PUP.YouTube Accelerator

Posted: March 19, 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.

Ranking:	11,587
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	34,129

First Seen:	March 19, 2014
Last Seen:	February 27, 2025
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

PUP.YouTube Accelerator is an adware program that makes claims of improving your YouTube videos' performance, but has a history of accomplishing exactly the opposite result. Besides its interferences with streaming video playback, PUP.YouTube Accelerator also displays advertisements automatically and may install additional, unwanted software. Malware researchers recommend removing PUP.YouTube Accelerator, which makes fraudulent claims of its benefits and provides multiple drawbacks to your PC's security, although the use of appropriate system-scanning software may be required to verify that all system changes caused by PUP.YouTube Accelerator add-ons are reverted.

PUP.YouTube Accelerator: Accelerating Your PC Towards New Problems

If you want to improve your browser's playback of streaming movies, one of the worst solutions you can partake of is that of PUP.YouTube Accelerator and similar add-ons. PUP.YouTube Accelerator claims to remove the waiting times required by buffering movie files for YouTube, but, in reality, may cause most YouTube videos to fail to load at all. Along with failing to provide its primary feature, PUP.YouTube Accelerator also loads advertisements into your browser automatically, which has caused malware researchers to classify PUP.YouTube Accelerator in the adware category. However, a minority of other PC security companies have categorized PUP.YouTube Accelerator and associated websites as threatening, due to their security issues and strong associations with fraudulent business practices.

PUP.YouTube Accelerator may not be guilty of attacks like those of a Trojan, but PUP.YouTube Accelerator does install updates and, potentially, other software from the same company automatically. This is a supplement to the standard problems that may arise from PUP.YouTube Accelerator advertisements that are loaded into your browser automatically, such as exposure to hoaxes or poor browser performance. Whether PUP.YouTube Accelerator is considered a threat or just unwanted software, malware researchers see no benefits to keeping PUP.YouTube Accelerator installed.

Reversing Your Browser from a Diversion of YouTube Playback Misleading Tactics

Although limited methods may be available for sidestepping some of the technical issues of buffering slowly, the majority of video buffering instances are required for the proper playback of the file. Instead of looking for deceitful places like PUP.YouTube Accelerator to provide a magical solution to poor playback, malware researchers would suggest that you pause a video file and allow it to buffer in full before letting it play. In some, specific cases, you also may wish to consult with your ISP, who may be regulating traffic to specific media-heavy sources. Installing browser add-ons that make false promises of their capabilities never is the correct solution, and opens your PC up to any number of security hazards.

Deleting PUP.YouTube Accelerator may be recommended, but the possibility of other software installed with PUP.YouTube Accelerator never should be overlooked. Anti-adware and anti-malware products with comprehensive, patched databases should be able to remove PUP.YouTube Accelerator and related PC threats during their normal system scans. A complete uninstallation also should remove any associated settings changes that could have interfered with your YouTube experience.

Aliases

Skodna.A8D [AVG]AdWare.CrossRider [Ikarus]Win32:Adware-BSH [PUP] [Avast]MalSign.Skodna.A8D [AVG]WS.Reputation.1 [Symantec]

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:

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator\VARemove.exe

File name: VARemove.exe
Size: 1.36 MB (1361768 bytes)
MD5: 83695aae09adf3bda23689297c42d2ec
Detection count: 82
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 19, 2014

%TEMP%\Install_876\ins_yta.exe

File name: ins_yta.exe
Size: 13.5 MB (13500000 bytes)
MD5: 62f94a5f5ffe55682e7531884629d3e2
Detection count: 66
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %TEMP%\Install_876
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 13, 2016

%PROGRAMFILES%\YouTube Accelerator\YouTubeAccelerator.exe

File name: YouTubeAccelerator.exe
Size: 2.22 MB (2224406 bytes)
MD5: e9b70e61bed875cac5388935d51db380
Detection count: 34
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES%\YouTube Accelerator
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 18, 2014

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\YTAHelper\YTAHelper.dll

File name: YTAHelper.dll
Size: 521.62 KB (521620 bytes)
MD5: 8f8064dbe88017e8b6faf90f2a0a5cec
Detection count: 23
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\YTAHelper
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 22, 2016

%PROGRAMFILES%\YouTube Accelerator\ytalsp.dll

File name: ytalsp.dll
Size: 177.51 KB (177512 bytes)
MD5: 18c714f2b974fa28e57b4e93d99cfdfa
Detection count: 9
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %PROGRAMFILES%\YouTube Accelerator
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 19, 2014

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator\YTAUninstall.exe

File name: YTAUninstall.exe
Size: 568.16 KB (568168 bytes)
MD5: 239d95a779449e36949b558a9b2287d1
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 18, 2014

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Installer\Install_7138\ytaib.exe

File name: ytaib.exe
Size: 811.92 KB (811920 bytes)
MD5: fff380626658339d31885fe332881842
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Installer\Install_7138
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 19, 2016

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator\YouTubeAcceleratorService.exe

File name: YouTubeAcceleratorService.exe
Size: 1.51 MB (1510248 bytes)
MD5: 4cce5eb677d5f242639ae79dc901c359
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 18, 2014

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator\Updater.exe

File name: Updater.exe
Size: 784.89 KB (784896 bytes)
MD5: 60a0f15bb78f8cbb56f35bf74bf5a1ad
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 18, 2014

More files

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

File name without pathhttp_www.youtubeaccelerator.com_0.localstoragehttp_www.youtubeaccelerator.com_0.localstorage-journaltest.youtubeaccelerator[1].xmlYouTube Accelerator.lnkHKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Goobzo\Language\YouTubeAcceleratorSoftware\Goobzo\YouTube AcceleratorSoftware\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\youtubeaccelerator.comSOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\YouTubeAccelerator_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\YouTubeAcceleratorService_RASMANCSSOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\YTAUpdateSOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\YTAUpdate_logonSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu2\Programs\YouTube AcceleratorSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage\NewShortcuts\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\YouTube Accelerator\YouTube Accelerator.lnkSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage\NewShortcuts\C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\YouTube Accelerator\YouTube Accelerator.lnkSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{FCE3FA8B-BA81-467C-81D8-E43C00D1BC71}Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{FCE3FA8B-BA81-467C-81D8-E43C00D1BC71}Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\GoobzoYouTubeAcceleratorSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Goobzo\YouTube AcceleratorSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\YouTubeAccelerator_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\YouTubeAcceleratorService_RASMANCSSYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\YouTubeAcceleratorServiceSYSTEM\ControlSet002\services\YouTubeAcceleratorServiceSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\YouTubeAcceleratorServiceHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}YouTube Accelerator

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\GOOBZO\YouTube Accelerator%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\GOOBZO\YouTube Accelerator%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\YouTube Accelerator%PROGRAMFILES%\YouTube Accelerator%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\YouTube Accelerator

PUP.Youtube Accelerator Helper