Home Malware Programs Bad Toolbars 4loot Toolbar

4loot Toolbar

Posted: November 20, 2013

Threat Metric

Ranking: 17,009
Threat Level: 1/10
Infected PCs: 1,557
First Seen: November 20, 2013
Last Seen: September 14, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows

The 4loot Toolbar is a Potentially Unwanted Program that bribes users into accepting its browser modifications by offering them 'free' Facebook credits. Although the 4loot Toolbar's offer is genuine, and the 4loot Toolbar certainly isn't classified as a threat, malware researchers aren't in the habit of encouraging PC users to let an external program hijack their browser searches in exchange for game app-related perks. Despite its surprisingly carrot-based marketing methodology, you still should strongly think about deleting a 4loot Toolbar from your browser with the use of anti-malware software that can verify all of its Web-browsing changes are removed along with the toolbar.

The Real Price for Virtual Loot

Estimated Facebook application revenues long ago hit over one million dollars per year, which makes the extension of toolbar developers into this sub-industry a very natural search for easy profit. Unlike most other browser hijackers analyzed by malware experts, the 4loot Toolbar is legitimate about its claim to reward users of its search engine with Facebook currency that can be used to buy content in any of various Facebook-based gaming applications. Unfortunately, the 4loot Toolbar may also taint its marketing image by including some wholly unneeded changes to your browser, hijacking your default search engine to redirect you to its site.

Malware researchers' examinations of the 4loot Toolbar's search results haven't given rise to any evidence of additional misdoing on the part of this add-on, and search results related to a 4loot Toolbar can be considered safe. However, there's absolutely no benefit to letting a third party company determine what sites you can use to search the Web, and software that bypasses your normal browser settings may be inherent security risks – although, in this case, only a minor one. The 4loot Toolbar's website also may collect some basic information about your browsing habits and how you use its search engine. Although this information collection doesn't include extremely personal or legally protected data, online privacy advocates still may consider the 4loot Toolbar invasive.

Why There's No Price too High to Pay for a Safe Browser

Keeping your browser and all of its settings completely under your control always is a basic aspect of maintaining the safety and optimized performance of your computer. For their part, malware experts suggest the 4loot Toolbar's removal in general. However, you'll have to make your judgment call as to whether the Facebook-based benefit of a 4loot Toolbar makes it worth putting up with its search hijacks. Unlike most sites associated with PUPs, the 4loot Toolbar's website hasn't been rated as potentially threatening, and contact with the 4loot Toolbar doesn't need to be considered a risk to your PC's security.

Alarm at the presence of the 4loot Toolbar usually only should come to the fore in circumstances where a 4loot Toolbar has been installed. These scenarios may be the result of installing applications that use software bundles to package multiple products together. Paying attention to which installation options you're accepting can provide you with an easy way out of these kinds of semi-dishonest installation tactics – while SpywareRemove.com malware experts also note that most anti-malware products include definitions for detecting the relevant bundlers.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:
search.akordis.net
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