Pendor Ransomware

Posted: September 6, 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.

Ranking:	9,670
Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	1,035

First Seen:	September 6, 2017
Last Seen:	October 8, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Pendor Ransomware is a Trojan capable of damaging your files with a data-enciphering routine. Con artists use this feature to hold the affected data hostage while they ask for victims to pay ransoms such as Bitcoins. If possible, malware experts recommend using other methods of recovering any media, such as reverting to your last backup. Anti-malware products also may prevent this damage by deleting the Pendor Ransomware when they detect it.

A Renewal of Onion-Tinged Extortion Campaigns

A new Trojan using TOR-based ransoming methods is ready for distribution for September: the Pendor Ransomware. While it conducts attacks similar to those of traditionalist file-locking threats like Hidden Tear, malware researchers can't verify any current relationships it might have with old threats or ascertain what infection vectors it might be using for installing itself. Evidence implies that the Pendor Ransomware is targeting Russian-based PCs currently.

The Pendor Ransomware uses encryption for locking the files on any PC it infects, and malware researchers still are identifying the range of ciphers it employs. Typical file-locking strategies may target content like documents, while using asymmetric AES-RSA encoding to, first, encipher the file's data, and, then, protect the code that the victim needs for recovery. The Pendor Ransomware uses '.pnr' extensions for denoting every piece of media it blocks, which isn't in wide use within other Trojans' campaigns.

The Trojan also creates a text message that instructs the victim on how to pay the threat actors and retrieve the key for decrypting their files. The instructions offer both the victim's unique ID number and a link to the TOR (or the Onion Router) Web page that the Pendor Ransomware's admins are using for processing ransoms. The structure of the page, while straightforward, also is slightly unusual, and includes initial requests for the victim's email and Bitcoin wallet addresses.

Wiping out Every Trace of TOR Ransoms

Just like the crypto currencies the con artists often abuse, TOR isn't a threatening or illegal product intentionally but does facilitate attacks like the Pendor Ransomware's data-locking payload indirectly. The insistence on a Bitcoin-based payment method, along with the TOR's anonymity features, provides significant protection for the con artist's side of the transaction but none to the 'buyer.' Backing up your files to a location that the Pendor Ransomware can't access is highly recommended as a default data-preservation strategy for any digital content you judge as being valuable.

Installation exploits for the Pendor Ransomware could range from RDP-based, manual infections to email attachments that trick the user into infecting their PCs themselves. Implementing basic security protocols for network-accessible systems, such as using secure passwords, and disabling exploitable browser features (like pop-up windows, Flash and JavaScript) mitigate your chances of coming into contact with this threat. As long malware experts have yet to determine whether this Trojan is decryptable freely, protecting your media depends on preventative steps that delete the Pendor Ransomware with an anti-malware solution before it completes any encryption attacks.

TOR is an unintended benefit to any con artists wanting to hide their identities along with the privacy protection it gives to ordinary Web surfers. The Pendor Ransomware's campaign is one of many attacks showing that it's difficult, or even impossible, to control which parties benefit from advantages in the computing technology.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Classes\.PNR