Junior Ransomware

Junior Ransomware is yet another threat that can put your personal files at risk. Nearly every day we get the news that a new file-encrypting, ransom-demanding infection has emerged, and whether or not you have faced such an infection yourself, you must be familiar with this type of malware. It has been used to attack governments, healthcare organizations, international companies, your colleagues, friends, or neighbors. Hopefully, you already have enough information to keep ransomware away, but if you are not knowledgeable, or if you are not careful, it could try to invade your operating system. If that happened, your personal files could be corrupted irreversibly, and we are sure that that is not what you want. In this report, we discuss the removal of Junior Ransomware, but the tips we include should help you guard your operating system against most file encryptors. Keep reading, learn how to delete the infection, and then use the comments section if you still want to ask questions.

When our team started analyzing Junior Ransomware, it became clear immediately that this malicious infection is a new version of the Paradise Ransomware. While these malicious infections look different, they share similar behavior. These threats are most likely to exploit RDP vulnerabilities or use spam emails to spread, and if vulnerable systems are invaded successfully, the encryption of personal files is initiated in no time. When Junior Ransomware encrypts your personal photos, documents, and other files, it attaches the “[id-random].[mr.yoba@aol.com].junior” extension to their original names. The ID, of course, is random in every case, and the email address included belongs to the attackers. Both the ID and the email address are presented via a file named “%= RETURN FILES =&.html” also. Copies of this file are created wherever the encrypted files are, and, of course, you want to delete them all. If you want to see the message inside, go ahead, it is not dangerous, but following the demands inside is.

According to the message represented via the .html file, the creator of Junior Ransomware wants you to think that you personal files were encrypted due to a “security problem” and that you need to pay an undisclosed sum in Bitcoins to have them decrypted. It is stated that software capable of decrypting files would be sent to you soon after, but since the exact sum is not revealed, and it is not explained how the ransom must be paid, the victim might see no other option but to email mr.yoba@aol.com. What would happen if you did that? Without a doubt, you would be provided with more detailed instructions. However, that is not all. It is also possible that the attackers would keep a record of your email address so that they could expose you to scams in the future. Of course, if Junior Ransomware was executed with the help of a spam email in the first place, your email account is already a target. In any case, if you choose to contact the attackers, we suggest creating a separate account for that purpose only. In general, we do not recommend sending the message because we do not recommend paying the ransom. Most likely, your money would go down the drain.

Since Junior Ransomware does not have a PoE mechanism, it will not start again once you restart your computer. Therefore, if you discover that your files are being encrypted, you might stop the process by restarting. Of course, considering that the encryption process is quick, it is unlikely that you could stop it in time. Unfortunately, once files are encrypted, even if you delete Junior Ransomware, they will remain corrupted. At the time of research, legitimate decryptors were helpless, but if you decide to look into this, be sure to assess whatever you download because you do not want to let in more malware. Note that while decrypting files appears to be impossible, you might still have backups that you could use to replace the corrupted files. Hopefully, that is the case. When it comes to the removal of the infection, if you cannot identify and remove the infection manually, you can always implement anti-malware software that could not only clear your system but also ensure its protection afterward.

Junior Ransomware Removal

1. Delete all suspicious recently downloaded files (you want to erase the launcher by doing this).
2. Delete every single copy of the ransom note file named %= RETURN FILES =&.html.
3. Empty Recycle Bin to eliminate the malicious ransomware components.
4. Install a malware scanner you can trust and use it to scan your system for leftovers.