Uyari Ransomware

The Uyari Ransomware is a Trojan that demands ransom money in return for reversing its attacks on your PC. Because the Uyari Ransomware's attacks encrypt and block your files, possessing a sound backup strategy is highly recommended by malware experts for a full recovery from an infection. Avoid paying the suggested ransom, when possible, and use your anti-malware products to clean the Uyari Ransomware from your PC.

The Trojan Hoping to Turn the Turkish into Cooked Turkeys

The Uyari Ransomware (or, when translated from Turkish, 'Warning' Ransomware) is a file encrypting Trojan whose campaign is unique to the nation of Turkey. Although the Uyari Ransomware does use a narrower geographical niche than most threats of its sub-category, most of its features fall into the purview of an ordinary (albeit low-tech) data-ransoming attack. Current evidence shows no direct links between the Uyari Ransomware and similar Trojans, although malware experts note multiple characteristics the Uyari Ransomware has in common with similar threats.

The payload for the Uyari Ransomware conducts a conventional encryption-based attack against local files not associated with the Windows OS, or other, critical applications. Content being encrypted by the Uyari Ransomware may include music, pictures, documents (for both freeware and premium word-processing programs), and spreadsheets, for example. The encryption process, through an algorithmic routine still under identification, permanently modifies the internal data of each file, making them unopenable.

The Uyari Ransomware assists its victims with detecting these files by giving them new extensions, the '.locked' string which it appends onto the default extensions. Note that although '.locked' is a common ransomware extension shared by, amongst others, the Stampado Ransomware and EduCrypt Ransomware families, the Uyari Ransomware is an independent threat that requires a custom recovery solution.

The most visible component of the Uyari Ransomware infection is its ransom message, which malware experts found loading as an HTML desktop file (as opposed to a pop-up or a background wallpaper). The text asks Turkish victims to transfer 2 Bitcoins (over one thousand in USD) for buying help with restoring the encrypted information.

A Warning about Paying Too Much Heed to a Warning Trojan

The Uyari Ransomware does provide a degree of limited technical assistance, in the form of Web links to relevant resources, and explanations on how to make its ransom transaction. However, what the Uyari Ransomware leaves unmentioned is the fact that its encryption attack, although genuine, includes notable security vulnerabilities. Researchers in the PC security sector already have functional decryption solutions to the latest samples of the Uyari Ransomware, thus letting any victims make a full recovery without paying any Bitcoins.

The second level of disingenuous communication from the Uyari Ransomware is its note's self-identification of the Trojan as being a variant of the CryptoLocker 'virus.' However, the Uyari Ransomware is not a relative of that much more well-known Trojan and does not inject its personal code into other files arbitrarily, like a virus. PC users still should be able to delete the Uyari Ransomware with up-to-date anti-malware tools, and then take whatever recovery option for encrypted content that they find most convenient.

Taking Trojans at their word often comes with far more dangers than benefits, regardless of the nature of the time or financial pressure. Although the Uyari Ransomware is a one-nation threat, its campaign is just one of many similar malware attacks throughout the world.

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