When malware infections get localized, you can expect to find the most interesting variations of the same application. For example, Los Pollos Hermanos is a ransomware program that affects users in Australia. It is another version of the Cryptolocker ransomware infection. Los Pollos Hermanos encrypts your files and demands that you pay a ransom fee in order to restore your files. You must never succumb to such demands. Remove Los Pollos Hermanos from your computer using a legitimate antimalware application, and then run a full system scan once more to check for any similar infections.
When you get infected with Los Pollos Hermanos, this is the message the program displays on your screen:
Los Pollos Hermanos
Your important files have been encrypted: photos, documents, videos, etc. If you want to decrypt your files you must pay the fee of $450 AUD
Failure to pay within the specified time will mean you must pay $1000AUD
For support related inquires contact:
theonewhoknocks6969@mailinator.com
As you can see, Los Pollos Hermanos gives you limited time to transfer the payment, but we cannot guarantee that the program would restore your files even if you paid the ransom. After all, Los Pollos Hermanos was created to profit from extorting money from innocent computer users, so it is hard to believe anything this application says.
What’s more, Los Pollos Hermanos has a theme that is based on the Breaking Bad TV series and the infection spreads through the means of social engineering. For example, Los Pollos Hermanos can employ spam email messages for distribution. Research suggests that the ransomware program arrives at the target system as a zip archive file. This file is usually named after some popular movie title. If you unzip the archive and run the file named “PENALTY.VBS,” Los Pollos Hermanos gets installed on your system.
When the infection unleashes its payload, Los Pollos Hermanos encrypts many files with different extensions, including .ai, .doc, .jpeg, .mp3, .rar, .raw, .xls, and so on. Afterwards, you virtually cannot open any file you use often.
Los Pollos Hermanos tries to provide you with a way out of this situation by telling you how to obtain Bitcoins and how to pay the ransom fee. However, just as mentioned above, you should never do that because you would only help the cyber criminals achieve their goals.
Luckily, this program does not block .exe files, so you can access the Internet and download a reliable antispyware application in the Normal Mode. As for your files, you should look for a decryption tool online, although it would be a lot easier to restore them from a file backup. That is why we always encourage users to back up their files on a cloud drive or an external disk for safety.