Wednesday, April 25, 2018

What is ScorpionLocker Ransomware?


The ScorpionLocker Ransomware is a malicious ransomware infection, which is prone to infringe your system security and encrypt all your important data files. This ransomware virus is also associated with the H34rtBl33d ransomware virus. After encrypting all your important data, this ransomware leaves a ransom note which asks the user to pay a ransom of one bit coin in order to unlock the encrypted data.

Threat Summary

  •       Name: ScorpionLocker Ransomware
  •         Targeted Operating System: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 8/10
  •      Category: Ransomware
  •      Symptoms: Encrypts system files and slow system performance
  •      Why is ScorpionLocker Ransomware dangerous for your computer system?


Why is ScorpionLocker Ransomware dangerous for your computer system?
  
The ScorpionLocker Ransomware is a malware program which can gain an unauthorized access to the user’s system. It infiltrates the user system by using various malicious tactics implemented by cyber crooks. This ransomware is a major threat for your computer system because it is capable to lock all your data files and will make it impossible for you to recover them. This is so because the locked data files can only be recovered through a decryption key. Once the data files are encrypted, this ransomware leaves a ransom note on the user’s system which asks the user to pay a hefty amount of ransom in order to deliver the decryption key.

In most cases, the cyber criminals ask the user to contact them directly, but in this case the cyber criminals directly ask the user to pay for the decryption key.  This ransomware adds a .ScorpionLocker extension to all the data files. For eg. all the data files with Doc.jpg are renamed to Doc.jpg.scorpionLocker.

We highly recommend you not to contact the cyber criminals because in most cases they don’t deliver the decryption key even when the user pays the ransom amount.  So, it is better to invest your hard earned money in an effective back up and internet security software which can guard you against such hazards situations in future.

How did Scorpion Locker installed on your PC?

The cybercriminals use various strategies for malware distribution which include –
Ø  Software Bundling: Software bundling is the process in which a malicious program is distributed with other free software, to get an unnoticed entry into your computer system. When a user installs a free application, the malicious programs gains a front door entry with the free application, the user has downloaded. Thus, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the installation screens while installing these free applications.
Ø  Infected Storage Devices: Your system can also get infected by using removable media such as USB hard drives and jump drives without scanning them with an anti-virus.
Ø  Spam Emails – Spamming is the most economic and common method used for the distribution of such malware. The targeted users get genuine looking emails, which contain .doc, .txt, and other similar attachments. These attachments can be named as anything, which can grab the user’s attention and triggers him/her to open the attachment. As soon as the user opens this attachment, the malware infects the user’s computer system.
Ø  Malicious Websites or Malevolent Advertisements: The malicious websites are the ones, which are created just for promoting the malware infections. Such websites include but are not limited to porn sites, torrent sites and other free downloading platforms. By visiting such websites, the adware infects the user’s computer without permission. Fake advertisements and updates like Flash player and windows updates, which ask the user to update to the latest version, are a few examples. When the users click on such links, their computer system gets infected. That is why, it is highly recommended to resist clicking on such links. Also avoid clicking on advertisements offering free stuff such as Win an iPhones, cars or free overseas trips etc.
How to remove ScorpionLocker Ransomware?
There are many online platforms which will suggest you way to remove ScorpionLocker ransomware. Unfortunately none of these removal guides can help in decrypting the locked data. That is why, we highly recommend you not to waste your time on such ransomware removal guides. The best you can do is to restore your encrypted data through the windows previous version.

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