Home Malware Programs Adware LizardSales

LizardSales

Posted: September 25, 2014

Threat Metric

Ranking: 17,093
Threat Level: 2/10
Infected PCs: 1,494
First Seen: September 25, 2014
Last Seen: July 27, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows


LizardSales is a browser add-on that loads extra advertisements through your browser, which LizardSales justifies by claiming to serve its users opportunities for online discounts. Potentially Unwanted Programs like LizardSales may be the ultimate culprits for browser instability, miscellaneous performance issues and possible security breaches related to compromised advertisement networks. In general, malware researchers would suggest removing LizardSales with programs specialized in uninstalling adware in all but extremely unusual circumstances.

The Origin of Advertisements Skittering into Your Search Results

Although LizardSales and its website, lizardsales.info, have existed since 2013, only in mid-2014 have malware researchers found additional reasons to be concerned with this prototypical example of adware. Recent events have led to the implication of the streaming movie site, Crunchyroll.com, in the non-consensual distribution of LizardSales, which may install itself through misleading pop-ups or browser redirects from that site. Investigations are continuing to confirm the exact nature of the content used to introduce LizardSales to new PCs, but exploits appear to be unlikely. Although Crunchyroll.com is not a threatening domain, you may wish to protect your PC against potential threats exploiting that site until its administrators resolve the security breach.

LizardSales's recent distribution campaign has given unwilling PC users additional exposure to its primary functions as adware, which involve modifying Web pages so that they load extra advertising links. These links frequently are injected into the search results of sites like Bing or Google. At the present date, malware researchers haven't found evidence of LizardSales's links including hostile content. However, such advertisement networks may be sources of attacks against vulnerable PCs, and rarely provide any legitimate benefits to their viewers.

Exterminating the Lizard in Your Browser

LizardSales is in the same overall classification as almost any other adware: a Potentially Unwanted Program that is not designed to harm your PC, but also provides few or no beneficial features. Because of the built-in risks of allowing adware to modify any site's search results to suit their preferences, uninstalling LizardSales always should be considered before any other options. LizardSales also has historically been unusually difficult to install through the Windows Control Panel or equally-standardized methods, which is why the use of anti-adware software also is advisable.

Advertising links promoted by LizardSales add-ons tend to specialize in online coupons, discounts and similar retailer-related content. Unfortunately, there is limited evidence of LizardSales advertisements offering any real bargains. Malware researchers also outline the fact that its EULA explicitly avoids responsibility for any consequences that may arise from your interaction with the same advertisements that LizardSale promotes. As tends to be true for even the most harmless forms of adware, taking LizardSales at its word is a serious PC security risk without much benefit to counterbalance the dangers.

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