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Aqovd.com adware pimps an online service of its own

James | 02.12.2015 15:50 | Other Press | Technology

Out of all malicious programs in the wild, adware is special because it combines mild severity with a serious commercial potential.

Aqovd.com adware screenshot
Aqovd.com adware screenshot

Aqovd.com adware website screenshot
Aqovd.com adware website screenshot


There’s some semi about these inhabitants of the cyber underground. They appear to be semi-legitimate, semi-useful and semi-upright with users. In this context, Aqovd adware is close to a perfect match. This little app is technically not illicit because its proliferation model implies a mention that a user is installing it. It’s not a regular setup, though, because the payload is glued with entirely different software that promotes extra utilities into a customer’s computer. As a matter of fact, the presence of an insecure supplementary component is not stated clearly, but there is a tiny checkmark that must be de-selected for the process to go malware-free.

In regards to the usefulness part, Aqovd does return some results for one’s search queries. But these are mixed with sponsored links that cram up nearly as much space as the relevant entries. How do people end up on Aqovd.com, the landing page of the adware under consideration? Now, that’s where the malicious attributes resurface. The adware, which is covertly installed along with third-party freeware or shareware, adds an extension to IE, Firefox, and Chrome. The add-on is to blame for altering the user preferences on the system, such as the homepage, new tab page, and preferred search engine. Each one of these parameters is changed to Aqovd. Should the user not want this to happen, which is most likely, the makers of this adware don’t care. They want more traffic that subsequently gets converted into ad views, hence money.

There is no option other than removal of the Aqovd bug from whatever PC it’s on. For this purpose, security experts recommend sticking to a fix that’s been verified for efficiency regarding this particular pest. More info and removal guide can be found here:  http://sureshotsoftware.com/guides/aqovd/

James