Crackle Redirect Virus

Posted: July 4, 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:	2,075
Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	59,709

First Seen:	July 4, 2012
Last Seen:	October 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Crackle Redirect is a PC threat that redirects your web browser to the Crackle.com site (a site that has been blacklisted for spam but has no other negative associations at the time of this article's writing). Because Crackle is a media company that offers online movie-viewing entertainment, Crackle Redirect attacks are very likely to occur when you try to load a competing site for movie-watching purposes. Although SpywareRemove.com malware researchers haven't been able to confirm the source of Crackle Redirect attacks so far, they advise you to keep strong browser security while interacting with Crackle, and recommend scanning your PC with a pertinent anti-malware program if you begin to experience Crackle Redirects.

How the Crackle Redirect Problem Changes Your Channels for You

Crackle Redirect attacks may be symptoms of malicious advertisements or infection by a browser hijacker that specializes in redirecting your browser. Although Crackle Redirect attacks may include pop-ups or homepage changes, standard Crackle Redirects will trigger at semi-random intervals after you visit a competing movie site. Sites that SpywareRemove.com malware research team has confirmed as triggers for Crackle Redirect attacks include animefreak.tv and keepvid.com.

Although Crackle.com hasn't been noted as a source of malicious software, Crackle has been guilty of being affiliated with spam activities that have caused it to be blacklisted by some PC security organizations. Additionally, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have noted that Crackle.com's terms for use include unusually generous information-gathering terms; due to this minor risk, they recommend that you be careful about only giving away information to Crackle that you can afford to be made public. Nonetheless, Crackle Redirect attacks can't, at this time, be considered a high-level threat or an infection vector for other PC threats.

Getting Cracking on Removing Those Crackle Redirects

If you visit sites that appear to be responsible, either deliberately or inadvertently, for Crackle Redirect attacks, SpywareRemove.com malware experts recommend that you use both strong settings for browser security and good anti-malware software to protect your browser on an active basis. In cases where third-party advertisements are a suspected propagation vector for Crackle Redirect, advertisement-blockers and script-blocking plugins may also be useful. This should be considered especially necessary for sites that have been confirmed in Crackle Redirect issues such as keepvid.com and animefreak.tv.

If you experience Crackle Redirect attacks regardless of which sites you visit, the chances are high that your computer is infected with a browser hijacker. Browser hijackers may also include other functions, and are a known feature of some high-level PC threats, such as certain variants of rootkits. SpywareRemove.com malware experts strongly encourage you to use anti-malware software to analyze and disinfect your PC if you have any reason to believe that Crackle Redirect attacks are emerging from a PC threat that's installed on your hard drive.

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:

%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].dll

File name: %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

%ProgramFiles%\Crackle\Crackle Screen Saver\unins000.exe

File name: %ProgramFiles%\Crackle\Crackle Screen Saver\unins000.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

%ProgramFiles%\Crackle\Crackle Screen Saver\FrameMainWindow.ico

File name: %ProgramFiles%\Crackle\Crackle Screen Saver\FrameMainWindow.ico
Mime Type: unknown/ico
Group: Malware file

%CommonPrograms%\Crackle Screen Saver\Uninstall Crackle Screensaver.lnk

File name: %CommonPrograms%\Crackle Screen Saver\Uninstall Crackle Screensaver.lnk
File type: Shortcut
Mime Type: unknown/lnk
Group: Malware file

%CommonPrograms%\Crackle Screen Saver\Visit the Crackle Homepage.lnk

File name: %CommonPrograms%\Crackle Screen Saver\Visit the Crackle Homepage.lnk
File type: Shortcut
Mime Type: unknown/lnk
Group: Malware file

%CommonPrograms%\Crackle Screen Saver\Launch Crackle Screensaver.lnk

File name: %CommonPrograms%\Crackle Screen Saver\Launch Crackle Screensaver.lnk
File type: Shortcut
Mime Type: unknown/lnk
Group: Malware file

%System%\Crackle.scr

File name: %System%\Crackle.scr
Mime Type: unknown/scr
Group: Malware file

%System%\_nttfcopgfdum.dll

File name: %System%\_nttfcopgfdum.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

%System%\nttfcopgfdum.dll

File name: %System%\nttfcopgfdum.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

totaltopfeed.com