MiniMe Virus Ransomware 🔐 (.MINIME File) — Removal Guide

The Minime virus falls within the Chaos ransomware family. Harmful software of such sort encrypts all user’s data on the computer (photos, text files, excel tables, audio files, videos, etc) and adds its specific extension to every file, leaving the read_it.txt text files in every folder 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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Minime virus: what is known so far?

☝️ A strictly correct designation for the Minime would be “a Chaos family ransomware infection”.

Minime appends its extra .minime extension to every file’s name. For example, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be turned into “photo.jpg.minime”. Just like the Excel table with the name “table.xlsx” will become “table.xlsx.minime”, and so on.

In each folder that contains the encrypted files, a read_it.txt text file will be found. 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 usually contains instructions on how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is pretty much the scheme of the malefaction.

Minime outline:

The read_it.txt document accompanying the Minime malware provides the following dispiriting information:

Don\'t worry, you can return all your files!


All your files like documents, photos, databases and other important are encrypted


What guarantees do we give to you?


You can send 3 of your encrypted files and we decrypt it for free.


You must follow these steps To decrypt your files :   
1) Write on our e-mail :test@test.com ( In case of no answer in 24 hours check your spam folder
or write us to this e-mail: test2@test.com)


2) Obtain Bitcoin (You have to pay for decryption in Bitcoins.
After payment we will send you the tool that will decrypt all your files.)

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

An example of encrypted .minime files.

How did my computer get infected with Minime ransomware?

There is a huge number of possible ways of ransomware injection.

Nowadays, there are three most popular ways for malefactors to have ransomware settled in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer file transfer.

If you access your inbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, delivery agencies like FedEx, web-access providers, and whatnot, but whose “from” field is unknown to you, beware of opening those letters. They are very likely to have a harmful file attached to them. Thus it is even riskier to download any attachments that come with letters like these.

Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan horse model. A Trojan is an object that infiltrates into your computer disguised as something different. For example, you download an installer of some program you need or an update for some program. But what is unpacked reveals itself a harmful agent that corrupts your data. Since the update wizard can have any title and any icon, you have to make sure that you can trust the source of the stuff you’re downloading. The best thing is to trust the software developers’ official websites.

As for the peer-to-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 websites. Also, it is a good idea to scan the directory containing the downloaded objects with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.

How do I get rid of the Minime virus?

It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Minime virus will most likely install Vidar Stealer on your PC to seize your credentials to various accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). That program can extract your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.

Often tamperers would unblock several of your files to prove that they do have the decryption program. As Minime virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a way to undo its work. However, the decryption tools are constantly upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.

Of course, if the criminals succeed in encrypting someone’s critical files, the hopeless person will probably comply with their demands. However, paying to criminals does not necessarily mean that you’re getting your files back. It is still dangerous. After receiving the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about ransomware developers simply vanishing after getting the money without even writing back.

The best safety measure against ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud drive or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be insufficient. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working upon when it all started. But at least it is something. It is also advisable to scan your PC for viruses with the antivirus program after the system restoration.

There are other ransomware products, besides Minime, that work similarly. For instance, Neon, Neqp, Xaro, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Minime are the ransom amount and the method of encryption. The rest is almost identical: files become encrypted, their extensions altered, ransom notes appear in each folder containing encrypted files.

Some lucky users were able to decode the blocked files with the aid of the free software provided by anti-malware developers. Sometimes the racketeers mistakenly send the decryption code to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the injured part to restore the files. But obviously, one should never rely on such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a bandits’ technology to lay their hands on the money of their victims.

How to avert ransomware attack?

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

You can defend yourself from its infiltration taking several easy steps:

• Never open any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has nothing to do with something you are waiting for (can you win in a lottery without participating in it?). In case the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the questionable letter with caution. A hoax letter will always contain mistakes.
• Do not use cracked or untrusted software. Trojan viruses are often spreaded as an element of cracked software, possibly as a “patch” to prevent the license check. But dubious programs are difficult to distinguish from reliable ones, as trojans may also have the functionality you need. You can try searching for information about this software product 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 program will be a perfect defense for your personal computer.

Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft²

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft³.

Download Removal Tool.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your system.

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

Press “Install” button.

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your computer for Minime infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has completed, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

Frequently Asked Questions

🤔 How can I open “.minime” files?Is it possible to open“.minime” files?

Negative. That is why ransomware is so frustrating. Until you decode the “.minime” files you will not be able to access them.

🤔 What should I do to make my files accessible as fast as possible?

If the “.minime” 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. There are other ways to beat ransomware, but they take time.

🤔 Will GridinSoft Anti-Malware remove all the encrypted files alongside the Minime virus?

Of course not. The encrypted files are not harmful, so they won’t be deleted.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware only deals with actual threats. The malware that has infiltrated your system is probably still active and running scans from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your PC after the infection. As it has been said above, the Minime virus does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can steal your account credentials and provide criminals with easy access to your PC after some time.

🤔 What should I do if the Minime ransomware has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation code.

In such an unfortunate situation, you need to have a flash memory drive with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the cleaning. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system boots and encodes any new files created or brought into your computer. To block this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run upon system boot. Consider reading our manual on running Windows in Safe Mode.

🤔 And what should I do now?

Some of the encrypted data can be located elsewhere.

• If you exchanged your critical files via email, you could still download them from your online mail server.
• You may have shared photographs or videos with your friends or relatives. Just ask them to send those pictures back to you.
• If you have initially got any of your files from the Web, you can try to do it again.
• Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud drives might have all those files too.
• It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a portable device, mobile, flash memory, etc.

USEFUL TIP: You can employ data recovery programs⁴ to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, removing the original ones. In the video below, you can learn how to use PhotoRec for such a restoration, but be advised: you can do it only after you kill the virus with an anti-malware program.

Also, you can contact the following official fraud and scam sites to report this attack:

• In the United States: On Guard Online;
• In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
• In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
• In Australia: SCAMwatch;
• In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
• In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
• In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
• In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;

To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.

1. My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
2. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
3. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
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