FunDial

Posted: August 21, 2012

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.

Ranking:	7,562
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	6,031

First Seen:	August 21, 2012
Last Seen:	October 13, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

FunDial is a browser hijacker that sets your homepage to its own template, which displays various (mostly blank) thumbnails along with a search bar. FunDial infections are especially associated with malicious browser add-ons or PUPs that use misleading installation methods to gain access to your PC with a bare minimum of your consent – such as by including themselves as accessories with totally unrelated applications. Like other PUPs that hijack your browser to promote unwanted sites and services, FunDial should be considered malicious, and SpywareRemove.com malware analysts recommend in-depth anti-malware scans to remove FunDial from your computer entirely.

Why Dialing in to FunDial Isn't a Barrel of Monkeys

FunDial is (at this time of writing) a Chrome-specific browser hijacker that's incapable of infecting other browsers. Like many browser hijackers, FunDial's attack of preference is to alter your homepage to display contents more to its liking, although FunDial continues to display the basic thumbnail setup that many Chrome users prefer. Most victims also report that their normal thumbnails and preferred webpage settings are wiped during this hijack. While, so far, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers haven't noted any other attacks related to FunDial, they recommend avoiding any unnecessary usage of FunDial's search feature, as a general precaution for your online safety.

FunDial does its best to avoid removal and, in some cases, will remain on Chrome even if you delete the add-on that's responsible for installing FunDial in the first place. Given this and other malicious attributes, SpywareRemove.com malware experts recommend using anti-malware software to delete FunDial and restore your homepage settings back to their original state. Deleting FunDial also should include deletion of any software associated with FunDial, since they are highly likely to include settings changes that make them low-level security threats to your web-browsing activities and general computer usage.

How FunDial Gets to Put You in a Bad Mood

While most browser hijackers prefer to have their own specialized brands of toolbars and browser add-ons, FunDial has been noted for piggybacking off of the Facemoods toolbar – an add-on that SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have already encountered and confirmed as malicious some time ago. Like FunDial, Facemoods should be removed with anti-malware products, although you may be able to disable or remove some components of a Facemoods extension manually.

Besides being marketed at the Facemoods.com website, Facemoods and FunDial can also be distributed in installer packages for unrelated programs, such as movie players and other media utilities. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you avoid installing software from sources that are known to be frequented by malware, such as torrenting sites, and encourage you to scan your PC after installing such programs if they're unavailable from safe sources.

FunDial

Threat Metric

Why Dialing in to FunDial Isn't a Barrel of Monkeys

How FunDial Gets to Put You in a Bad Mood

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