Rapid Ransomware Description
The Rapid Ransomware is an encryption ransomware Trojan that was first observed on January 2, 2018. There is very little to differentiate the Rapid Ransomware from the numerous encryption ransomware Trojans that are active currently. Like many other ransomware Trojans that are being uncovered constantly, the Rapid Ransomware will encrypt victims' files using a strong encryption algorithm and then demand a ransom payment from the victim in exchange for the decryption key that is necessary to recover the affected files.
How the Rapid Ransomware may be Delivered to Victims
The most common way of delivering the Rapid Ransomware and similar threats is through a corrupted Microsoft Word document that includes embedded macro scripts that download and install the Rapid Ransomware onto the victim's computer. Spam email messages used to deliver these documents are designed to use social engineering tactics that convince the victim that the attachment is legitimate and the email message comes from a trusted source such as Facebook or Amazon. When the damaged file is opened, the macro script downloads and installs the Rapid Ransomware onto the victim's computer.
How the Rapid Ransomware Carries out Its Attack
Once the Rapid Ransomware has been installed onto the victim's computer, it encrypts the victim's files using the AES and RSA encryptions. The Rapid Ransomware establishes a connection with its Command and Control server to receive and relay information and ensure that the decryption keys are out of reach from the victim or PC security analysts. The Rapid Ransomware uses a strong encryption algorithm to make user-generated files on the victim's computer inaccessible. These user-generated files may include files such as images, spreadsheets, texts, videos, and a wide variety of other files. Examples of the files that threats like the Rapid Ransomware may target in their attacks include:
.3dm, .3g2, .3gp, .7zip, .aaf, .accdb, .aep, .aepx, .aet, .ai, .aif, .as, .as3, .asf, .asp, .asx, .avi, .bmp, .c, .class, .cpp, .cs, .csv, .dat, .db, .dbf, .doc, .docb, .docm, .docx, .dot, .dotm, .dotx, .dwg, .dxf, .efx, .eps, .fla, .flv, .gif, .h, .idml, .iff, .indb, .indd, .indl, .indt, .inx, .jar, .java, .jpeg, .jpg, .js, .m3u, .m3u8, .m4u, .max, .mdb, .mid, .mkv, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .mpa, .mpeg, .mpg, .msg, .pdb, .pdf, .php, .plb, .pmd, .png, .pot, .potm, .potx, .ppam, .ppj, .pps, .ppsm, .ppsx, .ppt, .pptm, .pptx, .prel, .prproj, .ps, .psd, .py, .ra, .rar, .raw, .rb, .rtf, .sdf, .sdf, .ses, .sldm, .sldx, .sql, .svg, .swf, .tif, .txt, .vcf, .vob, .wav, .wma, .wmv, .wpd, .wps, .xla, .xlam, .xll, .xlm, .xls, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xlt, .xltm, .xltx, .xlw, .xml, .xqx, .xqx, .zip.
These threats tend to avoid the Windows system files since they require Windows to remain functional so that the victim can read a ransom note and make a ransom payment.
The Rapid Ransomware's Ransom Note
After the Rapid Ransomware encrypts the victim's files, the Rapid Ransomware marks them with the files extension '.rapid,' which is added to the end of each affected file's name. The Rapid Ransomware delivers its ransom note in the form of a text file named either '!!! README !!!.txt' or 'How Recovery Files.txt.' The Rapid Ransomware ransom file contains the following text:
'Hello!
All your files have been encrypted by us
If you want restore files write on e-mail – jpcrypt@rape.lol'
Dealing with a Rapid Ransomware Infection
PC security researchers advise computer users to refrain from communicating with the perpetrators of the Rapid Ransomware. They also should avoid paying the ransom, which ranges from $500 to 1500 USD. Instead, the files affected by the Rapid Ransomware attack should be replaced with backup copies. A security program that is fully up-to-date can be used to remove the Rapid Ransomware infection itself and prevent attacks from threats like the Rapid Ransomware from being carried out onto the victim's computer. Since the Rapid Ransomware spreads using spam emails, it is also important to take steps to mitigate any harm that may be caused by these messages.
Update 3.0
The Rapid 3.0 Ransomware is a file encoder Trojan that was discovered by malware analysts in the third week of may 2018. As you may guess, the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware is the next version of the Rapid 2.0 Ransomware, which was reported in March 2018, and it was categorized as the second major release after the Rapid Ransomware, which emerged in January 2018. Computer security experts note that the team behind the latest Rapid 3.0 Ransomware is very active and appears to follow a two-month release cycle. Some experts say that it is a delayed release cycle compared to the majority of the GandCrab Ransomware and the Scarab Ransomware variants. However, you should not underestimate the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware.
The programmers behind the Trojan have been using a broad network of email accounts and carefully crafted DOCX files to infect hundreds of users. Also, the threat actors continue to compromise sites and use them to store their ‘Command and Control’ infrastructure. It is hard to track the network transmissions of the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware and find out who runs the ransomware campaign since the Trojan uses TOR relays to hide its client-server interaction. Infected users may find that the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware has deleted their Shadow Volume Copies and there are no available System Restore Points. The Rapid 3.0 Ransomware behaves like most mid-tier crypto-threats and makes sure to cripple the native data recovery features on Windows. The Rapid 3.0 Ransomware uses per-PC encryption keys and places the ‘.rapid’ extension on the encrypted files. For example, ‘Jumeirah.jpeg’ is renamed to ‘Jumeirah.jpeg.rapid’ and the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware may lock access to data stored in the following formats:
.3gp, .7z, .apk, .avi, .bmp, .cdr, .cer, .chm, .conf, .css, .csv, .dat, .db, .dbf, .djvu, .dbx, .docm, doc, .epub, .docx, .fb2, .flv, .gif, .gz, .iso .ibooks, .jpeg, .jpg, .key, .mdb .md2, .mdf, .mht, .mobi .mhtm, .mkv, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .mpg .mpeg, .pict, .pdf, .pps, .pkg, .png, .ppt .pptx, .ppsx, .psd, .rar, .rtf, .scr, .swf, .sav, .tiff, .tif, .tbl, .torrent, .txt, .vsd, .wmv, .xls, .xlsx, .xps, .xml, .ckp, .zip, .java, .py, .asm, .c, .cpp, .cs, .js, .php, .dacpac, .rbw, .rb, .mrg, .dcx, .db3, .sql, .sqlite3, .sqlite, .sqlitedb, .psd, .psp, .pdb, .dxf, .dwg, .drw, .casb, .ccp, .cal, .cmx, .cr2.
The ransom note is displayed on the desktop and loaded in the Microsoft`s Notepad app as ‘!!! README !!!.txt.’ We have seen the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware urge users to install the TOR Browser (h[tt]ps://www.torproject[.]org/projects/torbrowser) and access a payment portal at h[tt]p://vgon3ggilr4vu32q[.]onion/?id=btc where a decryptor is offered for sale. The Rapid malware operators offer access to a “Rapid Decryptor” in exchange for 0.07 Bitcoin (610 USD/511 EUR). We do not recommend users cooperate with the Ransomware managers as they are likely to lose their money.
The data encoded by the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware is unrecoverable unless you have the correct decryption key. Fortunately, PC users who are using online-backup services and have backup images available should not find it too hard to recover from the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware attacks. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to the con artists, consider buying a suitable memory storage device, which you can use for backup purposes and run a trusted anti-malware engine that can delete the Rapid 3.0 Ransomware securely.
Infected with Rapid Ransomware? Scan Your PC
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Security Doesn't Let You Download SpyHunter or Access the Internet?
Solutions: Your computer may have malware hiding in memory that prevents any program, including SpyHunter, from executing on your computer. Follow to download SpyHunter and gain access to the Internet:- Use an alternative browser. Malware may disable your browser. If you're using IE, for example, and having problems downloading SpyHunter, you should open Firefox, Chrome or Safari browser instead.
- Use a removable media. Download SpyHunter on another clean computer, burn it to a USB flash drive, DVD/CD, or any preferred removable media, then install it on your infected computer and run SpyHunter's malware scanner.
- Start Windows in Safe Mode. If you can not access your Window's desktop, reboot your computer in "Safe Mode with Networking" and install SpyHunter in Safe Mode.
- IE Users: Disable proxy server for Internet Explorer to browse the web with Internet Explorer or update your anti-spyware program. Malware modifies your Windows settings to use a proxy server to prevent you from browsing the web with IE.
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This article is provided "as is" and to be used for educational information purposes only. By following any instructions on this article, you agree to be bound by the disclaimer. We make no guarantees that this article will help you completely remove the malware threats on your PC. Spyware changes regularly; therefore, it is difficult to fully clean an infected machine through manual means.
Friday night we were with with the "rapid" ransomware. A note was left on the screen which directed us to send the "unique id" number to one of the following two email addresses:
> codermvare@cock.li
> rapidka@cock.li
The attack encrypted our client information and our backups.
Can you assist in removing this?
Edo