Your files have been corrupted by Consciousness Ransomware if you can find the “.consciousness” extension appended to their names. What does this extension mean? It is just a marker, and you will not be able to read your files again by removing it. In fact, nothing can be done about the files to make them readable again. The infection encrypts them, which means that the data is scrambled, and it is not possible to unscramble it manually. Can you use third-party decryptors? It is unlikely that you would find a decryptor that works with this malware, and even if you do, you have to watch out for schemers. They know that people are struggling with ransomware, and they might create fake decryptors just to execute other infections or steal money. So, what can you do? Our hope is that you do not need to decrypt any of your files and that you can delete Consciousness Ransomware without your conscience telling you otherwise.
Did you find the “Consciousness Ransomware Text Message.txt” file before you even discovered that your own files were encrypted? This file is dropped so that you would open it and read the message inside. The purpose of this message is to convince you that you have to pay a ransom of $400 in Bitcoin (the sum is instructed to be paid to the 3Cg2NyeuivMCCtBaLDc4paNj8TgHGZqA5p wallet) and then confirm the payment by emailing securityit123@protonmail.com. First of all, you do not want to pay any ransom because there is no guarantee that you would get anything in return. All you have is a vague promise from cybercriminals, and we are sure that you understand that their promises cannot be trusted. Second, you do not want to email cybercriminals because the moment they identify you as a victim, they can start sending you extortion emails. And even more spam than usual could flood your inbox. That is the last thing you need because malware and scams can be introduced via spam. Did you know that Consciousness Ransomware itself might be spread via misleading spam messages with fake file attachments?
When we checked the wallet that Consciousness Ransomware instructs to pay the ransom to, it was empty. Perhaps this malware is not yet attacking systems aggressively. Perhaps the victims cannot afford to pay the ransom. And perhaps victims are smart enough to know that they will achieve nothing by paying the ransom. Unfortunately, ransomware is booming these days. Consciousness Ransomware can be replaced by Jdyi Ransomware, Fonix Ransomware, CLUB Ransomware, or any other infection alike. This is why it is so important to take all available security measures. First and foremost, of course, all Windows users need to review their security tools. Are they up to date? Are they reliable? Are they strong enough to catch all ransomware components? If you have no security software installed whatsoever, your chances of facing a file-encryptor are extremely high. Another thing to worry about are file backups. Whether you use virtual cloud or external drives, you must have copies of important personal files stored somewhere safe.
If you can replace the files corrupted by Consciousness Ransomware with backup copies, you do not need to worry about decrypting them all. Hopefully, you are in this position, and now you can focus on removing the threat, not getting your files back. So, what about the removal of Consciousness Ransomware? As we have established already, reliable security software must be installed on every Windows system. If you are going to install it, the active malware will be deleted automatically, and you will not need to do anything. If security/anti-malware software does not exist, you need to delete the infection manually, and that is always easier said than done. In this particular situation especially. We do not know where the .exe file of this malware could be, and so we cannot help with the manual removal. Of course, if we can help you with anything else, you should post a comment below. Our team of experts will answer all questions and will try to assist you as soon as possible.