Couponscanner

Posted: February 12, 2014

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:	2,785

First Seen:	February 12, 2014
Last Seen:	August 3, 2024
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Couponscanner is adware that themes all of its advertisements after coupons and other online discounts that, theoretically, could provide savings for your online purchases. Unfortunately, the Couponscanner's advantages have turned out to be extremely minimal, and malware experts have found that Couponscanner's advertisement-displaying format takes an invasive level of control over your Web browser. Although Couponscanner is only rated as a Potentially Unwanted Program, deleting Couponscanner and other adware usually will be better off for your browser than allowing extra browser advertisements to load nigh-constantly.

The Add-On that Gives You Coupons at Too High a Cost

Couponscanner is an adware program based on providing shopping-related assistance to your Web browser and does provide coupons that may offer some savings. Unfortunately, Couponscanner also is strongly associated with all the traditional characteristics of an adware product that is more interested in loading questionable advertisements for its own profit than in providing legitimate advantages to its users. Malware researchers were unable to contact the software company responsible for Couponscanner, which appears to be distributing Couponscanner through freeware bundles and other methods that could install Couponscanner automatically.

Installing Couponscanner modifies your Web browser to display advertisements through injected text links, coupon pop-ups and sponsored links, most of which may be related to your online searches and the product pages you're already visiting. Although Couponscanner's advertisement aren't designed to be unsafe, malware researchers find little evidence of Couponscanner sorting its advertising partners for the safety of its user base. These advertisements sometimes may be sources of attacks against your PC, but, in most cases, are undesirable for the inherent side effects that come with them.

The Scanners that may Nullify a Couponscanner Problem

Couponscanner's advertisements aren't able to be turned off through Couponscanner or your normal browser's settings, and will try to ignore any advertisement-blocking add-ons you might already have on your browser. Along with forcing you to view them, Couponscanner advertisement are common sources of performance issues for your Web browser, and, like all advertisements delivered automatically, are minor security hazards due to the risk of exposure to unsafe Web content. While Couponscanner may pretend to be a legitimate product, as a PUP, Couponscanner has far more drawbacks than benefits, and malware experts find no reasons to avoid removing Couponscanner.

Deleting Couponscanner with the help of a proven anti-malware or anti-adware product can provide the surest cleanup of your Web browser, but Couponscanner may not be installed without an initial compromise of your PC's safety. Beware of installing software from sites that have reputations for bundling unrelated applications together, and especially for sites that are associated with other adware or with illegal activities. In these cases, Couponscanner may be one of multiple PC threats that are posing a danger to your machine even if Couponscanner's advertisements are the only symptoms in sight.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application data\cioupscananeer\F0lPfKfk0v.exe

File name: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application data\cioupscananeer\F0lPfKfk0v.exe
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application data\cioupscananeer\F0lPfKfk0v.dll

File name: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application data\cioupscananeer\F0lPfKfk0v.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\CouPScanner%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\CouPScaanner%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\CouPScanner