This data is then shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for financial gain. They often record browsing activity (browsing and search engine histories) and gather users' personal information (IP addresses, geolocations, and other details). Data tracking capabilities are a major concern with PUAs. Unwanted applications can also hijack browsers. The ads diminish the browsing experience (i.e., overlay web pages, thereby limiting visibility and browsing speed), redirect to dangerous websites, and stealthily download/install PUAs. They can also deliver intrusive advertisements by employing tools to enable third party graphical content to be displayed on any site. As mentioned, these apps generate redirects to untrustworthy, deceptive/scam and malicious sites.
They may seem legitimate and offer a broad array of "useful" features, which are often nonfunctional. In general, PUAs share many similarities.
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Software of this type usually requires purchase to become operational, however, even after payment, it tends to remain nonoperational. It spreads unwanted applications other than Smart Mac Booster including Advanced Mac Tuneup, Mac Cleanup Pro, MacKeeper, and dozens of others.
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Attempting to obtain this application leads users to the promotional web page of Smart Mac Booster.įollowing the instructions to download the app actually results in download of the maccleaner.pkg file, which is known to proliferate PUAs. To eliminate this threat, Chksumm recommends Advanced Mac Cleaner. The "Scan Now" button starts a fake scan, which "detects" a high-risk virus called "Bankworm". Furthermore, the page lists the user's device details, such as brand, OS version, browser, IP address, Internet provider, and location. When visitors close the pop-up, the site shows a different web page that reiterates the warning from the previous window and adds that a 'full system scan' is required to locate and remove the harmful files/applications. Pressing "OK" will allegedly begin the repair process. Once accessed, Chksumm displays a pop-up window containing a message that claims that a website visited earlier has infected the MacOS (Mac Operating System) with a virus. Most visits to Chksumm occur inadvertently, often via redirects caused by intrusive advertisements or PUAs. Therefore, such claims cannot be trusted. Note that no website can detect problems within operating systems. The deceptive web pages show alerts of various 'threats' and 'issues' supposedly found on visitors' devices and offer software for their elimination. This variant promotes the Smart Mac Booster Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). Chksumm is a family of scam websites designed to promote dubious applications, which are typically fake and nonfunctional.