Understanding Lokas Ransomware

DJVU family is back with another malicious ransomware! Developers named it Lokas ransomware. Alike its cousins the ultimate aim of Lokas is to extort large sum of money. Once, it successfully infiltrates your system, it scans for targeted files. Lokas virus targets the files which are most commonly found in any PC these days. Once the targeted files are found, what’s the next step? Let us read the insights from this article to understand the menace caused by Lokas Ransomware in a better manner.

Lokas ransomware, the file encrypting program is a dangerous variant of DJVU ransomware family. The major goal of this ransomware is to lure money in the form of ransom. To execute this evil idea, .lokas file virus encrypts the data/files in your system and makes them unreadable. It also creates a unique decryption key to restore .lokas files. Obtaining this key is not a piece of cake! It is stored on the developers serve and is exchanged for hefty ransom amount.

Developers encourage the victims to pay the ransom amount by offering 50% discount. Furthermore, they tell the victims that, if you fail to make the payment, your locked files will be permanently deleted. With the fear of losing their important data, victims get ready to pay the asked ransom.

In addition, it also deletes ‘Shadow Volume Copies’ that are found on your system. It is done to complicate the restoration of the encrypted files. Hence, victims thought that paying the ransom is the only way out of this problem. However, reality has a different face!

Threat Summary

Distribution Technique

Lokas ransomware, the name is sufficient for a tech savvy mind to understand its methodology. Developers proliferates Lokas extension primarily via spam campaigns. Under the spam attack, e-mails are sent with catchy subject line. It pretends to be legitimate however, the danger is buried in the content. At times, hackers fix a malicious attachment within the e-mail. The malicious attachment is nothing but the destructive macros.

Once you open the attached file, you allow the malicious macros script to run in your system. As a consequence, your system will get infected by dangerous Lokas ransomware.

Apart from spam attack, Trojans are another deceptive method to distribute this crypto virus. These programs stealthily infiltrate your system with the motive to install other malicious payloads on your system.

To conclude, we can say that the careless behavior and the lack of knowledge are two major reasons for these computer infections. Hence, to avoid the irreversible damage caused by .lokas file virus, you have to be careful during your online sessions.

Threat Behavior

Being the variant of a famous ransomware family, Lokas virus infiltrates the system with strong financial motive. Once it makes itself comfortable, it gradually encrypts all the data on the infected system. Alike its siblings, a powerful cryptography algorithm is used to lock the targeted files. Unfortunately, this algorithm generates a unique decryption key on the remote serve for .lokas files. This key is the primary source to blackmail the victims of Lokas ransomware to fulfil the evil idea. Blackmailing starts with the demanding of hefty ransom amount. Ransom is demanded in the form of bitcoins – A crypto currency. Developers say, they will enable the decryption key once the payment is received.

Apart from encrypting the files, .lokas file virus generates a ransom demanding message stored in ‘_readme.txt’ file. This text file is displayed on the screen whenever you try to access a locked file. This message notifies the victims about the demanded ransom amount and the way to get their decryption key. In addition, it also provides the contact detail of the hackers, in case you are unable to make the payment in bitcoins.

Ransom – Demanding Message:

The ransom demanded is equivalent to $980. However, there is a special offer for the victims, who contact the hackers within 72 hours of Lokas extension virus attack. In this case, you will get a discount of 50% in the ransom amount. It means the ransom amount will be reduced to $490. Keep in mind, the payment, in any case has to be done in the form of bitcoins.

Furthermore, obeying the payment instructions is not the way out! Cyber criminals tend to ignore the victim after receiving the ransom. Hence, it is advisable not to pay the ransom. Instead, focus at the steps for how to remove ransomware virus manually.

Removal guidelines for Lokas Ransomware

STEP A: Reboot your system to safe mode

STEP B: Remove the malicious files in Configuration Settings

1. Type “Msconfig” in search box / Run Box, select it and press Enter.
2. Click on “Services” Tab and click on “Hide all Microsoft services”.
3. Select Lokas ransomware from the list of remaining services and disable it by removing the tick mark from the checkbox and click on Apply button.

STEP C: Delete the suspicious file from Command Prompt

Once the system starts, ensure to use an account with administrative privilege to access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

After the user enters admin credentials, Command prompt window is displayed wherein you are entitled to enter the below commands:

1. Type the command “sc delete Lokas ransomware” in the command prompt and press Enter.
2. Type “exit” to exit the command prompt and restart the system in safe mode with command prompt.

STEP D: Restore system Files & Folders

Tips to prevent your system from Lokas Ransomware

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Vipre and Kaspersky so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.

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