What is Consciousness Ransomware?
Consciousness Ransomware is a malicious application that might encrypt files available on an infected device. Our researchers say that if the malware encrypts files, they should be marked with the. consciousness extension, for example, roses.jpg.consciousness. However, the tool might not encrypt anything, as our researchers came across a variant that only displayed a ransom note. You can learn more about the malware and the note it should show if you read the rest of this article. If you want to learn how the threat could be erased, you could check the instructions available at the end of this article. They show how to look for the malicious application’s data and how to erase it manually. Of course, the malware can be removed with a legitimate antimalware tool too. All you have to do is pick a reliable tool and do a full scan of your system.
Where does Consciousness Ransomware come from?
Malicious applications such as Consciousness Ransomware often travel with spam emails. Therefore, one way to guard your system against such threats is to be extra careful when it comes to opening files or links received via email. Always make sure that they come from trustworthy senders. However, even if the sender seems legit, you should still inspect the message and check the attached data before opening it. Another way to distribute such malicious applications is to promote links initializing their installation process via pop-ups and advertisements or uploading malicious launchers onto torrent and other file-sharing websites. Therefore, we recommend staying away from file-sharing websites and unreliable pop-ups and ads. Plus, if you have to interact with data that you do not know to be reliable for certain, make sure you scan it with a reliable antimalware tool first.
How does Consciousness Ransomware work?
The variant that our researchers came across only showed a ransom note claiming that files on the device got encrypted. Nonetheless, it appeared that none of the files were locked. However, there might be other variants out there, and the sample we found might have been a test version. In any case, one way or another, users who encounter Consciousness Ransomware might see a message starting with: “Hello. Your files has been encrypted successfully.” The ransom note might also say that the system was infected with Trojans, although our researchers did not notice such behavior.
The rest of the message should explain that the only way to decrypt files is to pay 400 US dollars to the hackers behind the malware. After the payment is made, the message asks to get in touch with hackers via the given email. We do not recommend doing any of this whether your files were encrypted or not because you cannot know for sure that hackers will do as they promise. Thus, if you think that 400 US dollars is a rather large sum and do not want to risk losing it, we advise ignoring the ransom note and deleting Consciousness Ransomware.
How to erase Consciousness Ransomware?
There are usually two ways to get rid of such threats. One of them is to erase their data manually. The instructions available below show how you could delete Consciousness Ransomware manually. However, keep in mind that there might be other malware versions, so our instructions might not work for everyone. Consequently, you may want to get a legitimate antimalware tool that would delete Consciousness Ransomware from your system if you end up receiving this threat.
Restart your system in Safe Mode with Networking
Windows 8/Windows 10
- Click Windows key+I if you have Windows 8 or open the Start menu if you use Windows 10.
- Click the Power button.
- Press and hold the Shift key and click Restart.
- Select Troubleshoot and pick Advanced Options.
- Click Restart after the Startup Settings window gets loaded.
- Press the F5 key to restart in Safe Mode with Networking.
Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7
- Navigate to Start, access the Shutdown options, and click Restart.
- Press and hold the F8 key when the device starts restarting.
- Choose Safe Mode with Networking from the Advanced Boot Options window.
- Click Enter and log on to the computer.
Delete Consciousness Ransomware
- Press Windows key+E.
- Search these directories:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
%USERPROFILE%\Downloads
%TEMP% - Look for the malware’s installer, right-click the malicious file, and press Delete.
- Exit File Explorer.
- Empty Recycle Bin.
- Restart the computer.
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