LeapSense

Posted: February 3, 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:	56

First Seen:	February 3, 2014
Last Seen:	May 10, 2019
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

LeapSense is an online shopping add-on for your Web browser that claims to have features for offering you profitable online deals. However, various attributes of LeapSense's, including its limited business history, questionable distribution methods and dubious means of implementing its shopping suggestions have forced malware researchers to rate LeapSense as a Potentially Unwanted Program. While the use of anti-malware tools to delete a simple adware add-on may seem like overkill, LeapSense's browser changes should be considered both security and performance hazards that almost always may negatively impact your ability to surf the Web.

The Adware that's Happy to Leap onto Your Browser's Back

LeapSense is adware that delivers advertisements to your browser, but spins these advertisements as supposed benefits to your ability to shop online. While LeapSense is legitimate, in the sense that LeapSense doesn't lie about the coupons, product price checks and alternative types of content that LeapSense delivers, malware researchers have found limited benefits from LeapSense's choices in advertisements. The fact that these advertisements are displayed without offering options for deactivating them also makes them a potential security hazard that may expose you to unsafe content (hopefully, unintentionally).

LeapSense may update itself to include other forms of advertisements, but is most known for its general use of injected hyperlinks and thumbnails for product comparisons. These forms of advertisements often are problematic, since they may block your ease of use for the original website's interface. Since websites modified by LeapSense's advertisements aren't meant to hold these advertisements in the first instance, you may discover yourself incapable of accessing any native links, navigate Web browser menus or read article content. Some PC users may also experience performance problems from LeapSense, of which malware experts note that poor website loading times are the most prominent.

Making Sense of the Simplest Ways of Getting LeapSense Off Your Browser

Besides having a history of limited distribution through such suspicious methods as various, difficult to identify software bundles, LeapSense also has no form of traditional marketing campaign that would accompany a legitimate browser add-on of its ilk. Using anti-malware tools to scan potentially bundled installers for LeapSense is a necessary preventative step, and malware experts also might suggest that you avoid sites that are havens for adware, including most sources of illegal software. Traditionally, LeapSense installers install this add-on automatically, and may not even inform you of the issue until you already are seeing advertisements in your Web browser.

Although malware researchers still are working to identify the browsers that are affected by recent versions of LeapSense, most modern Web browsers may find themselves targeted by a range of very similar adware add-ons. Appropriate anti-malware and anti-adware utilities can provide easy means of removing LeapSense along with related PC threats that differ from LeapSense in name but not in function, such as ExstraCoupon, PUP.ShoppingSuggestions, CheapMe, GreatSave4u, GreatSaver, ShopperPro or Deal Slider.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Approved Extensions\{d6865831-dd17-4b40-acc0-d036f3f641fb}SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\updateLeapSense_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\updateLeapSense_RASMANCSSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\utilLeapSense_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\utilLeapSense_RASMANCS