Viro Ransomware

The Viro Ransomware is a Trojan and worm that includes attacks for locking your local files, collecting information, and making copies of itself for circulation. To protect their media, PC users can back up their work or use free decryption tools to try to break the Viro Ransomware's cipher. Because of its multifaceted applications, malware experts recommend that you isolate any infected PCs and use anti-malware tools for uninstalling the Viro Ransomware before re-securing both your work and your private information.

When an Entire Family of Trojans is Just One Puzzle Piece

The makers of threatening software in general, and file-locking Trojans, in particular, often don't see the necessity of doing more than rebranding an old program for new purposes. Upon occasion, however, malware experts find one or more threat actors who put real effort into their programming. In the Viro Ransomware, the newest variant of a Trojan family known for its encryption capabilities, its author seems to be intent on using the Trojan as an all-in-one means of self-distribution, ransoming files and collecting information.

The Viro Ransomware's encryption component still uses most of the previous code of Hidden Tear and blocks the victim's files, such as documents, by modifying them with an AES-based cipher. When it completes this task, it resets the desktop's wallpaper to a custom image of Jesus Christ, albeit with the face replaced. It uses a window pop-up box for displaying its ransoming alert and demands, which asks for an unspecified amount of money to give you the password for restoring your files.

Malware experts are more concerned with the Viro Ransomware's other functions, which are less likely of being in any variant of Hidden Tear particularly. The Viro Ransomware also doubles as a worm that could duplicate its executable file and distribute it through means such as peripheral devices, which would allow it to compromise other PCs that share storage drives or are accessible over local network connections. The Viro Ransomware also monitors the user's Web-browsing history in multiple browsers and records it to log files that it uploads to the threat actor's server.

Fending Off a Multiple-Front Trojan Assault

The Viro Ransomware shows several signs of not being ready for release into the wild, for now. The 'worm' portion of the Viro Ransomware's code requires further work for completion, and the Trojan's ransom notes contain limited information for the victim to use for paying. However, the Viro Ransomware's spyware behavior does function as intended. Malware analysts also estimate that the Viro Ransomware may be using keylogging behavior that could record the user's keyboard input and give access to other content not covered by its browser-specific feature, such as various passwords.

When dealing with any threat that could include worm-related features, malware experts always recommend disabling the PC's network connections and limiting any access to storage devices. The Viro Ransomware could use either means to infect other systems with limited consent from their users. Most anti-malware products able to delete Hidden Tear's previous versions also should remove the Viro Ransomware without issues, and free decryption tools are available for victims who lack backups.

Ransoms aren't the only things at stake with the Viro Ransomware infections. As threat actors grow more concerned with profiting from single infections by any means necessary, victims will need to consider everything they could lose in an attack, ranging from their saved work to their online accounts.