID-tagging and storage system, the Maoloa Ransomware is more likely of being a modification of the Russian Scarab Ransomware or even an independent project. Like most of its competition, the Maoloa Ransomware is targeting 32-bit Windows environments.

No matter who its ancestors could be, the Maoloa Ransomware is significant to its victims for its file-encrypting features that can block media by encoding it into a non-opening format. In theory, the enciphering is reversible with the help of the threat actor that holds the key, although paying the ransom comes with no guarantees of success. The format that the Maoloa Ransomware uses on its ransoming message is most reminiscent of the Scarab Ransomware, for which, malware experts note slim, theoretical decryption possibilities from some members of the cyber-security industry.

The Only Price Worth Paying for Priceless Data

The Maoloa Ransomware's name, which references the extension on locked files, as well as two of its e-mail addresses, translates from Hawaiian to 'priceless.' Appropriately enough, threat actors are free to demand any price for the ransoming of the decryption service, but refunds are rarely, if ever, available for any failures on their part. Malware experts advise that users protect any truly-priceless content by backing it up to another storage device or computer.

The infection techniques that the Maoloa Ransomware's campaign uses are not trackable, yet, and may be pertinent to either residential PC users or business, NGO and government networks equally. Spam e-mails (both attachments and body-embedded links), the brute-forcing of servers' logins, corrupted website scripts, and pirated media downloads are some of the strategies malware analysts are highlighting for high traffic in 2019. Most anti-malware solutions offer protection from the majority of these exploits and should remove the Maoloa Ransomware immediately.

Despite its 'secret identity,' the public knows enough about the Maoloa Ransomware to deem it a danger similar to Hidden Tear or the Scarab Ransomware. File-locker Trojans may change their stripes, but not their core strategies, which are always preventable with a proper backup.