In case you haven’t heard, there’s a scary new ransomware utility being hatched up in dark corners of the internet. Internet blogs are abuzz with rumors of a trojan-creation utility currently being developed by hackers. This new do-it-yourself ransomware is called PrisonLocker (or PowerLocker) and is expected to be even nastier than Cryptolocker. According to these internet forums, hacker wannabes can create their own customized version of PrisonLocker ransomware using this malware tool-kit that’s expected to cost $100 each. So if Cryptolocker monetized malware infections, PrisonLocker takes the next logical step in the democratization of this malware extortion: It creates an affilate marketing program along with OEM customization for hacker wannabes.
For those who haven’t heard of Cryptolocker: This is a virulent trojan horse that takes your data hostage and demands an exorbitant ransom to release it. It threatens that once the allotted time has expired your personal files will become undecipherable. RollBack Rx has been successfuly used against it and is your best line of defense against this rapidly spreading malware.
The latest variant, PrisonLocker, is a do-it-yourself ransomware kit would allow black market criminals to extort money by spreading their own customized version of PrisonLocker. The Hack Forum (where the criminal minds had their discussion) detailed how PrisonLocker, their new Frankenstein creation, will be worse than Cryptolocker:
It will prevent its victim PC users from undertaking actions that would attempt to remove the malware by disabling some Windows functions such as Taskmanager, the command prompt, and registry editor msconfig.exe, Windows Explorer as well as detecting and disabling removal utilities. All of which should make it more difficult to detect and block the ransomware. Other recent developments on the Cryptolocker code also include turning its Trojan core into to a worm so that it searches for flash drives and mapped or connected network drives and infects them too.
Here is, in our humble opinion, is the best precaution you can take to secure your system from this or any other malware attack:
Many internet security experts agree that the best recommendation to completely remove PrisonLocker even after your computer has been infected is to take the proactive step of installing RollBack Rx. RollBack Rx has been proven to completely remove all traces of an infection and to recover encrypted files. RollBack Rx has proven effective in preventing and even removing Cryptolocker and we don’t see any reason why PrisonLocker would be any different. But you must have RollBack Rx installed in advance for it to work. Horizon DataSys’ RollBack Rx is the only solution that’s guaranteed to keep your system safe and protected from Cryptolocker, PrisonLocker, and other such malware threats.