Michael Gillespie, the widely known virus researcher recently has found a new malicious software functioning as typical ransomware dubbed Karl. He first found this new name in the DJVU ransomware family. Karl is a highly dangerous computer threat in which the whole operation is focusing on encrypts all common users file formats like documents, spreadsheet, database, archives, drawings, photos, videos, and so on. After that, attackers demand ransom payment from victims to decrypt their files to its original form because at the current infected state, data are having .karl file extension.
Karl ransomware is known to be a representative of recent editions from STOP malware family and it is so unfortunate for victims that malware researchers have yet to find a solution to freely restore files with .karl extension. Unlike old variants that can be decrypted by STOPDecrypter tool, attackers made significant changes to most recent versions of Karl including Kvag, Domn, and Meds. Another uniqueness of Karl’s infection is that the user cannot gain access to the key. The decryption key is hosted on a special server under full control by the criminals who have launched the Karl virus to the web.
The technique to secure the files used by Karl is not entirely researched. However, no matter what the quantity of the ransom is, we strongly advise that you do not pay the ransom. There is no assurance that these online criminals will keep their guarantees, even when the amount of the ransom has gotten into their accounts. Thus, paying ransom often does not result in a successful recovery, leaving users lose their money for absolutely nothing.ย
The only appropriate decision is to bring back the information from possible backups. To prevent the loss of your crucial information is to regularly maintain updated backups of all your essential files. You can backup your files on a USB Flash Drive, some external hard disk, or by using a cloud data storage service. Do not backup on your system drive as it might also be encrypted by Karl ransomware.
Karl uses many courses to infiltrate the vulnerable computer systems and the invasion might take place by means of the following channels:
- Bundling with third-party programs, mainly freeware;
- Spam e-mails from the unknown senders;
- Websites providing free hosting;
- P2P (peer-to-peer) torrent software.
There are times when the Karl may disguise itself as some genuine application, for instance, through the deceptive notifies demanding setup of some software upgrade. This is the most common trick used by the scams to inject the Karl infection files into the system. In this manner users partly participate in its setup, without plainly comprehending the threat.
In addition, the frauds may send unsolicited spam e-mail with challenging signals encouraging people to open suspicious accessories or click some download links. Opening these files or clicking the destructive links may basically harm the system.
As you are already aware about this new ransomware, besides doing backup regularly your data, here are several ways you can do to prevent your computer system and make it safer from Karl virus injection:
- Make sure to pay close attention when browsing the web especially when downloading free programs.
- Don’t open doubtful email accessories, especially if the sender doesn’t understand you.
- Don’t forget that certain freeware installers can also include several other additional applications in the package. This additional application may be very dangerous. It is very important to keep your anti-virus software and operating system in general up to date.
Karl is just one of numerous types of ransomware that keeps evolving until today as it offers huge profit for the cyber criminals. Therefore, DNS as IT security expert keeps reminding you to always be up to date with the current cybersecurity trends and find the best security approach to prevent your IT system from any cyberthreats.
