BrainFakBanana

Posted: January 26, 2015

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:	7,737
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	1,314

First Seen:	January 26, 2015
Last Seen:	October 15, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

BrainFakBanana is an adware application that may modify your browser's Web pages by inserting new advertisements or create additional advertisement tabs and windows. BrainFakBanana doesn't include functions meant to harm its users intentionally, but may promote third-party content that may attack your computer. As a result, malware researchers advise removing BrainFakBanana with an anti-adware utility or equivalent security solution at the earliest time possible.

Peeling a Cornucopia of Advertisements

BrainFakBanana is a recently detected adware application with all evidence of its circulation thus far confined to 2015. Like other Potentially Unwanted Programs, BrainFakBanana is designed to make changes to your PC to benefit its revenue stream without necessarily harming your system. However, these changes may include modifications that could result in your PC's loading threatening content automatically, making BrainFakBanana a minor security risk. Malware researchers only have verified the following symptoms for BrainFakBanana installations:

BrainFakBanana may modify Web pages as your browser loads them to host additional advertisement content. BrainFakBanana may, accurately or otherwise, promote its extra links as benefits for your shopping or Web-searching experiences. However, any injected advertisements also may have a negative impact on Web pages not meant to host them (such as preventing you from navigating a site's menu).
BrainFakBanana also may create pop-up windows or tabs that are loaded separately from your browser's already-loaded Web pages.

Because these pop-ups are generated by BrainFakBanana, as software installed on your computer, they can't be disabled by standard advertisement-blocking features that exclude native Web page advertising from loading in your browser. In the past, malware researchers also have associated advertising rings linked to programs like BrainFakBanana with a variety of other PC threats. Some of the most notable of these threats include fraudulent software updates, disguised Trojan installers, online tactics and script-based exploits that could install threats automatically.

A Fruitful Browsing Experience without BrainFakBanana

BrainFakBanana loads its previously-noted content automatically and doesn't provide any setting controls for allowing you to disable its advertisements without removing the underlying software. Consequentially, malware researchers only can suggest deleting BrainFakBanana entirely from any PC, as the most direct way of limiting your potential exposure to all browser-based attacks. Unfortunately, because of the recent nature of all samples, the range of browsers affected by BrainFakBanana still is under investigation. Nevertheless, most Windows browsers are estimated to be susceptible to BrainFakBanana advertisements.

Like many PUPs, BrainFakBanana lacks typical marketing campaign or public availability of download links. Security experts have estimated BrainFakBanana is installing itself via common exploits favored by PUPs, such as being bundled with other applications during the install process. In these cases, BrainFakBanana may not necessarily request your permission before modifying your browser. However, updated and reliable anti-adware products should be able to identify bundled BrainFakBanana installers, although their detections may use heuristic (or generic, behavioral) terms, rather than identifying BrainFakBanana by brand.

BrainFakBanana

Threat Metric

Peeling a Cornucopia of Advertisements

A Fruitful Browsing Experience without BrainFakBanana

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