Wajam

Wajam is a Potentially Unwanted Program that loads extra advertisements in your Web searches. Although only a PUP, Wajam has strong ties to other PC threats and websites of poor repute, and some PC security companies classify its official website (Wajam.com) as a threatening domain. Due its background and the frequency of Wajam causing performance issues for affected browsers, malware researchers find that uninstalling Wajam from your Web browser is more likely to give you a satisfying Web-searching experience than allowing Wajam to stay.

Installing a Program that Gives You Extra Advertisements

Wajam claims to improve search engines with extra results tailored according to your online contacts. While that may sound like a good idea, malware researchers easily boiled down Wajam's real functions to those of a basic adware program: a program that may force your browser to display extra advertisements that are of little or no benefit to the viewer. These advertisements may inject themselves into the Web pages of favored search engines, such as Bing and Google. Some versions of Wajam also may include pop-ups for major retailers like Amazon.com. Although Wajam claims that you may deactivate its functions, there are no visible controls for doing so, and what should be a straightforward process of uninstalling Wajam, likewise, is unnecessarily obfuscated.

However, Wajam isn't new to malware researchers, who have seen Wajam previously in bundles with both other adware and some forms of threatening software. Meanwhile, Wajam also may be installed along with threats like Playbryte, THEEBlockeeR and SySaver, which deliver advertisements of their own, along with potential security hazards.

Pulling Your Browser out of a Wajam Jam

Wajam may cause slowdowns in the Web browsers modified by Wajam, to say nothing of the inherent security problems in allowing its advertisements to display automatically. Most crucially, however, malware researchers recommend scanning any PC with this PUP installed to identify any related PC threats. Adequate system scans by appropriate PC security programs also should be sufficient for removing Wajam and reversing its browser changes.

To date, Wajam may affect the Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. In spite of that, other browsers and non-Windows operating systems still may be put at risk from other PUPs or threats that install themselves with Wajam. Regardless of the name of the add-on that's inserting advertisements automatically, interacting with its affiliates is more likely to risk redirects to unsafe content than it is to provide any shopping savings, no matter what Wajam's marketing might say.