These PUPs are Computer Malware NOT man's best friend!

What are PUPs, you ask? 

They're "Potentially Unwanted Programs" PUPs - get it?   They're the slightly less harmful cousins of malware like Trojans and Ransomware, installing things on your computer you neither want or need.  They’re intrusive  and can devour system resources and make your PC run like a real dog. Sorry I couldn't resist the pun!

When someone complains to us that their computer is running very slowly, usually it's these critters that are the real cause.  Technically they’re not as vicious as Trojans or Ransomware but they’re still pretty nasty because of the damage they can do to your system performance and compromise your privacy.

You might be wondering what exactly PUPs are, here are a few examples:

 

- Toolbars - most of these will track and report on your Internet usage under the guise of helping you on some tasks
- Search Agents - these will surreptitiously point you to sites that pay referrals to them- "Value" Finders - they do the same thing as Search Agents- Miscellaneous tracking software that reports on your browsing habits to advertisers

In July of 2013, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware began detecting and reporting PUPs separately in addition to more serious malware.  They don’t automatically delete PUPs but flag them for your review.  It’s up to you to choose whether you want to remove the software or not.

Our recommendation is always to delete these programs as they’re overhead that can dramatically slow down your computer not to mention other destructive or intrusive tasks.

For example, in November, 2013 MalwareBytes staff discovered a new type of threat used by some PUP peddlers - some include a Bitcoin miner that's installed on your system.  This is a serious threat and can cause serious damage to your system.

Here’s a little broader list of some of the most common kinds of PUP’s:

Pop-ups

Pop-unders
Ad inserts
Ad Overlays
Ad replacements
Browser Redirection
Altering your search results
Toolbars that bring no value
Hijacking search engines
Hijacking your home page
Inserting bookmarks
Creating excessive shortcuts on the desktop
Bundling programs that use installers with additional applications
Browser add-ons  

For an official listing of what the folks at Malwarebytes consider “Potentially Unwanted” check out their list at - http://www.malwarebytes.org/pup/

How do you get rid of PUPs?  Most good anti-malware programs can remove PUP’s. Some companies may call them other names but will identify and remove them.  One of the most user-friendly  of these is MalwareBytes which can be downloaded from www.cnet.com or www.download.com.  Be aware that most of these companies offer a Pro version and a Free version.  In our experience, the Free version works just fine cleaning up these nuisances as a one-time fix since they aren’t as sophisticated as Trojans and their more complex and destructive cousins.

Jeff Hoffman is an IT consultant with ACT Network Solutions specializing in network security, management and data protection.  He can be reached at jhoffman@act4networks.com.