Adware.Vaudix

Posted: September 2, 2013

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	115

First Seen:	September 2, 2013
Last Seen:	May 23, 2021
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Vaudix is a streaming media add-on that can be installed by its website, but may be found bundled with other applications or promoted through advertising networks. Malware analysts have seen no current indications of Vaudix including illegal functions, but do categorize Vaudix as adware, due to its implementation of what typically is considered excessive advertising content. Removing Vaudix from your computer is advised for keeping your browser protected from advertisement-based PC threats, and would be commendable, regardless, for all similar software that relies on promotional efforts centered around media copyright violation.

Vaudix: the Short Road from Streaming Movies to Streaming Advertisements

Not every PC user is as eager to pay for their entertainment as they are to acquire it, and it is with this knowledge that questionable media-streaming sites, like those that promote, Vaudix most often are maintained. Vaudix usually is described as a necessary add-on that allows you to have new access to movies and television shows, but Vaudix does not have any meaningful media playback capabilities and doesn't fulfill the same functions as a standard codec package. PC users who are more eager to watch shows than they are to keep their Web browsers safe may find almost immediately that Vaudix's primary purpose is engaging in advertising.

Advertising features verified as being seen through Vaudix include search engine hijacks that redirect the user to unwanted websites or modify search results to provide 'affiliate' links, along with additional advertisements injected directly into other Web pages. Although these advertisements may be formatted as highlighted keywords embedded in the site's text, but aren't affiliated with the Web pages being forced to load them. In the past, malware experts often find these advertisements to be exploitable by third parties using disguised phishing attacks, vulnerabilities and other means of collecting information or installing toxic software.

Additional features displayed by new variants of Vaudix may not necessarily be covered here; since Vaudix and most related adware programs include self-updating functions that launch automatically.

Plucking the Advertisements out of Your Software Bundle

Malware researchers have seen examples of Vaudix being installed in solitude, but also have found Vaudix to be widely associated with Installerex software and other utilities that bundle broad types of Potentially Unwanted Programs together. Generalized, thorough anti-malware and anti-adware system scans can detect other add-ons installed at the same time as Vaudix and can be invaluable for removing the detected software. Deleting Vaudix adware by hand typically provides an incomplete uninstallation which may leave your browser at risk.

Even though security applications can detect adware bundles and other threats, safe downloading behavior is the most painless way of keeping your browser at a safe distance from Vaudix's installation points. As is almost always the case, PC users who make a habit of visiting sites harboring illegal activities, like streaming copyright-protected movies, are some of the first victims to fall to unwanted Vaudix advertisements and all the security problems that are implied by them.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}SOFTWARE\Classes\Vauudix.VauudixSOFTWARE\Classes\Vauudix.Vauudix.1.3HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}SP_09de8db5

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

Viaaudix