Spyware Information: Active Search
This application is spyware. Spyware software generally does not provide any services to you; rather, it is primarily designed to watch you as you use your computer or surf the Internet, and report this information to hackers, advertising companies or other individuals who have placed the spyware on your computer.
Spyware is often bundled with free software. The company which produces the free software gets paid by advertising companies for each computer that becomes "infected" with the spyware. To protect their revenue, the free software companies will sometimes force you to run the advertising spyware to use their free software.
- Size: 638,214 bytes
- Threat level: Medium (more info...)
- Detections: 14,314 this month: 1
- Author: 411Ferret
- Appeared: August, 2004
Research
- Advertising: When surfing the Internet, the spyware tends to hyperlink a given set of words. The URL is redirected when the user clicks on one these words. The basis.xml specifies the words that will be hyper-linked.
If the file is corrupted, it rectifies the correction by connecting to http://411.ferret.com. It may also redirect the browser to www.zestyfind.com. There is a list of external URLs to which the browser will be directed.
- Browser degradation: The text processing that this program does will slow down Internet Explorer.
- Privacy issues: None known.
- Privacy policy: None available.
- Security issues: This program downloads and installs code automatically without code-signing or other standard security techniques. A hacker can use this mechanism to infect your computer.
- Stability issues: None known.
Spyware Detection Stats
- Spyware Fingerprints: 91,859
- Detections: 6,792,650
- Detections this Month: 797
Spyware Search
Recommended
Keep your computer safe. Automatically keeps up-to-date to protect from the latest threats.
