Mind Ransomware

The Mind Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that may damage the media of your PC with encryption, as well as present other symptoms. Even though the Mind Ransomware is, ostensibly, in development for purely educational purposes, con artists may modify this threat or bundle it with other ones with ill-minded intent. A combination of backing up your files and removing the Mind Ransomware with dedicated anti-malware programs can keep both your data and the rest of your PC safe.

Getting in the Head of Another Encryption Attack

Not every Trojan that malware researchers identify falls into the classification of part of a well-known family like Hidden Tear, EDA2, or other projects often in use with RaaS business models. 'Lone wolf' threats that have no specific connections to these larger groups of Trojans can have more unpredictable distribution methods, although, like the Mind Ransomware, the actual payloads rarely stray from the same fundamental philosophies. The Mind Ransomware's most distinctive feature as a file-locking Trojan is its unverifiable claim of being 'educational' software currently.

The Mind Ransomware first, scans the PC for media like documents, spreadsheets, or pictures, and encrypts them using an AES-based cipher, which is one of the most popular encoding methods for threats of this type. Afterward, it inserts a '.mind' extension in their names while leaving the original extension in place ('picture.gif' would become 'picture.gif.mind'). Highly similarly to the MindSystem Ransomware, the Mind Ransomware also generates separate text files containing the list of encoded media and the key to decrypting them.

Symptoms of the Mind Ransomware infections that may be apparent after these attacks include:

• Your desktop may switch to an image included in the Mind Ransomware's payload.
• Additional text messages or pop-ups may deliver instructions on how to acquire a decryption key or software for unlocking your encrypted files.
• You may experience issues with opening security-related programs like the Windows Task Manager or the Registry Editor.

Out of the Mindset of Having Vulnerable Files

As one of a minority of Trojans not intended for harmful purposes apparently, the Mind Ransomware is, nonetheless, at risk of being deployed in such attacks, regardless, similarly to Utku Sen's Hidden Tear. Even decrypting prominent AES ciphers isn't always possible practically, and PC users without backups should consider the merits of storing copies of their files in locations safe from encoding or deletion. Solutions malware experts often espouse for their efficacy include removable storage (such as a DVD or USB drive), and network or 'cloud' servers.

No variants of the Mind Ransomware have yet been in observance for live deployment against victims. Examples of installation exploits threat actors often use when distributing file-encrypting threats include attaching Trojan installers to email spam, concealing them in the payloads of exploit kits on compromised websites, or using brute-force tools to install the Trojan directly. Anti-malware products should be capable of identifying and removing the Mind Ransomware in all but the latter case, which victims can best prevent by using secure, unique logins.

The Mind Ransomware could be using its premise of education as a legal cover for its author, or it may be a POC program legitimately. However, the regrettable nature of Trojan development means that even a source code made for good reasons is viable for harmful ones.