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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

🤔 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.