CoinVault is a ransomware whose infection consist in encrypting a good portion of a computer’s files. Afterwards, CoinVault will inform the user that they need to pay a ransom in order to remove that encryption. Of course, there’s no guarantee whatsoever that this payment will actually result in getting those files back. The only thing we know for sure is that such payments do fill the wallets of those who created this virus…
CoinVault shares one particular characteristic with CTB-Locker, because it also uses the Tor network to avoid being found by the law. Using Tor also prevents them from being detected and blocked. Another protection they enforce is to accept only Bitcoin as payment method, because of its anonymity.
We should highlight that CoinVault offers its victims as a sign of good faith, the possibility to choose 5 files so they can remove the encryption for free…
The best way to defend ourselves from this kind of threat is to backup our data in a regular basis as well as using a Cloud service such as Dropbox. A good anti-virus program should also be installed in your computer in order to protect your software, operative systems and tools. This is important because once you’re infected, it’s impossible to get the encrypted files back from CoinVault. The only real solution is to have a previous version of your files available somewhere in your hard drive. You can use Shadow Explorer to check if this is possible (keep reading the article for further information). While you check that make sure you cover yourself by getting rid of CoinVault as quickly as possible.
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