How a simple Downloads organizer is being used to stop ScreenConnect scams

I created Mouzi (https://github.com/hsr88/mouzi) because my "Downloads" folder looked like a digital dumping ground. The app has grown significantly since then, but I never expected anyone to use it as protection against remote access scams. And yet - it's probably the most interesting use case I've heard of so far.

Last week, I received an email from Peter. Peter fixes computers for everyday people - the ones who call in a panic when something stops working and they have no idea why. He wrote to me saying he uses Mouzi to fight scams. This surprised me, because how? After all, Mouzi is meant for sorting files.

It turned out that Peter is using the software to protect his clients from "ScreenConnect" scams. The scenario usually goes like this: the victim answers the phone, hears a friendly voice talking about a "virus," and - following instructions - downloads a remote access tool sent by the fake "support."

I’ve watched enough Scammer Payback on YouTube to know what a plague this is abroad (the scale is probably smaller here in Poland, though it’s still an issue). The worst part is that ScreenConnect is completely legitimate software used by IT departments worldwide. That's exactly why antivirus programs don't block it, and the victim only has to click once for the scammer to gain remote access to the computer - to banking, files, everything. Peter was looking for something that would intercept this file in a split second, the moment it's downloaded, before anyone could even run it.

And this is where Mouzi steps in. Peter wrote a single rule: if a downloaded file has "screenconnect" in its name, move it immediately to a safe location. Not after a scan, not after a warning - the file disappears from the Downloads folder before the victim even looks at it. Peter claims the program is fast enough to preempt a click from an unsuspecting person. After solving a few technical difficulties and exchanging some emails, he successfully implemented the tool into his workflow. Now, every single one of his clients will have Mouzi installed as their first line of defense.

By the way, a funny thing came up here, because one of Peter's main issues at the beginning was... bad naming in the interface. At one point he wrote: "I think I got it! Your 'Edit' button really means Save!!!!!". Well, lesson learned - time for some UX tweaks!

Thanks to Peter's email, I now have a few new ideas for Mouzi's development. He threw in some concrete suggestions: a "safe trash" option or simpler name matching. Instead of just complex regular expressions (regex), I'll add an option for simple phrase typing (e.g., "file name contains..."). This will make Mouzi accessible to everyone, not just advanced users.

Thank you to Peter for the support, brilliant feedback, and new ideas.

P.S. Yes, Peter agreed to let me write about this case.

P.P.S. Yes, in the next update, I will change the "Edit" button to "Save"!