Home Malware Programs Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) Pine Tree Ads

Pine Tree Ads

Posted: March 16, 2015

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 2/10
Infected PCs: 1,150
First Seen: March 12, 2015
Last Seen: September 3, 2024
OS(es) Affected: Windows

Pine Tree is classified a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) that exhibits adware capabilities. Customarily, unwanted applications like Pine Tree are included in bundled custom installers with other free programs. The bundling marketing technique is often utilized in adware and PUP distribution. Pine Tree installs an adware-laced web browser extension or add-on in order to generate additional online ads. Advertising materials provided by Pine Tree are described as intrusive and annoying. They can be in the shape of coupons, inline text ads, pop-ups, banners and possibly audio advertisements. Since Pine Tree collects information about the victim's browsing history and preferences, ads generated by this unwanted app would most likely seem appealing to you. However, security researchers warn not to click them as they may lead to attracting more unwanted programs and malware.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

CLSID{198925f1-49b9-47f6-8a88-7c1fd063c99a}{938F2D7E-0345-44EE-8DCD-0CD2E0F4792C}{93F3510A-24C2-46C4-8D69-963EA6F7C83C}HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Approved Extensions\{198925F1-49B9-47F6-8A88-7C1FD063C99A}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\api.pinetreeinfo.comSoftware\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\pinetreeinfo.comSOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\updatePineTree_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\updatePineTree_RASMANCSSOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\utilPineTree_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\utilPineTree_RASMANCSSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{135A7707-C2CF-4D44-97DE-2D7FF0198B62}Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{135A7707-C2CF-4D44-97DE-2D7FF0198B62}Software\Pine TreeSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\updatePineTree_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\updatePineTree_RASMANCSSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\utilPineTree_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\utilPineTree_RASMANCSSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{198925f1-49b9-47f6-8a88-7c1fd063c99a}SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Pine TreeSYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\eventlog\Application\Update Pine TreeSYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\eventlog\Application\Util Pine TreeSYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Update Pine TreeSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog\Application\Update Pine TreeSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog\Application\Util Pine TreeSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Update Pine TreeHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}Pine Tree

Additional Information

The following directories were created:
%PROGRAMFILES%\Pine Tree%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Pine Tree%TEMP%\Pine Tree
Loading...