DownloadItKeep

Posted: January 2, 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:	17,124
Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	2,436

First Seen:	January 2, 2015
Last Seen:	July 27, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

DownloadItKeep (also identified as both downloaDitkeep and downLOadiTKeeP) is adware that changes your browser to force it to load new advertisements, which then display along with your normal Web-browsing content. While DownloadItKeep promotes itself as a download management tool, malware experts find no advantageous features with this adware, which shows all the hallmarks of poor potentially threatening Web functions. For cases where DownloadItKeep attempts to block its deletion, the prudent application of modern anti-adware software should be sufficient for a complete uninstallation.

The Adware that Downloads Itself

DownloadItKeep is a browser add-on sometimes installed by other PUPs, such as Optimizer Pro v3.2. Malware experts also saw a recent campaign involving DownloadItKeep's non-consensual installation by as of yet unconfirmed channels, with most evidence, so far, pointing towards the abuse of threatening advertising scripts. These scripts could allow DownloadItKeep to install itself in attacks, both by default or with misinformed consent (by disguising DownloadItKeep as a legitimate update for other software).

Most PC users don't report installing DownloadItKeep deliberately, and malware experts haven't found any ties between DownloadItKeep and normal, reputable software marketing methods. DownloadItKeep also lacks a website or any known channels for contacting its developers, in spite of its distribution with other, third-party products.

DownloadItKeep's ingress to your hard drive is identifiable by its changes to either the Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers. Injected scripted content allows DownloadItKeep to display third-party advertisements automatically, irrespective of which sites are being loaded at the time. Most PC users report substantial losses in Web-browsing productivity or performance, due to DownloadItKeep advertisements loading on most Web pages, without any regard to the accessibility of the original site content. Only Windows 7 users have confirmation for being susceptible to DownloadItKeep adware, which uses advertising formats similar to these of other PUPs, like 'Ads by Info'.

Keeping DownloadItKeep Advertisements Off Your Browser

Currently, malware researchers estimate there being a high probability of DownloadItKeep serving itself through fraudulent Microsoft updates and other forms of fake patches, which, typically, you may find on unsafe advertisement networks. Ironically, keeping your PC clean of adware like DownloadItKeep is one of the primary means of preventing other adware installers from loading in browser pop-ups. For a viable second line of defense, anti-adware and other PC security tools typically can detect attacks or Potentially Unwanted Programs that bundle with other applications.

DownloadItKeep isn't a threat, and anti-malware programs not designed to also identify adware may be unable to detect DownloadItKeep. However, like threats, DownloadItKeep does have a historical resistance to standard uninstall techniques and may not always include a visible entry in the Windows Control Panel. In most scenarios, dedicated anti-adware products can provide the most certain means of removing DownloadItKeep.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\DownloadItKeep%PROGRAMFILES%\downLoaditKeep%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\downLoaditKeep