Search Assistant WebSearch

Posted: July 8, 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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	99

First Seen:	July 8, 2013
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Search Assistant WebSearch is a Potentially Unwanted Program that often is associated with other PUPs and semi-malicious toolbars from the Conduit family. Search Assistant WebSearch displays the expected characteristics of a PUP, including refusing to uninstall itself through the expected channels, implementing its browser changes without your consent and promoting websites that aren't of any meaningful benefit to the PC user. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers haven't classified Search Assistant WebSearch as malicious, but do recommend anyone using Search Assistant WebSearch to think long and hard about whether they truly benefit from Search Assistant WebSearch, or would be benefit just from removing Search Assistant WebSearch with a reliable anti-malware product.

Why You Don't Need Search Assistant WebSearch's Brand of Assistance in Your Life

Search Assistant WebSearch (sometimes referred to by its only known version, Search Assistant WebSearch 1.74) is a PUP with minimal, if any, real advantages for your Web-browsing searches, and most often is found installed alongside related add-ons. Variants of Yontoo Adware (such as Trojan.Yontoo) and Conduit toolbars like Search Protect, the Movies Toolbar, Oople Toolbar, the Vaj Music Toolbar and the Vuze Toolbar often are installed with Search Assistant WebSearch, and maycause browser-related complications that include:

Placing additional toolbars onto various browsers without your permission. Because Search Assistant WebSearch and many related PC threats are installed as Browser Helper Objects (or BHOs), they can be specific to particular types of browsers like Firefox, but also may install separate components for different browsers.
Hijacking your searches to redirect you to other websites (ones that, very often, are not relevant to your original search terms).
Hijacking your homepage and refusing to allow you to change it back to a different Web address.
General performance issues that can include poor browser loading times and crashes.

Assisting Yourself to a Way to Be Rid of Search Assistant WebSearch

In the very probable situation that you've decided you have no desire to subject yourself to Search Assistant WebSearch's browser changes, SpywareRemove.com malware research team endorses using anti-malware applications for clearing out all PC threats related to Search Assistant WebSearch, not to mention deleting Search Assistant WebSearch, itself. Mozilla's Firefox is the predominant browser brand to be affected by Search Assistant WebSearch, but SpywareRemove.com malware experts have seen other PUPs in general, and the Conduit family of toolbars in particular, affecting all brands of Windows-compatible browsers.

Browser-based PC threats such as Search Assistant WebSearch may display visible components that seem as though they can be removed through your browser's plugin controls or through the usual Control Panel. However, SpywareRemove.com malware experts warn that Search Assistant WebSearch and similar PUPs rarely delete all of their browser changes when they're removed in this fashion – which, besides the presence of other undesirable toolbars, can be considered a second reason to use anti-malware tools to expedite Search Assistant WebSearch's deletion.

Search Assistant WebSearch

Threat Metric

Why You Don't Need Search Assistant WebSearch's Brand of Assistance in Your Life

Assisting Yourself to a Way to Be Rid of Search Assistant WebSearch

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