The RSA-4096 Virus to Encourage Backups, yet Requires Data Recovery and Removal Efforts
There are many good reasons for making backups outside your computer memory. RSA-4096 ransomware is one of the best reasons. The name refers to a piece of ransomware that deploys encryption attack. The attack renders data into unreadable state using enhanced scrambling system. There is no likely way to decrypt the affected files without releasing the decryption key, the latter being stored at the remote hacker's server.
Victims of the attack who stick to regular backups would restore access to their data in a breeze. They only need to remove the RSA-4096 virus, including any remnants thereof and restore the data from backups. Other unhappy cases imply more complex routines, yet cannot ensure adequate restoration of the encoded items.
The infection vectors circulating the infection may vary. In fact, there are many groups and individual hackers spreading the plague. They get it from the developer, which is not likely to distribute the malware directly to the victims' computers.
Some investigations completed by IT security enthusiasts reveal several underground communities of cyber criminals sharing the viral code. It is not quite clear if there is a single owner exercising control over the ransomware releases. However, there are definitely some guidelines issued that instruct RSA-4096 ransomware distributor on the best way to drop and adjust the virus. They recommend setting a ransom amount neither high nor low, circa one bitcoin. The distributors are also advised to leverage social engineering tricks luring the victims to basically install the ransomware with their own hands.
Once landed on a target PC, the virus may linger for a while. The delay is meant to make things obfuscated so that the users would not associate the ransomware with the just-completed installation. The lingering is followed by the scan which actually omits critical system files and extremely rare extensions. The items so detected undergo complex scrambling routine, which cannot be resolved with reverse engineering and any complex technological workarounds.
The procedures and tools available below represent, to the best of our knowledge and believe, the best practice of RSA-4096 ransomware extermination and the affected data handling. Again, prevention is the best cure. Everyone is encouraged to stick to regular off-line backups.
