TakeItCheap

Posted: November 13, 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:	1/10
Infected PCs:	499

First Seen:	November 13, 2014
Last Seen:	June 26, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

TakeItCheap is an adware product used to force your browser to load unnecessary advertisements. Besides its advertisement functions, TakeItCheap also has been confirmed for using untrustworthy means of distribution and may take steps to block any uninstall attempts. When examined as an individual product, malware experts found TakeItCheap's flaws inadequate to categorize TakeItCheap as a threat. However, as a Potentially Unwanted Program, removing TakeItCheap should be a high priority on any PC user's schedule.

Adware Taking the Cheapest Route Available to get to Your Browser

TakeItCheap is adware whose distribution saw an upturn in early November of 2014. Unfortunately, this rise in TakeItCheap's installation wasn't due to an enthused marketing campaign or other, legitimate means, but due to non-consensual installers that malware experts estimate to be the work of software-bundling platforms. These unwanted TakeItCheap installations also used falsified installation dates, which make it more difficult than typical to identify the exact date where this adware appeared.

However, TakeItCheap does provide blatant symptoms in the form of in-browser advertisements. These may include sponsored search results, injected advertisement links, banners, additional retailer product recommendations or pop-up windows. While some legitimate browser add-ons do use similar means of advertisement support, TakeItCheap differentiates itself from them by refusing to provide any means of disabling its advertisements. Perhaps most importantly, malware experts also saw TakeItCheap samples that refused to allow themselves to be terminated or uninstalled. In these circumstances, TakeItCheap may be observed remaining in the PC's memory as an invisible background process.

An Inexpensive Resolution to Cheap Adware

TakeItCheap doesn't have any of the standard business associations that one would find with any legitimate browser add-on, nor does TakeItCheap use ordinary distribution or marketing mechanisms. While these signs point towards its being an adware program that you should delete with haste, TakeItCheap still is newly-identified adware. Consequentially, malware researchers warn that outdated anti-adware products may not have adequate database entries for TakeItCheap, which could allow TakeItCheap to ignore any system scans or other attempts to remove TakeItCheap.

Possessing and updating anti-adware tools usable from Safe Mode can help you with uninstalling TakeItCheap. Its browser advertisements, while not guaranteed to be threatening, may be avenues for exposure with threatening content, and you should undertake any interactions with full understanding of the risks involved. Conventional installation methods for adware may include third-party bundles with other programs, as well as software piracy downloads. In spite of these trends in adware installers, other means of delivery (such as TakeItCheap's being installed by a Trojan dropper) also are extremely possible.

Malware researchers haven't finalized the list of Web browsers modified for loading TakeItCheap advertisements, and your personal browser may or may not be affected. Whether you see TakeItCheap advertisements or not, allowing adware to use system resources continuously by remaining resident in memory is a security issue best remedied by deleting the associated program.

TakeItCheap

Threat Metric

Adware Taking the Cheapest Route Available to get to Your Browser

An Inexpensive Resolution to Cheap Adware

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