Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Note! Your computer might be affected by Alma Locker and other threats.
Threats such as Alma Locker may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Alma Locker virus is a recent ransomware discovered by a malware researcher from Proofpoint security. The researcher has found that the virus spreads via the RIG Exploit Kit. The ransomware encrypts nearly 90 file types. Victims have five days to pay the ransom or otherwise the price will increase. The ransom that the crypto-virus asks is 1 BitCoin, which currently is in the vicinity of 580 US dollars.
Read this article carefully to see how to remove the virus and try to decrypt your files.
Threat Summary
Name
Alma Locker
Type
Ransomware
Short Description
The ransomware will encrypt your files and display a ransom note. You are given five days to pay, and after that period the ransom price will increase.
Symptoms
The ransomware will encrypt files, and put an extension to them. The extension consists of five random symbols.
Distribution Method
Executables, Spam Emails, File Sharing Networks
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by Alma Locker
Windows Data Recovery by Stellar Phoenix Notice! This product scans your drive sectors to recover lost files and it may not recover 100% of the encrypted files, but only few of them, depending on the situation and whether or not you have reformatted your drive.
However, that does not exclude the possibility of the ransomware to spread using other methods. It might spread an executable file, placing it inside spam emails as an attachment. Upon opening attachments from such suspicious emails or another place with an unknown origin, your computer can get infected. Social media networks and file-sharing services might also contain such a file somewhere inside them if cybercriminals put them there. Thus, you should always be on a high alert and careful with your clicks, downloads and when you open files. We also could see another Exploit Kit serving the payload file of the ransomware.
Alma Locker Virus – Technical Overview
Alma Locker is a ransomware virus. Darien Huss, a malware researcher, working at Proofpoint security, had discovered it in the wild just one day ago. He also found that Alma Locker ransomware has an active Command & Control server on the TOR network. Note that the ransomware will send the following information to its C&C server:
AES-128 private decryption key
file extension put to encrypted files
user name
the name of the active network interface
the system Locale ID (LCID)
the version of your Operating System (OS)
the name of your security software
Afterward, Alma Locker ransomware will encrypt files and place a picture as a lock-screen, which is the ransom note. You can see image of it here:
If you follow any of the consecutive links, you will see this page in your browser:
From there you can log in with your unique ID and download the Alma Locker decrypter program. Unfortunately, their site gives an error if you try decrypting some files for free, so you are left with the following decrypter:
There is a period of 120 hours or in other words, five full days, for you to pay the price which is asked. If the condition is not met, the initial price will be increased. The ransom price asked, in the beginning, is 1 Bitcoin and is equal to 580 US dollars. It is not advised to pay these cyber criminals – if you pay them, there is no guarantee that you will unlock your files, and you will only aid them in their criminal activity.
Alma Locker ransomware will search for files to encrypt, which have nearly 90 different file extensions. You could see the full list here:
All files will get locked with a 128-bit AES encryption algorithm. Also, files and their extension will not be changed, but rather a second extension will be added to them, which has five random characters. As for the victim ID – it is created from the serial number of the C:\ drive and the MAC address of the first network interface. You can follow the discussion in our forum and see an encrypted file’s extension posted by a user there.
You can see that the ransomware uses an executable file named syncli.exe and it is already being detected from a number of security programs based on an analysis from the VirusTotal platform:
It is still not known whether the Alma Locker ransomware virus erases the Shadow Volume Copies of the Windows operating system, but that has a fairly high probability.
Remove Alma Locker Virus and Restore Your Files
If your computer got compromised and is infected with the Alma Locker ransomware virus, you should have some experience with removing viruses before tampering with it. You should get rid of the ransomware fast before it can spread further on the network and encrypt more files. The recommended action for you is to remove the ransomware completely by following the step-by-step instructions written below.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by Alma Locker and other threats. Scan Your PC with SpyHunter SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as Alma Locker. Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
To remove Alma Locker follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Alma Locker files and objects
OFFER
Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!
We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria
Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
For Windows XP, Vista and 7 systems:
1. Remove all CDs and DVDs, and then Restart your PC from the “Start” menu. 2. Select one of the two options provided below:
– For PCs with a single operating system: Press “F8” repeatedly after the first boot screen shows up during the restart of your computer. In case the Windows logo appears on the screen, you have to repeat the same task again.
– For PCs with multiple operating systems: Тhe arrow keys will help you select the operating system you prefer to start in Safe Mode. Press “F8” just as described for a single operating system.
3. As the “Advanced Boot Options” screen appears, select the Safe Mode option you want using the arrow keys. As you make your selection, press “Enter“.
4. Log on to your computer using your administrator account
While your computer is in Safe Mode, the words “Safe Mode” will appear in all four corners of your screen.
Step 1: Open up the Start Menu.
Step 2: Click on the Power button (for Windows 8 it is the little arrow next to the “Shut Down” button) and whilst holding down “Shift” click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, a blue menu with options will appear. From them you should choose Troubleshoot.
Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu choose Advanced Options.
Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.
Step 6: From the Startup Settings menu, click on Restart.
Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You can choose any of the three Safe Mode options by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.
Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.
2. Find files created by Alma Locker on your PC
Find files created by Alma Locker
1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
For Newer Windows Operating Systems
Step 1:
On your keyboard press + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.
Step 2:
Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.
Step 3:
Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:
N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.
For Older Windows Operating Systems
In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:
Step 1:
Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.
Step 2:
After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.
Step 3:
After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.
Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.
Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs
3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Scan your PC and Remove Alma Locker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Alma Locker and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Alma Locker. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.
It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.
Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.
Step 2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.
Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.
Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future
IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup.
4. Try to Restore files encrypted by Alma Locker
Try to Restore Files Encrypted by Alma Locker
Ransomware infections and Alma Locker aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested several alternative methods that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that these methods may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
Method 1: Scanning your drive’s sectors by using Data Recovery software. Another method for restoring your files is by trying to bring back your files via data recovery software. Here are some suggestions for preferred data recovery software solutions:
Method 2: Trying Kaspersky and EmsiSoft’s decryptors. If the first method does not work, we suggest trying to use decryptors for other ransomware viruses, in case your virus is a variant of them. The two primary developers of decryptors are Kaspersky and EmsiSoft, links to which we have provided below:
To restore your data in case you have backup set up, it is important to check for Volume Shadow Copies, if ransomware has not deleted them, in Windows using the below software:
Method 4: Finding the decryption key while the cryptovirus sends it over a network via a sniffing tool.
Another way to decrypt the files is by using a Network Sniffer to get the encryption key, while files are encrypted on your system. A Network Sniffer is a program and/or device monitoring data traveling over a network, such as its internet traffic and internet packets. If you have a sniffer set before the attack happened you might get information about the decryption key. See how-to instructions below:
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer.
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7.
2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Alma Locker and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
