‘Ransomware’ Doesn’t Unlock Files Until After Playing PUBG

A recently discovered ransomware variant called PUBG Ransomware does not demand a ransom for unlocking files. Instead, the ‘victim’ must play PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or enter a code.

The ‘ransomware’, which was discovered by MalwareHunterTeam, locks files on the desktop with a .pubg extension. It seems to be a joke as the PUBG Ransomware program reports that the victim does not have to pay any money. To unlock the files again, all you need to do is start the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds game.

The program reports that it is necessary to play the battle royale game for an hour, but that requirement is quite easy to get around. The underlying code of PUBG Ransomware only looks for activating a process called TslGame.exe, so creating and executing an exe file with this name is enough.

In addition, anyone who is tired of jumping out of a plane in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or who doesn’t own the game, can disable the ransomware by entering a code displayed by the program.

A year ago, ‘ransomware’ appeared that was mainly intended as a joke. MalwareHunterTeam, a team that tracks down different types of malware, then found RensenWare. This program requires those affected to achieve a score of 200 million points in a Touhou game. This condition is a lot harder to achieve than that of PUBG Ransomware. Partly because of this, the maker of Rensenware later regretted and published a tool to free the encrypted files.

Image of the ‘ransomware’. Source: MalwareHunterTeam