In reported 2016 campaigns, attackers hid Windows Script Files (WSF) in ZIP archives and used Windows Script Host to run scripts that downloaded Locky ransomware. WSF was one of several delivery routes—not a universal method—and the behavior varied across the samples analysts examined.
What a Windows Script File does
A Windows Script File is a script container that Windows Script Host can execute. A WSF can combine scripting languages such as JScript and VBScript in one file. That flexibility was relevant to the Locky-related samples described by security researchers: the file acted as a downloader, not as the ransomware payload itself.
How the reported delivery chain worked
- Delivery: In campaigns described by the SANS Internet Storm Center, malspam messages carried ZIP attachments containing either .js or .wsf scripts. Netskope separately reported a Zepto/Locky-related WSF inside an archive shared through OneDrive.
- Execution: Once a recipient extracted and opened the script, Windows Script Host could execute it. The analyzed scripts were highly obfuscated and downloaded an encrypted or obfuscated binary, which was decoded on the local computer.
- Payload: The downloaded Locky malware then ran. SANS described the scripts as designed to download Locky and run it as a DLL.
The reports concern particular campaigns and samples. They do not establish that every WSF file delivered Locky, or that all Locky infections used WSF.
Why mixed-language scripts drew attention
Netskope noted that one WSF can interlace JScript and VBScript. It said this could complicate detection by engines that emulate only one of those languages. In contemporaneous reporting, SecurityWeek relayed Trend Micro researchers’ view that mixed scripting and a non-static file type could make some WSF containers harder to detect in certain sandbox and blacklist setups.
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Those are qualified observations about analysis and detection—not proof that WSF inherently evades security tools. Obfuscation, execution context, and the limits of a particular scanner or sandbox all matter.
What analysts observed in the examined samples
SANS reported different network behavior in the .js and .wsf samples it analyzed. The .js samples produced one Locky download followed by callback traffic; the .wsf samples produced three downloads and no post-infection traffic. These findings describe that sample set only. They are not reliable universal signatures for identifying every infection.
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What Locky did after execution
Microsoft’s Locky threat description documents family behaviors including encrypting files, displaying ransom instructions, changing registry values, and renaming encrypted files with extensions such as .locky and .zepto. The entry also records deletion of volume shadow copies in the variants it describes. These are documented Locky-family behaviors; they are not all confirmed for the particular WSF samples above.
How to think about defenses
The delivery chain suggests what to check when evaluating protections, but the cited reports do not rank products or establish that any one control stops WSF-delivered Locky. Microsoft advises controlling Office macros and running antimalware scans as part of broader Locky guidance. Macro restrictions alone should not be treated as protection against WSF execution: the reported attachment scripts were WSF or JS files, not necessarily Office documents.
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- Mail and archive handling: Does the control inspect ZIP contents and identify scripts inside archives?
- Script execution: Can it monitor Windows Script Host and provide visibility into what a script launches or downloads?
- Analysis: How does it handle obfuscated scripts and files that mix JScript with VBScript? What limitations apply to its sandbox or emulation?
- Cloud sharing: Can it inspect suspicious archives distributed through file-sharing services as well as email?
- Incident response: Does it retain enough event detail to trace the attachment, script, download, and resulting activity?
These are evaluation questions derived from the reported chain, not claims that a particular product performs better.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the historical statistics do—and do not—show
Microsoft reported that Windows 7 devices were 3.4 times more likely than Windows 10 devices to encounter ransomware from June to November 2017. This was a dated comparison across ransomware encounters, not a Locky-specific finding or a current measure of operating-system risk.
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Microsoft’s Locky guidance cautions: “There is no one-size-fits-all response if you have been victimized by ransomware. There is no guarantee that paying the ransom will give you access to your files.”
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