RANSOM_HPBTCWARE.SM1

This Ransomware arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

It deletes the initially executed copy of itself. It is capable of encrypting files in the affected system.

It drops files as ransom note.

Arrival Details

This Ransomware arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

Installation

This Ransomware drops the following copies of itself into the affected system and executes them:

• %System Root%\Users\Public\{malware name}.exe ← for Windows Vista and later

(Note: %System Root% is the Windows root folder, where it usually is C:\ on all Windows operating system versions.)

It drops the following files:

• %System Root%\Users\Public\{GUID} ← for Windows Vista and later
• %All Users Profile%\{GUID} ← for Windows XP

(Note: %System Root% is the Windows root folder, where it usually is C:\ on all Windows operating system versions.. %All Users Profile% is the All Users folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

It drops and executes the following files:

• %User Temp%\__t{random characters}.tmp.bat

(Note: %User Temp% is the user's temporary folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

Autostart Technique

This Ransomware adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
CertificatesCheck = %System Root%\Users\Public\{malware name}.exe ← for Windows Vista and later

Other System Modifications

This Ransomware deletes the following files:

• %User Profile%\Documents\default.rdp

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name} on Windows Vista and 7.)

It deletes the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Terminal Server Client\Default

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Terminal Server Client\Server (gets restored afterwards)

Other Details

This Ransomware deletes the initially executed copy of itself

It is capable of encrypting files in the affected system.

Ransomware Routine

This Ransomware renames encrypted files using the following names:

• {original filename and extension}.crypt
• {original filename and extension}.crypt.crypt

It drops the following file(s) as ransom note:

• {folder of encrypted files}\!back_files!.html