Minds.Park removal

Greetings,

My Windows 10 PC has a malware known as a Chrome Extension Minds.Park. I've sent Bitdefender logs over two weeks ago. They lost the first logs, after I uploaded the logs again I got a generic answer to uninstall and reinstall my browser. I did that a month ago and it didn't work. They never shared what the logs showed if anything. Bitdefender Total Security can't detect it neither can it detect it in Rescue Environment. AdwCleaner a free tool detects it, quarantines it and deleted it. Farbar Tool deleted it. However, it comes right back. I've used MSRT, Microsoft Safety Scanner and ran an Offline Scan with Defender and none detect it. I've ran two Adlice Antivirus, ESET, and Rogue Killer and none detect it. Does anybody in the community have any ideas? Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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Alexandru_BD

Hello,

To me it sounds like that extension is behaving like malware with system level persistence. Malicious extensions often reinstall via Chrome’s enterprise policies. Try this:

Press Win + R, type: regedit and press Enter. Navigate to these keys and delete suspicious entries related to Minds.Park. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome.
Also check for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\Extensions and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\Extensions.

Look for strange IDs (a long 32-character string) that don’t match your known extensions.
If this malware reinstalls extensions via background tasks, Open Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc) and review all scheduled tasks. Delete any tasks pointing to random executables, PowerShell scripts, or Chrome-related reinstalls. Press Win + R, type services.msc and check for unknown or suspicious services.

Also remove residual extension files, if any. Chrome extensions are stored here:

%LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions. Delete the folder corresponding to the malicious extension ID.

Also check:

%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Google\Chrome\Application

Keep in mind that if you’re syncing Chrome, the extension may keep coming back from Google Sync. Follow these steps as well, to be sure:

Go to chrome://settings/syncSetup/advanced (or Settings → Sync and Google services) and turn off sync completely. Remove the extension manually from chrome://extensions/. Reset Chrome: Settings → Reset and clean up → Restore settings to original defaults.

Finally, check Proxy and ensure no forced proxy is set. Go to Settings → Network & Internet → Proxy to check this.

Let me know if anything here helped.

Regards

Flexx

Mindspark is generally classified as adware, or a potentially unwanted program (PUP), rather than outright malware. This adware typically comes bundled with free software and changes browser settings—such as the homepage or default search engine—while displaying ads or causing redirects.

I have personally requested detection for Mindspark adware multiple times over the past few years, but the Bitdefender Malware Research Team has consistently responded that since Mindspark adware is not considered harmful to consumers, detection for it has not been included in Bitdefender consumer products.

Detection for Mindspark adware is only available in Bitdefender business and enterprise products.

So, you’re definitely not alone in facing this issue. If you’re looking to remove Mindspark adware, I recommend exploring alternative removal methods or using third-party tools that specialize in adware cleanup. You can check the links provided below for more information on how to remove Mindspark adware from your system.

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-pup-optional-mindspark/

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-win32-adware-mindspark/

https://support.eset.com/en/kb6551-you-receive-a-notification-jsmindsparke-potentially-unwanted-application

Regards

Dadybear1234

Hi Flexx,

I first found out about the "Chrome Extension Minds.Park" from running AdwCleaner by Malwarebytes. I've run AdwCleaner over 30 times since AdwCleaner detected Minds.Park. Please note it is exactly how I typed it Minds.Park. No Win or 32 attached to it, it's just Minds.Park. The 30+ times AdwCleaner detected Minds.Park it quarantined it and deleted it. If I run AdwCleaner 10 seconds later it detects it again it comes right back. Thank you for enclosing the links however I've used every single Antivirus that was mentioned in those articles first I used Malwarebytes Premium it did not detect it. Then I ran Bitdefender Total Security and it did not detect it. I also ran BD in Rescue Environment. It did not detect it. In between the Malwarebytes Premium and BDefender I went to Malwarebytes Forum and a Forum Pro gave me instructions twice. First starting with cleaning Chrome and Edge browsers. Then resetting both Chrome and Edge browsers. Then #1: Set of instructions a few more cleaning steps similar to the above he had me run 3 different Tools most detected Minds.Park. However, none either Quarantined or Deleted Minds.Park. #2 set of instructions I completed all the cleaning of things again resetting both browsers. He then gave me names of four Tools this time most importantly was the Farbar Tool FRST.exe I believe it was. He had me download a FRST.txt and said on the Forum do not anybody try using these instructions that .txt is to be placed on the same downloads folder as FRST.exe so when I run FRST.exe again known as the Farbar Tool it would run in a Custom Way built for my specific system those other three Tools were run most quarantined Minds.Park. Farbar Tool quarantined and deleted it and I uploaded the logs to him I read the .txt (the new logs) I saw that the Farbar Tool Quarantined and Deleted Minds.Park. I got my hopes up I immediately ran AdwCleaner and it came right back. Wow SOB it came right back again. I was feeling bad for this nice man from Malwarebytes Forum I wasn't going to bother him again. This all took about three 18 hour days. I waited a couple days. I noticed that I received an email saying I had a message waiting for me at Malwarebytes Forum. It was from the same Malwarebytes Pro he suggested a couple of things I already tried (he didn't know it) and wished me luck the poor guy I burned him out. Going back a few weeks and AI told me after asking it (since Malwarebytes Premium didn't get rid of a Minds.Park and didn't even detect it) I heard good things about Bitdefender do you think it would detect a Minds.Park and delete it? AI answered in a technical way I don't remember exactly how it was put that Malwarebytes Premium is a good third-party security app but Bitdefender when it scans scans the same way as Malwarebytes but it also scans this way too and it should not only detect the Minds.Park also it should quarantine it and delete it. I signed up for Bitdefender Total Security and when a ran a Full System Scan it didn't even detect it. I then wasted two weeks I ran the download Bitdefender told me to but after a few days I heard nothing so I sent an email it's reply was they Lost the logs I uploaded the logs again and about 6 days whet by the email said try resetting your browser and if that doesn't work uninstall Chrome and reinstall Chrome. That was it I to this day have no idea what the logs said and I sent two emails asking about them never getting a reply. I'll probably unsubscribe from Bitdefender Total Security. Not because they didn't find the Minds.Park because I've never experienced in my life such terrible support from anything from Antivirus Programs to purchasing a car or a set of tires or something. Starting 5 days ago I downloaded and ran every one of the Antivirus programs and tools mentioned in the two links and the K# update from Windows I did all the steps except Internet Explorer and since it runs in the background with Edge I never thought about that one but all those tools and or antivirus didn't even detect the Minds.Park. Although to my knowledge the Minds.Park hasn't done a single thing Yet I don't want it on my system. I appreciate all the trouble you went through for me.

I also apologize for any bad spelling or grammar I'm typing this on my phone and I have a headache which prevents me from looking to good at what I'm typing. It looks readable to me. I appreciate your attention to this matter! Respectfully, Barry

Flexx

Since all the in-depth steps have already been performed to no avail, let’s start with the basics. Kindly check if the following steps help you:

1) Restart your PC in safe mode. You can follow this guide: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2129/

2) Open the Run command and execute the following commands one by one:

temp – delete all the files in the folder.

%temp% – delete all the files in the folder.

prefetch – delete all the files in the folder.

3) Run Disk Cleanup using this guide: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/disk-cleanup-in-windows-8a96ff42-5751-39ad-23d6-434b4d5b9a68

4) Reset the Windows host file to default. You can find instructions here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-reset-the-hosts-file-back-to-the-default-c2a43f9d-e176-c6f3-e4ef-3500277a6dae

5) Reset your Google Chrome web browsers: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en

6) Restart your PC in normal mode by deselecting the option you selected while running the system in Safe Mode, then click 'Apply.'

7) Download BleachBit from https://www.bleachbit.org/download . After installing, open it and follow the steps shown in the image below.

After selecting the checkbox as shown in the image above under the Preferences section, click Close, then close the entire BleachBit software. Reopen BleachBit, and you will see that the new winapp2.ini file has been downloaded and appears in the BleachBit interface.

Next, check all the boxes from start to end, selecting all the software options available. Even if a warning appears for some options, click OK and continue selecting the others.

Once everything is selected, click Clean in the top bar of the BleachBit software and let it run. It’s recommended to run the cleaning process 2-3 times.

Note: This will remove junk files for all the software installed on your device. It will also clear cache and other temporary files from all your web browsers.

After successful cleaning, close BleachBit, restart your Windows device, and let us know if the issue still persists.

Regards