Proactive Ransomware Early Warning System

Abstract

Ransomware has emerged as one of the most severe cybersecurity threats, encrypting sensitive data and demanding ransom for decryption. Traditional antivirus mechanisms often fail to detect new and evolving ransomware variants. This paper presents a Proactive Ransomware Early Warning System designed to detect and prevent ransomware activity during its initial stages. The system continuously monitors file directories and process behaviors to identify signs of encryption, such as abnormal entropy changes and mass file access. Built using Python, the system integrates modules like Watchdog for file tracking, Psutil for process monitoring, and Tkinter with Pystray for user alerts. When suspicious activity is detected, the tool alerts the user and can terminate malicious processes to prevent damage. Experimental results show that this lightweight and real-time system effectively provides early ransomware detection for personal and small office environments.