Have you been introduced to a screen with black background and an image of a scull? If you have, the chances are that Strawhat Ransomware has invaded your operating system. This is unlikely to happen now because this infection appears to be in development still, but it is hard to say when this threat could be released into the wild. While it might be hard to say right now how exactly this malware will work in the future, its purpose is very clear. Just like Kerkoporta Ransomware, Gibon Ransomware, and all other malicious ransomware threats that our research team has had the “pleasure” of analyzing, this malware is meant to encrypt files and make you pay a ransom in return for decryption. The problem is that cyber criminals’ promises are futile, and you should pay no attention to them. If you do, you might end up paying a huge ransom, which will lead you nowhere as your files will remain encrypted. All in all, whatever happens, you must delete Strawhat Ransomware, and that is what we focus on in this report.
Strawhat Ransomware could enter Windows operating systems using various security backdoors. For example, it could slip in as you open a corrupted spam email attachment. If this malware invades the operating system successfully, it is likely to encrypt your files right away. According to our research, the current version of the malicious threat can encrypt at least 60 different types of files. When these files are encrypted, their names should stay the same, but an extension should be added. It is not yet known which extension this malware could add, but that should help you find the corrupted files faster. It is crucial that you check your files before you do anything because you want to make sure that they are encrypted. In some cases, malicious files create bogus warnings and messages just to trick users into thinking that their files are locked and that they need to follow the demands of cyber criminals. Needless to say, following them is risky and, most likely, ineffectual. If your files do not have backup copies, most likely, they are lost for good.
At this point in time, the ransom note associated with Strawhat Ransomware is not complete, and there are still gaps that need to be filled. For example, we do not know the email address that cyber criminals would ask their victims to contact them via. This email address should be added to the ransom note that should be represented via TXT and HTML files called “YOUR_FILES_ARE_ENCRYPTED.” The ransom note reveals that a ransom will need to be paid in Bitcoins (a virtual currency) for a decryption program that, allegedly, could decrypt your files. However, there is no information regarding the method of the payment, and it is most likely that you would get more information only if you emailed cyber crooks. Since we do not recommend paying the ransom, we do not recommend interacting with cyber criminals either. Instead, you should focus on the removal of Strawhat Ransomware.
If Strawhat Ransomware has invaded your operating system, you must be thinking about removal. Hopefully, your files are safe in the backups, and you do not need to worry about losing them. Even if you wish to decrypt your files in order not to lose them, you need to remember that cyber criminals are the only ones who can help you, and they will not do that regardless if how much money you give them. When it comes to the removal, you need to think about using anti-malware software. If you employ it, you will not need to worry about removing Strawhat Ransomware or any other threat now or in the future. Another option you have is to eliminate the ransomware manually, but that might be hard to do if you do not know where the main .exe file is. If you want to attempt to delete this threat on your own, you can check out the guide below, but remember that this threat is not yet finished, and this guide might be incomplete.
# | File Name | File Size (Bytes) | File Hash |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 3643464a225aa2ad5c9c9657d4fd05b943fdd9c04ca36b9d3610a04332909d19.exe | 192000 bytes | MD5: 5239186df089b14d776b1438bc495878 |
# | Process Name | Process Filename | Main module size |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 3643464a225aa2ad5c9c9657d4fd05b943fdd9c04ca36b9d3610a04332909d19.exe | 3643464a225aa2ad5c9c9657d4fd05b943fdd9c04ca36b9d3610a04332909d19.exe | 192000 bytes |