Updateplugins

Posted: January 3, 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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	86

First Seen:	January 3, 2014
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Updateplugins is a heuristic or behavioral alias for pop-up attacks that distribute unwanted or even damaging software via indicating that your browser's add-ons are outdated. The 'updates' offered by Updateplugins may include adware, browser hijackers, toolbars with non-beneficial functions, as well as other threats. Because Updateplugins pop-ups usually are encountered at disreputable sites and through the pop-ups of adware programs, protecting your browser from visiting unsafe destinations and keeping it clean of advertising software should be adequate for minimizing contact with Updateplugins.

Updateplugins: the Pop-Ups that Plug Your PC into Trojans

In an online world full of necessary updates, it may be easy to ignore where your update prompts are coming from, and install the packages blindly. However, this is a fundamentally unsafe PC-using behavior, with malware experts seeing new PC threats taking advantage of it, like the Updateplugins pop-up, almost every day. Updateplugins attacks may be delivered through unsafe sites or, most typically, through advertising networks, and always should be identified as nothing less than direct hostility to your PC.

Updateplugins pop-ups are especially common on fake movie-streaming sites and other supposed sources of media entertainment, which will appear to offer free content only until you try to interact with it. Doing so will prompt a request from Updateplugins to update your relevant download manager, media player or browser add-on, although Updateplugins doesn't have legitimate update packages to install and always will claim that your software is outdated. In some cases, Updateplugins also may request that you enable features that malware researchers have identified as common enablers of attacks against vulnerable computers, such as Java.

The Updates that Can Keep a Fake Update Away

Updateplugins pop-ups attempt to mislead you into infecting your PC with their updates, but also, upon occasion, may be supported by non-consensual download exploits that don't need you to accept their 'patches.' Strong anti-malware security programs, browser settings that have exploitable content disabled, updated software and overall safe browsing habits can provide an ample defense against the attacks that originate from Updateplugins and all similar PC threats. Even so, malware researchers find it best to scan your PC for threats after any contact with a known infection vector, including Updateplugins pop-up advertisements.

Updateplugins pop-up advertisements sometimes appear regularly without being triggered by any individual website. These attacks usually are just one of the most obvious symptoms of threats already installed. Close your browser, switch to Safe Mode (to disable any other active PC threats) and use anti-malware software as necessary to restore your browser back to normal, and the long term consequences of these attacks, hopefully, will be nil.
Updateplugins pop-ups, as a general category of PC threats, aren't specific to any single browser or even any single operating system.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

puiont.com