LOSTTRUST Ransomware 🔐 (.LOSTTRUSTENCODED File) — Removal Guide

The Losttrust virus belongs with the ransomware type of infection. Ransomware of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the PC (photos, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and appends its specific extension to every file, creating the !LostTrustEncoded.txt files in each directory with the encrypted files.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is Losttrust virus?

Losttrust will add its extra .losttrustencoded extension to every file’s title. For instance, an image entitled “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.losttrustencoded”. Just like the Excel sheet with the name “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.losttrustencoded”, and so forth.

In each directory with the encrypted files, a !LostTrustEncoded.txt text file will be created. It is a ransom money memo. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other remarks. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to buy the decryption tool from the Losttrust developers. You can get this decryptor after contacting Tor website by email. That is it.

Losttrust Overview:

The !LostTrustEncoded.txt file coming in package with the Losttrust ransomware states the following:

To the board of directors.

Your network has been attacked through various vulnerabilities found in your system.
We have gained full access to the entire network infrastructure.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Our team has an extensive background in legal and so called white hat hacking.
However, clients usually considered the found vulnerabilities to be minor and poorly
paid for our services.
So we decided to change our business model. Now you understand how important it is
to allocate a good budget for IT security.
This is serious business for us and we really don\'t want to ruin your privacy,
reputation and a company.
We just want to get paid for our work whist finding vulnerabilities in various networks.

Your files are currently encrypted with our tailor made state of the art algorithm.
Don\'t try to terminate unknown processes, don\'t shutdown the servers, do not unplug drives,
all this can lead to partial or complete data loss.

We have also managed to download a large amount of various, crucial data from your network.
A complete list of files and samples will be provided upon request.

We can decrypt a couple of files for free. The size of each file must be no more than 5 megabytes.

All your data will be successfully decrypted immediately after your payment.
You will also receive a detailed list of vulnerabilities used to gain access to your network.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

If you refuse to cooperate with us, it will lead to the following consequences for your company:
1. All data downloaded from your network will be published for free or even sold
2. Your system will be re-attacked continuously, now that we know all your weak spots
3. We will also attack your partners and suppliers using info obtained from your network
4. It can lead to legal actions against you for data breaches

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                    !!!!Instructions for contacting our team!!!!
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   ---> Download and install TOR browser from this site : hxxps://torproject.org
   ---> For contact us via LIVE CHAT open our website : -
   ---> If Tor is restricted in your area, use VPN
   ---> All your Data will be published in 3 Days if NO contact made
   ---> Your Decryption keys will be permanently destroyed in 3 Days if no contact made
   ---> Your Data will be published if you will hire third-party negotiators to contact us

In the picture below, you can see what a folder with files encrypted by the Losttrust looks like. Each filename has the “.losttrustencoded” extension appended to it.

That is how encrypted “.losttrustencoded” files look.

How did my machine catch Losttrust ransomware?

There are plenty of possible ways of ransomware infiltration.

Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for evil-doers to have the Losttrust virus settled in your digital environment. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer file transfer.

• If you open your inbox and see letters that look just like notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is strange to you, beware of opening those letters. They are most likely to have a harmful file enclosed in them. Thus it is even more dangerous to download any attachments that come with letters like these.
• Another option for ransom hunters is a Trojan virus scheme. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your PC disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer for some program you need or an update for some software. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that encrypts your data. Since the update package can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The best thing is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
• As for the peer file transfer protocols like BitTorrent or eMule, the danger is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Internet. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How to remove ransomware?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your data, the Losttrust virus will probably install Vidar Stealer on your machine to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That spyware can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Remove Losttrust with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common Ransomware as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove Losttrust as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Trojan Killer for “Losttrust” removal on locked PC

In situations where it becomes impossible to download antivirus applications directly onto the infected computer due to malware blocking access to websites, an alternative solution is to utilize the Trojan Killer application.

There is a really little number of security tools that are able to be set up on the USB drives, and antiviruses that can do so in most cases require to obtain quite an expensive license. For this instance, I can recommend you to use another solution of GridinSoft - Trojan Killer Portable. It has a 14-days cost-free trial mode that offers the entire features of the paid version. This term will definitely be 100% enough to wipe malware out.

Trojan Killer is a valuable tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, helping you to effectively remove malware from infected computers. Now, we will walk you through the process of using Trojan Killer from a USB flash drive to scan and remove malware on an infected PC. Remember, always obtain permission to scan and remove malware from a computer that you do not own.

Step 1: Download & Install Trojan Killer on a Clean Computer:

1. Go to the official GridinSoft website (gridinsoft.com) and download Trojan Killer to a computer that is not infected.

2. Insert a USB flash drive into this computer.

3. Install Trojan Killer to the "removable drive" following the on-screen instructions.

4. Once the installation is complete, launch Trojan Killer.

Step 2: Update Signature Databases:

5. After launching Trojan Killer, ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

6. Click "Update" icon to download the latest signature databases, which will ensure the tool can detect the most recent threats.

Step 3: Scan the Infected PC:

7. Safely eject the USB flash drive from the clean computer.

8. Boot the infected computer to the Safe Mode.

9. Insert the USB flash drive.

10. Run tk.exe

11. Once the program is open, click on "Full Scan" to begin the malware scanning process.

Step 4: Remove Found Threats:

12. After the scan is complete, Trojan Killer will display a list of detected threats.

13. Click on "Cure PC!" to remove the identified malware from the infected PC.

14. Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the removal process.

Step 5: Restart Your Computer:

15. Once the threats are removed, click on "Restart PC" to reboot your computer.

16. Remove the USB flash drive from the infected computer.

Congratulations on effectively removing Losttrust and the concealed threats from your computer! You can now have peace of mind, knowing that they won't resurface again. Thanks to Gridinsoft's capabilities and commitment to cybersecurity, your system is now protected.

Sometimes tamperers would unblock several of your files so you know that they indeed have the decryption program. As Losttrust virus is a relatively new ransomware, safety measures designers have not yet found a way to reverse its work. However, the decoding instruments are frequently upgraded, so the solution may soon arrive.

Of course, if the criminals succeed in encrypting someone’s essential files, the desperate person will probably fulfill their demands. However, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your data back. It is still risky. After getting the ransom, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the victim. There were reports of ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the ransom without even bothering to reply.

The optimal safety measure against ransomware is to have a system restore point or the copies of your critical files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be insufficient. Your most important thing could be that file you were working on when it all happened. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system restoration.

Losttrust is not the only ransomware of its kind, since there are other specimens of ransomware out there that act in the same manner. For instance, Deep, Days, Azop, and some others. The two basic differences between them and the Losttrust are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: files become inaccessible, their extensions altered, ransom notes are found in every folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky people were able to decrypt the blocked files with the aid of the free tools provided by anti-malware experts. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom note. Such an extraordinary fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How сan I avoid ransomware attack?

Losttrust ransomware has no endless power, so as any similar malware.

You can protect your computer from ransomware injection within three easy steps:

• Never open any emails from unknown senders with unknown addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are expecting (can you win in a money prize draw without even taking part in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious letter carefully. A fake email will always have mistakes.
• Do not use cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often distributed as a part of cracked products, most likely as a “patch” which prevents the license check. But dubious programs are very hard to tell from reliable software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. You can try to find information about this program on the anti-malware forums, but the optimal solution is not to use such programs at all.
• And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, scan them with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a powerful defense for your system.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.losttrustencoded” files?Are the “.losttrustencoded” files accessible?

Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.losttrustencoded” files first. Then you will be able to open them.

🤔 The encrypted files are very important to me. How can I decrypt them quickly?

If the “.losttrustencoded” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. If not, there is still a function of System Restore but it needs a Restore Point to be previously saved. The rest of the methods require patience.

🤔 If GridinSoft deletes the Losttrust malware, will it also delete my files that were encrypted?

Absolutely not! Unlike the ransomware program itself, the encrypted files do not jeopardize your system.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with real viruses. The ransomware that has attacked your device is must be still active and running scans periodically to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the initial attack. As it has been said above, the Losttrust malware comes with the company. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC in the future.

🤔 What to do if the Losttrust virus has blocked my PC and I can’t get the activation key.

If that happened, you need to have a flash memory card with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to execute the procedure. The point is that the ransomware runs automatically as the system launches and encrypts any new files created or brought into your computer. To stop this function – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 What can I do right now?

Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.

• If you sent or received your critical files by email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared images or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those images back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
• Your messengers, social media pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, cellphone, memory stick, etc.

HINT: You can employ file recovery programs¹ to get your lost data back since ransomware blocks the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the video below, you can see how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you eradicate the virus with an anti-malware program.

1. Here’s the list of Top 10 Data Recovery Software Of 2023.