Pedcont Ransomware

What is Pedcont?

Discovered by malware security researcher, Leo, Pedcont is a ransomware-type virus that stealthily infiltrates systems. Unlike most other ransomware, Pedcont does not encrypt or rename/modify data in any way, but it does display a pop-up window with a ransom-demand message.

The message states that stored data has been copied to a remote server and that users must pay a ransom of $50 in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Once payment is submitted, all stored files are supposedly deleted from the server.

If, however, the victim decides not to pay, or payment is not submitted within the given time-frame (72 hours after infiltration), all data is transferred to 'authorities'. In this way, users are threatened: those who have potentially illegal files may face serious issues. As mentioned above, this behavior is unusual to ransomware-type viruses.

Most simply encrypt data using RSA, AES or other similar encryption algorithms. Each victim receives a unique decryption key necessary to restore their data. These keys are stored on a remote server controlled by cyber criminals who extort victims by encouraging them to submit payments in exchange for their keys.

The cost typically fluctuates between $500 and $1500, however, in some cases it may reach many thousands of dollars. In any case, cyber criminals can never be trusted. These people are likely to ignore victims, once payments are submitted. Therefore, paying typically gives no positive result and users are scammed. Never attempt to contact these people or submit any payments.

Screenshot of a message encouraging users to pay a ransom to decrypt their compromised data:

Although Pedcont does not encrypt data, it can still be compared to BitPaymer, REBUS, LittleFinger, and dozens of other ransomware-type viruses. These viruses are developed by different cyber criminals, and yet their behavior is identical - all encrypt data and make ransom demands.

There are typically just two major differences: 1) size of ransom, and; 2) type encryption algorithm used. Most employ algorithms that generate unique decryption keys. Therefore, unless the malware is not fully developed or has certain bugs/flaws (e.g., the key is hard-coded, stored locally or similar), restoring data manually is impossible.

Therefore, ransomware presents a strong case for maintaining regular data backups, however, remember to store them on a remote server or an unplugged storage device, otherwise the ransomware encrypts backups together with regular files.

How did ransomware infect my computer?

To proliferate malware such as Pedcont developers typically use spam emails, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, unofficial software download sources, fake software updaters, and trojans. Spam emails often are delivered with malicious attachments (e.g., MS Office documents, JavaScript files, and similar) that, once opened execute scripts designed to download and install malware.

P2P networks (torrents, eMule, etc.) and other third party download sources (freeware download websites, free file hosting websites, etc.) present malicious executables as legitimate software. Therefore, users get tricked into downloading and install malware by .

Fake updaters infected the system by either exploiting outdated software bugs/flaws or simply downloading and installing malware rather than updates. Trojans are probably the simplest ones - most merely open "backdoor" for other viruses to infiltrate the system. In summary, the main reasons for computer infections are poor knowledge and careless behavior.

Threat Summary:

Name	Pedcont virus
Threat Type	Ransomware, Crypto Virus, Files locker
Symptoms	Can't open files stored on your computer, previously functional files now have a different extension, for example my.docx.locked. A ransom demanding message is displayed on your desktop. Cyber criminals are asking to pay a ransom (usually in bitcoins) to unlock your files.
Distribution methods	Infected email attachments (macros), torrent websites, malicious ads.
Damage	All files are encrypted and cannot be opened without paying a ransom. Additional password stealing trojans and malware infections can be installed together with a ransomware infection.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

How to protect yourself from ransomware infections?

The key to computer safety is caution. Therefore, pay close attention when browsing the Internet. Never open email attachments that seem irrelevant or have been received from a suspicious/unrecognizable email address. These emails should be deleted without reading. Furthermore, download your programs from official sources only, using direct download links.

Bear in mind that third party downloaders/installers often include rogue apps, and thus should never be used. The same applies to updating software. Keep installed apps up-to-date. To achieve this, however, use implemented functions or tools provided by the official developer only. Having a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and running is also paramount.

The appearance of Pedcont ransomware pop-up (GIF):

Text presented in Pedcont ransomware pop-up window:

!!! ATTENTION !!! - Please read this immediately:

Dear potential criminal,
- Due to you actively seeking out child pornography or similarly illegal content on the
Deep Web, you have been infected with our ransomware called PedCont.

- WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED:
All of your sensitive data, location and files - pictures, videos, documents, etc. - have
been auto-collected and saved to an external server and will be stored & protected for
the next 72 hours (counting from the first time you see this message). If we do not
receive any cooperation from your part once the time is up, international authorities
WILL be contacted and sent detailed information about everything that we have
scraped from your computer.

While it is no longer necessary for this program to stay on your computer, should you
wish to prevent legal prosecution and safely get rid of our records, do NOT manually
remove it, but instead follow the steps listed below:

- WHAT WE REQUIRE OF YOU:

We demand that you pay us a ransom worth $50 USD in BTC/LTC within 72 hours of us
intercepting your files and identity with this program.

You must use a different computer/phone/internet source to create a wallet and buy
Bitcoins or Leetcoins, then forward them to one of our addresses provided below.

Once you complete the transaction, you must paste your BTC/LTC WALLET'S ADDRESS
into this program and press "Submit". If your transaction has been successful, then our
server will recognize your wallet's address and unlock your computer + delete our
records of your illegal activities.

- HOW TO PAY WITH BTC/LTC:
1. Using another device, open a web browser and visit one of the following websites:

- GreenAddress BITCOIN Wallet: hxxps://www.greenaddress.it
- BitGo BITCOIN Wallet: hxxps://www.bitgo.com

- Electrum LITECOIN Wallet: hxxps://www.electrum-ltc.org

2. Sign up for a wallet/account and set it up with standard settings. Save your
mnemonic/passphrase.
Find your wallet's ID and save it for future reference.

3. Once you have a wallet, open up one of the following currency exchange websites:

- BitStamp: hxxps://www.bitstamp.net
- Kraken: hxxps://www.kraken.com
- LocalBitcoins: hxxps://www.localbitcoins.com
- Cex.io: hxxps://cex.io

These websites provide numerous easy ways to buy Bitcoins or Litecoins online.
Sign up to one of them and after reading how, make an exchange to buy BTC or LTC
worth $50 USD - use your wallet's ID to receive it.

Once you have the funds visible in your wallet as either BTC or LTC, you must make the
final transaction to one of our wallets listed below:

- IF you are paying with Bitcoins, send your funds to one of these addresses:

3J5iYJJYWduztWbVrEzMxdrSq2yHq3J63s
---
GAdfWTBkDaX4DBGw6zwgZbgEucs2G
---
3NNFC86T37qQYr2btGRnaCRM7BxhKQrL4P

- IF you are paying with Litecoins, send your funds to one of these addresses:

LMaetVuUjLCed5CFf3faBQPizApDbxaqBa
---
LhXtJ3Tu7dYxWnvRcW6oNuVi2xGZxpzTk4
---
LZ3ExpgenSQwLftRn2LmhcQtsjneNeHzkM

As soon as the funds are received in our wallet, the PedCont server and client will
communicate and free you from under this very serious situation that you've got
yourself into.
You have the right to not pay but doing so will most probably guarantee that the
authorities find and arrest you after we forward them all of your data.

- If you do not understand something in the process of paying with BTC/LTC, please use
the resources linked above and Google to educate yourself further and prevent any
unnecessary errors with your payment.

We hope that asking for a mere sum of $50 USD will prove to be a much better
alternative for you than having to face serious legal charges in the future.
We wish you good luck with completing your BTC/LTC transaction.

Pedcont ransomware removal:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Video suggesting what steps should be taken in case of a ransomware infection:

Quick menu:

• What is Pedcont virus?
• STEP 1. Reporting ransomware to authorities.
• STEP 2. Isolating the infected device.
• STEP 3. Identifying the ransomware infection.
• STEP 4. Searching for ransomware decryption tools.
• STEP 5. Restoring files with data recovery tools.
• STEP 6. Creating data backups.

Reporting ransomware to authorities:

If you are a victim of a ransomware attack we recommend reporting this incident to authorities. By providing information to law enforcement agencies you will help track cybercrime and potentially assist in the prosecution of the attackers. Here's a list of authorities where you should report a ransomware attack. For the complete list of local cybersecurity centers and information on why you should report ransomware attacks, read this article.

List of local authorities where ransomware attacks should be reported (choose one depending on your residence address):

•  USA - Internet Crime Complaint Centre IC3
•  United Kingdom - Action Fraud
•  Spain - Policía Nacional
•  France - Ministère de l'Intérieur
•  Germany - Polizei
•  Italy - Polizia di Stato
•  The Netherlands - Politie
•  Poland - Policja
•  Portugal - Polícia Judiciária

Isolating the infected device:

Some ransomware-type infections are designed to encrypt files within external storage devices, infect them, and even spread throughout the entire local network. For this reason, it is very important to isolate the infected device (computer) as soon as possible.

Step 1: Disconnect from the internet.

The easiest way to disconnect a computer from the internet is to unplug the Ethernet cable from the motherboard, however, some devices are connected via a wireless network and for some users (especially those who are not particularly tech-savvy), disconnecting cables may seem troublesome. Therefore, you can also disconnect the system manually via Control Panel:

Navigate to the "Control Panel", click the search bar in the upper-right corner of the screen, enter "Network and Sharing Center" and select search result:

Click the "Change adapter settings" option in the upper-left corner of the window:

Right-click on each connection point and select "Disable". Once disabled, the system will no longer be connected to the internet. To re-enable the connection points, simply right-click again and select "Enable".

Step 2: Unplug all storage devices.

As mentioned above, ransomware might encrypt data and infiltrate all storage devices that are connected to the computer. For this reason, all external storage devices (flash drives, portable hard drives, etc.) should be disconnected immediately, however, we strongly advise you to eject each device before disconnecting to prevent data corruption:

Navigate to "My Computer", right-click on each connected device, and select "Eject":

Step 3: Log-out of cloud storage accounts.

Some ransomware-type might be able to hijack software that handles data stored within "the Cloud". Therefore, the data could be corrupted/encrypted. For this reason, you should log-out of all cloud storage accounts within browsers and other related software. You should also consider temporarily uninstalling the cloud-management software until the infection is completely removed.

Identify the ransomware infection:

To properly handle an infection, one must first identify it. Some ransomware infections use ransom-demand messages as an introduction (see the WALDO ransomware text file below).

This, however, is rare. In most cases, ransomware infections deliver more direct messages simply stating that data is encrypted and that victims must pay some sort of ransom. Note that ransomware-type infections typically generate messages with different file names (for example, "_readme.txt", "READ-ME.txt", "DECRYPTION_INSTRUCTIONS.txt", "DECRYPT_FILES.html", etc.). Therefore, using the name of a ransom message may seem like a good way to identify the infection. The problem is that most of these names are generic and some infections use the same names, even though the delivered messages are different and the infections themselves are unrelated. Therefore, using the message filename alone can be ineffective and even lead to permanent data loss (for example, by attempting to decrypt data using tools designed for different ransomware infections, users are likely to end up permanently damaging files and decryption will no longer be possible even with the correct tool).

Another way to identify a ransomware infection is to check the file extension, which is appended to each encrypted file. Ransomware infections are often named by the extensions they append (see files encrypted by Qewe ransomware below).

This method is only effective, however, when the appended extension is unique - many ransomware infections append a generic extension (for example, ".encrypted", ".enc", ".crypted", ".locked", etc.). In these cases, identifying ransomware by its appended extension becomes impossible.

One of the easiest and quickest ways to identify a ransomware infection is to use the ID Ransomware website. This service supports most existing ransomware infections. Victims simply upload a ransom message and/or one encrypted file (we advise you to upload both if possible).

The ransomware will be identified within seconds and you will be provided with various details, such as the name of the malware family to which the infection belongs, whether it is decryptable, and so on.

Example 1 (Qewe [Stop/Djvu] ransomware):

Example 2 (.iso [Phobos] ransomware):

If your data happens to be encrypted by ransomware that is not supported by ID Ransomware, you can always try searching the internet by using certain keywords (for example, a ransom message title, file extension, provided contact emails, crypto wallet addresses, etc.).

Search for ransomware decryption tools:

Encryption algorithms used by most ransomware-type infections are extremely sophisticated and, if the encryption is performed properly, only the developer is capable of restoring data. This is because decryption requires a specific key, which is generated during the encryption. Restoring data without the key is impossible. In most cases, cybercriminals store keys on a remote server, rather than using the infected machine as a host. Dharma (CrySis), Phobos, and other families of high-end ransomware infections are virtually flawless, and thus restoring data encrypted without the developers' involvement is simply impossible. Despite this, there are dozens of ransomware-type infections that are poorly developed and contain a number of flaws (for example, the use of identical encryption/decryption keys for each victim, keys stored locally, etc.). Therefore, always check for available decryption tools for any ransomware that infiltrates your computer.

Finding the correct decryption tool on the internet can be very frustrating. For this reason, we recommend that you use the No More Ransom Project and this is where identifying the ransomware infection is useful. The No More Ransom Project website contains a "Decryption Tools" section with a search bar. Enter the name of the identified ransomware, and all available decryptors (if there are any) will be listed.

Restore files with data recovery tools:

Depending on the situation (quality of ransomware infection, type of encryption algorithm used, etc.), restoring data with certain third-party tools might be possible. Therefore, we advise you to use the Recuva tool developed by CCleaner. This tool supports over a thousand data types (graphics, video, audio, documents, etc.) and it is very intuitive (little knowledge is necessary to recover data). In addition, the recovery feature is completely free.

Step 1: Perform a scan.

Run the Recuva application and follow the wizard. You will be prompted with several windows allowing you to choose what file types to look for, which locations should be scanned, etc. All you need to do is select the options you're looking for and start the scan. We advise you to enable the "Deep Scan" before starting, otherwise, the application's scanning capabilities will be restricted.

Wait for Recuva to complete the scan. The scanning duration depends on the volume of files (both in quantity and size) that you are scanning (for example, several hundred gigabytes could take over an hour to scan). Therefore, be patient during the scanning process. We also advise against modifying or deleting existing files, since this might interfere with the scan. If you add additional data (for example, downloading files/content) while scanning, this will prolong the process:

Step 2: Recover data.

Once the process is complete, select the folders/files you wish to restore and simply click "Recover". Note that some free space on your storage drive is necessary to restore data:

Create data backups:

Proper file management and creating backups is essential for data security. Therefore, always be very careful and think ahead.

Partition management: We recommend that you store your data in multiple partitions and avoid storing important files within the partition that contains the entire operating system. If you fall into a situation whereby you cannot boot the system and are forced to format the disk on which the operating system is installed (in most cases, this is where malware infections hide), you will lose all data stored within that drive. This is the advantage of having multiple partitions: if you have the entire storage device assigned to a single partition, you will be forced to delete everything, however, creating multiple partitions and allocating the data properly allows you to prevent such problems. You can easily format a single partition without affecting the others - therefore, one will be cleaned and the others will remain untouched, and your data will be saved. Managing partitions is quite simple and you can find all the necessary information on Microsoft's documentation web page.

Data backups: One of the most reliable backup methods is to use an external storage device and keep it unplugged. Copy your data to an external hard drive, flash (thumb) drive, SSD, HDD, or any other storage device, unplug it and store it in a dry place away from the sun and extreme temperatures. This method is, however, quite inefficient, since data backups and updates need to be made regularly. You can also use a cloud service or remote server. Here, an internet connection is required and there is always the chance of a security breach, although it's a really rare occasion.

We recommend using Microsoft OneDrive for backing up your files. OneDrive lets you store your personal files and data in the cloud, sync files across computers and mobile devices, allowing you to access and edit your files from all of your Windows devices. OneDrive lets you save, share and preview files, access download history, move, delete, and rename files, as well as create new folders, and much more.

You can back up your most important folders and files on your PC (your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders). Some of OneDrive’s more notable features include file versioning, which keeps older versions of files for up to 30 days. OneDrive features a recycling bin in which all of your deleted files are stored for a limited time. Deleted files are not counted as part of the user’s allocation.

The service is built using HTML5 technologies and allows you to upload files up to 300 MB via drag and drop into the web browser or up to 10 GB via the OneDrive desktop application. With OneDrive, you can download entire folders as a single ZIP file with up to 10,000 files, although it can’t exceed 15 GB per single download.

OneDrive comes with 5 GB of free storage out of the box, with an additional 100 GB, 1 TB, and 6 TB storage options available for a subscription-based fee. You can get one of these storage plans by either purchasing additional storage separately or with Office 365 subscription.

Creating a data backup:

The backup process is the same for all file types and folders. Here’s how you can back up your files using Microsoft OneDrive

Step 1: Choose the files/folders you want to backup.

Click the OneDrive cloud icon to open the OneDrive menu. While in this menu, you can customize your file backup settings.

Click Help & Settings and then select Settings from the drop-down menu.

Go to the Backup tab and click Manage backup.

In this menu, you can choose to backup the Desktop and all of the files on it, and Documents and Pictures folders, again, with all of the files in them. Click Start backup.

Now, when you add a file or folder in the Desktop and Documents and Pictures folders, they will be automatically backed up on OneDrive.

To add folders and files, not in the locations shown above, you have to add them manually.

Open File Explorer and navigate to the location of the folder/file you want to backup. Select the item, right-click it, and click Copy.

Then, navigate to OneDrive, right-click anywhere in the window and click Paste. Alternatively, you can just drag and drop a file into OneDrive. OneDrive will automatically create a backup of the folder/file.

All of the files added to the OneDrive folder are backed up in the cloud automatically. The green circle with the checkmark in it indicates that the file is available both locally and on OneDrive and that the file version is the same on both. The blue cloud icon indicates that the file has not been synced and is available only on OneDrive. The sync icon indicates that the file is currently syncing.

To access files only located on OneDrive online, go to the Help & Settings drop-down menu and select View online.

Step 2: Restore corrupted files.

OneDrive makes sure that the files stay in sync, so the version of the file on the computer is the same version on the cloud. However, if ransomware has encrypted your files, you can take advantage of OneDrive’s Version history feature that will allow you to restore the file versions prior to encryption.

Microsoft 365 has a ransomware detection feature that notifies you when your OneDrive files have been attacked and guide you through the process of restoring your files. It must be noted, however, that if you don’t have a paid Microsoft 365 subscription, you only get one detection and file recovery for free.

If your OneDrive files get deleted, corrupted, or infected by malware, you can restore your entire OneDrive to a previous state. Here’s how you can restore your entire OneDrive:

1. If you're signed in with a personal account, click the Settings cog at the top of the page. Then, click Options and select Restore your OneDrive.

If you're signed in with a work or school account,  click the Settings cog at the top of the page. Then, click Restore your OneDrive.

2. On the Restore your OneDrive page, select a date from the drop-down list. Note that if you're restoring your files after automatic ransomware detection, a restore date will be selected for you.

3. After configuring all of the file restoration options, click Restore to undo all the activities you selected.

The best way to avoid damage from ransomware infections is to maintain regular up-to-date backups.

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