'.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware

The '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware is part of the Globe Imposter Ransomware family, which pretends to be Globe Ransomware while also using an independent cryptography feature for locking and ransoming the files of its victims. Some of the symptoms malware experts recommend watching for include the presence of advanced, Web page-based ransom notes, and being unable to open your documents, pictures, and other media. Always use an appropriate anti-malware program for uninstalling the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware and have backups available for mitigating any damage.

The Bad Smell of Automatic Encryption

The family of frauds pretending to be another file-locking Trojan has another member: the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware. From their analyses of its payload, malware researchers aren't concluding that this threat has any sharp changes from past versions of the Globe Imposter Ransomware, which locks recreational and work-related media while creating pop-ups demanding ransom money. Besides a new extension and updated payment addresses, the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware is a direct clone of past versions of the first Trojan.

The '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware searches the PC's drives for several dozen formats of media, such as Word documents, JPGs images, and Excel spreadsheets, and inserts its extension onto their names after using its encryption for blocking them. The attack may complete itself in a matter of seconds or minutes, depending on how many files the Trojan affects. The '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware follows its encryption routine with a ransoming message-generating one, similarly to other Globe Imposter Ransomware Trojans, like the Kimchenyn Ransomware, the Panda Ransomware, the Sexy Ransomware or the SuddenTax Ransomware.

The '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware's HTA file, which also may open automatically and lock you out of your desktop, delivers demands for Bitcoins payments for its decryption help to recover your media. The '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware formats this warning in a deliberate imitation of the Globe Ransomware, a Ransomware-as-a-Service family, but uses a different encryption method. Any victims should try not to use the wrong decryption solution on their files mistakenly, which can corrupt them beyond any recovery.

The Not-So-Secret Solution to Trojans Marking Your Files

Malware researchers are confirming that the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware's executable is pretending to be a thesaurus software, and, also, may hide under the name of the Intel brand. Such fake downloads are most typically available on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks and torrent-related websites, but also may infiltrate some advertising networks. Always scan unusual downloads before opening them to detect threats like the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware before they begin damaging your media.

While there is a decryption utility for the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware's family for free, it does require having both encrypted and non-encrypted copies of a sample file. Users should back their documents and other data up to a secondary device for keeping any decryption from being required for recovering after an infection. However, based on the current, industry-wide detection rates, most PCs equipped with active anti-malware protection should remove the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware automatically, with no additional action necessary.

The cure for the '.SKUNK File Extension' Ransomware is simple: back your files up, have security products capable of identifying harmful downloads and avoid trusting a program to be what it looks like it is. However, as long as these three steps are too much work for the average PC user, file-locking Trojans will continue collecting their Bitcoins.