An infection with the dangerous Christmas Ransomware leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove Christmas Ransomware and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of Christmas Ransomware
The Christmas ransomware is a new virus which has been sighted in a limited attack campaign. At the moment the security researchers cannot determine the primary infection strategy. We presume that the most widely used tactics are going to be employed.
Among them are the email messages created in an automated way and sent to large lists of potential victims. The Christmas ransomware can be directly attached to the messages. This is one of the easiest way for the criminals to attempt the infection. However a lot of email hosting providers usually capture the signatures of the virus and as such discard such messages or label them as dangerous or spam. Other infection methods related to this one is the option of inserting hyperlinks in the body content of the messages. The links are usually labeled as leading to a familiar website or a file of user interest. Redirects can redirect to hacker-controlled sites, infected payloads or other instances that can lead to an Christmas Ransomware infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the Christmas Ransomware. A popular option is the use of infected documents which may be of different types ‒ spreadsheets, rich text documents, presentations and databases. They are modified to initiate the virus once the built-in scripts are run. Usually when the files are opened a notification will ask the users to run the macros (scripts). If this is done the infection follows.
The hacker-controlled sites are specialist portals that have been created either manually or automatically by the criminals behind the Christmas Ransomware. They can either directly distribute the threat by initiating various scripts or automated operations or link to such instances. Redirects are usually caused by email interaction, ad networks or other browsing activity. However one of the main sources is the availability of browser hijackers. They are malicious addons made for the most popular web browsers ‒ Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Microsoft Edge and Safari. Once installed they not only infect the users with the malware, but also redirect the victims to a hacker-controlled site. Depending on the configuration the browser hijackers can also steal sensitive information such as any stored passwords, account credentials, history, bookmarks, form data and settings.
Impact of Christmas Ransomware
Computer security researchers uncovered a dangerous new threat called Christmas ransomware. At the moment the limited number of active samples and the still ongoing code analysis does not give out much details about the malware. So far the specialists have not been able to find a correlation between it and any of the famous malware families. This likely means that the person or group behind it have made it from scratch. The identity of the perpetrator(s) is not known at the moment.
The captured strains at the moment contain only a base ransomware engine which can be further updated, examples include the following:
- Information Harvesting ‒ The criminals can steal sensitive data before the encryption process is started.
- Additional Virus Delivery ‒ The Christmas ransomware can be used to deploy other malware to the target computers.
- Trojan Module ‒ It can be used to spy on the victim machines and overtake control on request.
Depending on the hacker configuration various pre-ransomware behavior patterns may be instituted as well. This includes Windows registry changes that may cause application failure, performance issues or boot up problems. Another possibility is the persistent installation of the Christmas ransomware virus. If this is done then the infection module will actively monitor the users behavior and any security software to defend itself from detection and removal.
Once all post-infection sequences have been complete the virus proceeds with the file processing. The Christmas ransomware uses a strong cipher to target the most widely used data. The most popular way is by using a built-in list of target file type extensions. Files that may be part of the process include the following:
- Images
- Videos
- Music
- Databases
- Backups
- Configuration Files
When the process is complete the processed files may be assigned a ransomware extension. It can be dynamically changed between the various iterations or it can bear the malware’s name ‒ “christmas”. To signal the infection the desktop wallpaper is changed to a dark forest image containing red text that reads the following:
Christmas Ransomware
Your Files Have Been Encrypted!
To Get Your Files Back Pay 0.03 Worth of Bitcoin
to the Given Address Below!1FrlwkyAvCwxNLT49LkxQdJayLZMCXnZ67
We recommend that all users abstain from communicating with the hackers and use our full Christmas ransomware removal guide below to recover their data and delete the active infections.
Remove Christmas Ransomware and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the Christmas Ransomware requires being familiar with system files and registries. Removing important data accidentally can lead to permanent system damage. If you don’t feel comfortable with manual instructions, download a powerful anti-malware tool that will scan your system for malware and clean it safely for you.
SpyHunter anti-malware tool will diagnose all current threats on the computer. By purchasing the full version, you will be able to remove all malware threats instantly. Additional information about SpyHunter / Help to uninstall SpyHunter
Christmas Ransomware – Manual Removal Steps
Start the PC in Safe Mode with Network
This will isolate all files and objects created by the ransomware so they will be removed efficiently. The steps bellow are applicable to all Windows versions.
1. Hit the WIN Key + R
2. A Run window will appear. In it, write msconfig and then press Enter
3. A Configuration box shall appear. In it Choose the tab named Boot
4. Mark Safe Boot option and then go to Network under it to tick it too
5. Apply -> OK
Remove Christmas from Windows
Here’s a way to remove the program. This method will work regardless if you’re on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP. Simply selecting the program and pressing delete won’t work, as it’ll leave a lot of small files. That’s bad because these leftovers can linger on and cause all sorts of problems. The best way to delete a program is to uninstall it. Here’s how you can do that:
1. Hold the “Windows” button (It’s between CTRL and Alt on most keyboards) and press “R”. You’ll see a pop-up window.
2. In the textbox, type “appwiz.cpl”, then press“ Enter ”.
3. The “Programs and features” menu should now appear. It’s a list of all the programs installed on the PC. Here you can find the program, select it, and press “Uninstall“.
Remove Christmas Virus From Your Browser
Before resetting your browser’s settings, you should know that this action will wipe out all your recorded usernames, passwords, and other types of data. Make sure to save them in some way.
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1. Start Mozilla Firefox. In the upper right corner, click on the Open menu icon and select “Add-ons“.
2. Inside the Add-ons Manager select “Extensions“. Search the list of extensions for suspicious entries. If you find any, select them and click “Remove“.
3. Click again on the Open menu icon, then click “Options“.
4. In the Options window, under “General” tab, click “Restore to Default“.
5. Select “Search” in the left menu, mark the unknown search engine and press “Remove”.
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1. Start Google Chrome. On the upper-right corner, there a “Customize and Control” menu icon. Click on it, then click on “Settings“.
2. Click “Extensions” in the left menu. Then click on the trash bin icon to remove the suspicious extension.
3. Again in the left menu, under Chrome, Click on “Settings“. Go under “On Startup” and set a new page.
4. Afterward, scroll down to “Search“, click on “Manage search engines“.
5. In the default search settings list, find the unknown search engine and click on “X“. Then select your search engine of choice and click “Make default“. When you are ready click “Done” button in the right bottom corner.
2. In the “Manage add-ons” window, bellow “Add-on Types“, select “Toolbars and Extensions“. If you see a suspicious toolbar, select it and click “Remove“.
3. Then again in the “Manage Add-ons” window, in “Add-on Types“, Select “Search Providers“. Chose a search engine and click “Set as default“. Select the unknown search engine and click “Remove and Close”.
4. Open the Tools menu, select “Internet Options”.
5. In the “General” tab, in “Home page”, enter your preferred page. Click “Apply” and “OK”.
Repair Windows Registry
1. Again type simultaneously the WIN Key + R key combination
2. In the box, write regedit and hit Enter
3. Type the CTRL+ F and then write the malicious name in the search type field to locate the malicious executable
4. In case you have discovered registry keys and values related to the name, you should delete them, but be careful not to delete legitimate keys
Click for more information about Windows Registry and further repair help
