Clouded invents new and very malicious strategy for data encryption
Clouded ransomware is an encryption-based [1] parasite which attacks computers and aims to take their specific files hostage. Archives, media files, Office documents and similar files are of particular interest to the virus developers because they bear personal value to the victims. The relevance of the encrypted files is especially important in the further step of the attack — ransom demands. The correlation behind this is simple — the more personal files the ransomware encrypts, the more victims are willing to pay for their decryption. Currently, the extortionists demand 0.1 BTC [2] for data decryption, but even after making the payment, you can’t be sure whether you will receive the promised decryption key. It is very possible that the criminals will simply vanish with your money, leaving your files unreadable and appended with .cloud extensions. No matter how we would like to say that Clouded virus is decryptable, sadly, it’s not. There is currently no free decryptions software that would allow the ransomware victims to recover their files without supporting virus creators. And it seems that the malware experts will have to go a long way to create one because unlike most ransomware, this one creates individual encryption keys for each of the encrypted files. On top of it all, the virus is programmed to destroy all the encrypted files once the clouded.exe, doccompressed.exe or any of its executable files are terminated. You can try bypassing this malicious functionality by making backup copies of the encrypted files using specialized utilities such as CryptoSearch [3]. If you manage to secure the files, you can remove Clouded ransomware with professional antivirus software such as FortectIntego and wait for the decryptor to be invented. To recover files faster, you may also try out alternative methods provided at the end of this article.
If you have never had your computer infected with ransomware before and feel uncertain what warning signs to look for, pay attention to the speed and performance quality of your device. Slowly operating or malfunctioning system is a tell-tale sign which signals that something might be wrong with your computer. Of course, you have to be extremely observant and know your device as the back of your hand to notice such changes. It is more common for the victims to notice the attack when it has already taken place. Typically, a ransom note is the initial thing that gives Clouded malware away. Below you can see a transcript of this note:
All your documents have been encrypted by the Clouded ransomware!
Any new files will deleted, so do not try to download or move/copy files to this computer!
– How do I decrypt my files?
– In order to decrypt your files, you must pay atleast 0.1 BTC to the Bitcoin address
1FoRjcEbKfL949gKGE7Etk7sKPtYJq7QVy and press “Check and Decrypt”.
– What's Bitcoin?
– It's a cryptocurrency and an electronic payment system. More information atWikipedia · ENBitcoin
Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown person published a white paper under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto. Use of bitcoin as a currency began in 2009, with the release of its open-source implementation. From 2021 to 2025, El Salvador adopted it as legal tender currency before revoking it. As bitcoin is pseudonymous, its use by criminals has attracted the attention of regulators, leading to its ban by several countries.
Read on Wikipedia →
button [Check and Decrypt]
IMPORTANT: DO NOT turn off your computer while this screen is displayed or your files will be lost forever!
Of course, you should not follow any of the demands listed in this note. Instead, start making preparations for the Clouded removal.
Experts opinion: Ransomware is most likely spreading via spam
While there currently there is no certainty about how Clouded virus spreads, the experts believe that the virus distribution strategy should not differ from the rest of the malware in this category. Experts are almost certain that at least on some degree, Clouded ransomware virus developers rely on malicious spam campaigns [4] to deliver malware on targeted devices. There are numerous malicious botnets such as Numucod or Grum [5] that are responsible for spreading spam throughout the world in various shapes and sizes. Having this in mind, you should forget the habit of opening random emails without checking their origin. Spare some time to investigate where the email came from and whether you really expected such letter to reach you. If anything raises suspicions — check back with the sender or simply delete the virus from your PC.
The benefits of automatized Clouded removal
Using reputable antivirus software to remove Clouded virus or other malware from the infected system is the best choice you have in this situation because this malware is very aggressive and any mistake while uninstalling it may end up in the loss of personal data or a complete corruption of the system. We firmly advise you trust Clouded removal only to the hands of professional security vendors who will make sure to provide you with the best service.
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