Skywebber

Posted: October 31, 2013

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:	115

First Seen:	October 31, 2013
Last Seen:	May 10, 2019
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Skywebber is a Windows browser add-on that supposedly provides links to reviews, deals and other Web content that could benefit you as a PC user, but both its 'beneficial' functions and its drawbacks firmly classify Skywebber as mere adware. Malware experts haven't categorized Skywebber as a major danger to your PC, but do suggest deleting programs that deliver advertisements to your browser without your consent or a way to disable them easily. Although Skywebber's domain does provide instructions for its removal, using anti-malware products to get rid of Skywebber is a more reliable means of insuring its deletion than taking the Skywebber company at its word.

When Your Browser's Stuck in a Web of Features that More Closely Resemble Advertisements

Skywebber claims to be free as a result of its being powered by advertisements that are clearly labeled as being delivered through its platform. Ironically, Skywebber's features also are advertisements of a sort: search-related tools that display general results from third parties that are, essentially, indistinguishable from the advertisements. Since there are no real advantages to having Skywebber on your computer, malware experts see no reason to use Skywebber, even if Skywebber hasn't been implicated in the distribution of unreliable content through its advertisement network. Skywebber advertisements may be distinguished from any normal site content through the line 'powered by Skywebber' and similar tags that identify Skywebber's content. However, there's no guarantee that advertisements delivered through Skywebber have been filtered for your personal safety.

Even though you may install Skywebber from its site like any other freeware, Skywebber also has a history of being installed unknowingly. Malware researchers currently rate software bundles as the most likely means of getting an accidental Skywebber installation. Staying away from sites with histories of distributing unwanted toolbars, adware, browser hijackers and other low-level PC threats with unrelated products is the most direct way to keep Skywebber and similar adware programs off of your computer.

Tearing Your PC out of an Avertisement-Powered Web

Skywebber may be installed on multiple browsers simultaneously and is compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. Because of the wide range of browser changes that may be associated with even a single Skywebber installation, malware researchers find it best to use general anti-malware scans whenever deleting Skywebber is needed. If this is done promptly and you've continued to use essentially safe Web-browsing behavior, your PC shouldn't experience any long term side effects of a one-time Skywebber installation.

Alone, Skywebber does not endanger your computer to any meaningful degree. However, Skywebber's third party advertisements may be sources of potentially hazardous Web content. Malware experts always find it best to avoid advertisements that request information or file-downloading privileges that should be reserved for trustworthy sources.

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%\Skywebber\updateSkywebber.exe

File name: updateSkywebber.exe
Size: 317.72 KB (317728 bytes)
MD5: fc0772684f04238fb6cc71c03d5a93f0
Detection count: 23
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %PROGRAMFILES%\Skywebber
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 20, 2014

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Approved Extensions\{bde4a003-c737-4e9b-b4bd-03d091461980}

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%PROGRAMFILES%\Skywebber%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Skywebber