'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware
The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware is one of the many new variants in the Scarab ransomware family of threats. The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware variant first appeared on July 26, 2018. There is virtually no difference between the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware and the many other variants in the Scarab family of ransomware. While this family of ransomware has been active for about two years, variants in this ransomware family exploded in number between Spring and Summer of 2018, due to the release of Scarab as part of a RaaS (ransomware as a service) platform or through the release of a ransomware builder possibly.
The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware Tries to Induce PC Users into Allow Its Installation Unknowingly
The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware is delivered to the victims mostly through corrupted email attachments. Criminals will often use phishing emails to trick computer users into opening the email message containing the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware attachment, often in the form of a Microsoft Word file containing embedded macro scripts that download and install the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware onto the victim's computer. Once the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware has been installed, it uses the AES 256 encryption to make the victim's files inaccessible. The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware targets user-generated files, which may include a wide variety of media files, document types and numerous other files. The following are examples of the data type that threats like the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware target in these attacks:
.ebd, .jbc, .pst, .ost, .tib, .tbk, .bak, .bac, .abk, .as4, .asd, .ashbak, .backup, .bck, .bdb, .bk1, .bkc, .bkf, .bkp, .boe, .bpa, .bpd, .bup, .cmb, .fbf, .fbw, .fh, .ful, .gho, .ipd, .nb7, .nba, .nbd, .nbf, .nbi, .nbu, .nco, .oeb, .old, .qic, .sn1, .sn2, .sna, .spi, .stg, .uci, .win, .xbk, .iso, .htm, .html, .mht, .p7, .p7c, .pem, .sgn, .sec, .cer, .csr, .djvu, .der, .stl, .crt, .p7b, .pfx, .fb, .fb2, .tif, .tiff, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .docm, .rtf, .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .ppt, .pptx, .ppsx, .txt, .cdr, .jpe, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, .jiff, .jpf, .ply, .pov, .raw, .cf, .cfn, .tbn, .xcf, .xof, .key, .eml, .tbb, .dwf, .egg, .fc2, .fcz, .fg, .fp3, .pab, .oab, .psd, .psb, .pcx, .dwg, .dws, .dxe, .zip, .zipx, .7z, .rar, .rev, .afp, .bfa, .bpk, .bsk, .enc, .rzk, .rzx, .sef, .shy, .snk, .accdb, .ldf, .accdc, .adp, .dbc, .dbx, .dbf, .dbt, .dxl, .edb, .eql, .mdb, .mxl, .mdf, .sql, .sqlite, .sqlite3, .sqlitedb, .kdb, .kdbx, .1cd, .dt, .erf, .lgp, .md, .epf, .efb, .eis, .efn, .emd, .emr, .end, .eog, .erb, .ebn, .ebb, .prefab, .jif, .wor, .csv, .msg, .msf, .kwm, .pwm, .ai, .eps, .abd, .repx, .oxps, .dot
The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware delivers a ransom note in the form of a text file named 'HOW TO RECOVER ENCRYPTED FILES.TXT,' which is dropped no the infected computer's desktop. The 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware ransom note demands the payment of at least 500 USD through the use of Bitcoin. The victim of the attack is asked to contact the criminals responsible for the attack through the JoniCarter@protonmail[.]com email address.
Protecting Your Data from Threats Like the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware
The best protection against threats like the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware, as with most encryption ransomware Trojans, is to have file backups stored on the cloud or an external memory gadget. File backups allow computer users to restore the files compromised by threats like the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware without having to risk contacting the criminals or paying a ransom. Unfortunately, when the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware attacks the files with its encryption method, they will not be recoverable without the decryption key, which the criminals hold in their possession. Because of this, if your data have been compromised, it is important to have a resource such as a backup to replace any encrypted files. Apart from file backups, computer users need to use a strong security program to prevent the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware from being installed or remove all traces of a threat after an infection. However, security software is incapable of recovering the files encrypted by the 'JoniCarter@protonmail.com' Ransomware.
