Update-browser.org

Update-browser.org is a hostile website that infects visiting PCs by encouraging their users to download a fake browser update. Even a passive visit to Update-browser.org that doesn't entail any deliberate installation of its software may compromise your PC through a range of relevant software vulnerabilities, and all contact with Update-browser.org is a good cause for taking the time to scan your system with anti-malware utilities. Malware researchers also would recommend taking extra precautions, such as rebooting in Safe Mode before performing scans, if you know that Update-browser.org software has been installed, due to the possibility of threats interfering with the disinfection routine.

The Update that You Always Need... and Never Need to Install

Update-browser.org is one of the newer emerging samples of a common threat-distributing hoax: the fake browser update as also seen in PC threats like the 'WARNING: Your Current Browser Is Outdated!' message or the 'Browser Update Available' Fake Alert. With subsections of its site dedicated to delivering fake messages to different brands of Web browsers, Update-browser.org is fully equipped for delivering 'updates' to Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome, with under possibilities still under investigation. Rather than being a real update, Update-browser.org will offer its download regardless of the version of your browser, and always will claim that your browser is out-of-date. Installing any of these patches will infect your PC with a payload of Update-browser.org's choice.

Update-browser.org's payloads may vary, although malware researchers have seen some preliminary evidence suggesting that Update-browser.org installs Potentially Unwanted Programs. These programs tend to display inaccurate system alerts and may even block other security-crucial applications in their quest to make victims pay for their software. On the other hand, other potential threats installed through Update-browser.org's attacks may not show symptoms that can be determined without appropriate security tools.

Getting out of the Update Cycle that's Hurting Your PC

Since updates from unofficial sources like Update-browser.org are one of the major means by which otherwise secure personal PCs are infected with threats, user education is the most direct way of keeping Update-browser.org's payload off your computer. Nonetheless, the consensual installation methods used by Update-browser.org also may include some non-consensual 'backup' drive-by-downloads, which could exploit software vulnerabilities to install software even when the fake patch is rejected. Most anti-malware programs, if kept updated, are able to block these attacks to an extent.

If your browser has loaded Update-browser.org through any means whatsoever, your PC may be infected with browser hijackers, adware or other threats. For the most exhaustive disinfection solution possible, malware experts would urge you to reboot your PC in Safe Mode and run a full scan from any trusted brand of an anti-malware suite. Even if you feel that you can remove any unwanted software yourself, Update-browser.org's payloads may include concealed PC threats that may require appropriate tools or a PC security expert to detect and delete.