ArcadeGiant

By GoldSparrow in Adware

Threat Scorecard

Ranking:	14,485
Threat Level:	20 % (Normal)
Infected Computers:	10,514

First Seen:	July 11, 2014
Last Seen:	September 14, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

ArcadeGiant is an adware infection that has been associated with a number of irritating pop-up messages. ArcadeGiant and several other PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) related to ArcadeGiant have been linked to error messages indicating RunDLL errors. ArcadeGiant is not considered a threat infection. ArcadeGiant is not harmful bus has been linked to various unwanted behaviors on affected computers. Because of this, PC security analysts strongly recommend removing ArcadeGiant if it's already installed on your computer and avoiding this PUP if possible.

Table of Contents

How PUPs Like ArcadeGiant may Affect a Computer

PUPs like ArcadeGiant are specifically designed to advertize on an affected computer, interfering with the affected Web browser and causing the appearance of pop-up advertisements, Web browser redirects, and other unwanted symptoms. ArcadeGiant causes affected Web browsers to behave erratically, making it very difficult for computer users to use the affected computer effectively. Despite ArcadeGiant's claims that it offers a useful service, the main goal of this PUP is actually to profit at the expense of the computer users by filling their Web browser with advertisements and exposing them to advertising material and sponsored websites repeatedly.

ArcadeGiant has been Associated with RunDLL Error Messages

ArcadeGiant has been reported to cause RunDLL errors on affected computers. However, this is not deliberate since the main purpose of ArcadeGiant is to generate revenue from advertising at the expense of computer users. Unfortunately, ArcadeGiant has bugs in its code that may cause other problems on the affected computer. One of the main errors associated with these bugs is manifested as an error message that reads as follows:

RunDLL
There was a problem starting C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\ARCADE~1\AgHelp.dll
The specified module could not be found.

Apparently, ArcadeGiant cannot find a specific DLL file that it requires, meaning that as long as ArcadeGiant is running in the background, the ArcadeGiant error message may appear repeatedly every few minutes. This may become extremely irritating and make it difficult to use the affected Web browser or computer effectively. To stop these error messages from appearing, it is necessary to remove ArcadeGiant and other PUPs installed on the affected computer.

Why PUPs Like ArcadeGiant Have Bad Reputations

Adware may have bad reputations, often regarded incorrectly as threatening. The fact is that advertisements are a part of using the Internet regularly. However, unlike normal advertisements, PUPs operate underhandedly and cause a wide variety of irritating side effects and problems. Adware and PUPs like ArcadeGiant are not threatening, unlike true threats such as Trojans or rootkits. While this does not mean that they may harm your computer, they may still cause a wide variety of issues that may be intrusive and difficult to deal with.

If the DLL error message is appearing as soon as you start up your computer, this means that ArcadeGiant has been configured to run automatically as soon as you start up Windows. In some cases, computer users have complained that the error message still appears when they start up their computer. This may mean that there are still Registry keys present on the affected computer associated with ArcadeGiant. Even if the PUP was removed, the Windows Registry might still try to reference or point to this nonexistent program, causing error messages to appear. PC security researchers advise dealing with ArcadeGiant by using a reliable security program that is fully up-to- date. Removal of ArcadeGiant also includes removal of Registry keys linked to ArcadeGiant, unwanted changes made to program and Web browser settings associated with ArcadeGiant, and any files that may remain on the affected computer. Failure to remove all content linked to ArcadeGiant may cause these problems to continue.

Aliases

1 security vendors flagged this file as malicious.

Anti-Virus Software	Detection
Symantec	WS.Reputation.1

SpyHunter Detects & Remove ArcadeGiant

File System Details

ArcadeGiant may create the following file(s):

Expand All | Collapse All

#	File Name	MD5	Detections Detections: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected computers as reported by SpyHunter.
1.	CatWSPrx.exe.vir	0ada79cf05f2e085e3a15f9cccf0dda4	2,825
Name: CatWSPrx.exe.vir MD5: 0ada79cf05f2e085e3a15f9cccf0dda4 Size: 1.34 MB (1344104 bytes) Detections: 2,825 Path: %SYSTEMDRIVE%\AdwCleaner\Quarantine\C\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\ArcadeGiant\cat\CatWSPrx.exe.vir Group: Malware file Last Updated: October 20, 2021
2.	CatWSPrx.exe	0767cda2b804e9fa4c44fabb412dff9f	1,409
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 0767cda2b804e9fa4c44fabb412dff9f Size: 1.35 MB (1356464 bytes) Detections: 1,409 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
3.	CatWSPrx.exe	478783b75b1407a45c7247d88d55b859	1,034
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 478783b75b1407a45c7247d88d55b859 Size: 1.34 MB (1344120 bytes) Detections: 1,034 Type: Executable File Path: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\ArcadeYum\cat\CatWSPrx.exe Group: Malware file Last Updated: October 31, 2021
4.	CatWSPrx.exe	485965257fa447f6f8357259abe639fa	978
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 485965257fa447f6f8357259abe639fa Size: 1.46 MB (1461872 bytes) Detections: 978 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: August 20, 2018
5.	CatWSPrx.exe	c58979e78ddd2f883a4efbaaae218566	769
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: c58979e78ddd2f883a4efbaaae218566 Size: 1.46 MB (1463832 bytes) Detections: 769 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: May 7, 2020
6.	c68652b7dab3c17d731cc25e8bc0a42c	e76f64e9d6e114c0feba5777227af870	650
Name: c68652b7dab3c17d731cc25e8bc0a42c MD5: e76f64e9d6e114c0feba5777227af870 Size: 1.48 MB (1489984 bytes) Detections: 650 Path: %WINDIR%\System32\0fec54b10ce802a782c389d485480ad8\c68652b7dab3c17d731cc25e8bc0a42c Group: Malware file Last Updated: October 10, 2021
7.	catwsprx.exe	63c0c32a3cf210d0ef8f4d146fd7224b	404
Name: catwsprx.exe MD5: 63c0c32a3cf210d0ef8f4d146fd7224b Size: 1.46 MB (1464056 bytes) Detections: 404 Type: Executable File Path: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\CrushArcade\cat\catwsprx.exe Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 1, 2023
8.	CatWSPrx.exe	53af4de40b1d057154a6d2f2caacfbad	319
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 53af4de40b1d057154a6d2f2caacfbad Size: 1.33 MB (1337856 bytes) Detections: 319 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
9.	CatWSPrx.exe	38f46bf1484c62057174ccd530dbba43	152
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 38f46bf1484c62057174ccd530dbba43 Size: 1.46 MB (1463848 bytes) Detections: 152 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeYum\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
10.	CatWSPrx.exe	021d0f16d75c65229ff0ec62ced168c8	137
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 021d0f16d75c65229ff0ec62ced168c8 Size: 1.32 MB (1321016 bytes) Detections: 137 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrushArcade\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
11.	CatWSPrx.exe	d0b435a2038cfe3b36eab946a82c3ef9	95
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: d0b435a2038cfe3b36eab946a82c3ef9 Size: 1.34 MB (1344312 bytes) Detections: 95 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
12.	CatWSPrx.exe	2491f5f5db4f96d333d7be770bfcd1d9	58
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 2491f5f5db4f96d333d7be770bfcd1d9 Size: 1.46 MB (1464056 bytes) Detections: 58 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrushArcade\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
13.	CatWSPrx.exe.vir	96c7ba20330235f5d96bf413a51e4722	19
Name: CatWSPrx.exe.vir MD5: 96c7ba20330235f5d96bf413a51e4722 Size: 1.37 MB (1379608 bytes) Detections: 19 Path: C:\Users\<username>\Music\OS\AdwCleaner\Quarantine\C\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\ArcadeTwist\cat\CatWSPrx.exe.vir Group: Malware file Last Updated: February 19, 2021
14.	CatWSPrx.exe	3724c5de516cedc02f243e4f65ab0259	12
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 3724c5de516cedc02f243e4f65ab0259 Size: 1.35 MB (1356672 bytes) Detections: 12 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
15.	CatWSPrx.exe	bd7421807347bd39b416f1aed3d7351f	7
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: bd7421807347bd39b416f1aed3d7351f Size: 1.46 MB (1464056 bytes) Detections: 7 Type: Executable File Path: %SystemDrive%\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\CrushArcade\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
16.	CatWSPrx.exe	792cfdd28ed1ae3e85ca9fc3195abff9	4
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 792cfdd28ed1ae3e85ca9fc3195abff9 Size: 1.34 MB (1344312 bytes) Detections: 4 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
17.	CatWSPrx.exe	321b1dc0b55180bd83ce78a4670030e3	4
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 321b1dc0b55180bd83ce78a4670030e3 Size: 1.34 MB (1344104 bytes) Detections: 4 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
18.	CatWSPrx.exe	12c419a4abb2422fca650909047cd5e3	3
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 12c419a4abb2422fca650909047cd5e3 Size: 1.46 MB (1461872 bytes) Detections: 3 Type: Executable File Path: %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
19.	CatWSPrx.exe	6c069b42d31392a7f23df209a93ffe30	3
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 6c069b42d31392a7f23df209a93ffe30 Size: 1.48 MB (1489984 bytes) Detections: 3 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
20.	CatWSPrx.exe	e75c0e5d2e9e59f2b28bd364d9ab5e71	2
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: e75c0e5d2e9e59f2b28bd364d9ab5e71 Size: 1.35 MB (1356464 bytes) Detections: 2 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
21.	CatWSPrx.exe	8d0caada017fc8a9c6a1533a781fb5f1	2
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 8d0caada017fc8a9c6a1533a781fb5f1 Size: 1.35 MB (1356672 bytes) Detections: 2 Type: Executable File Path: %SystemDrive%\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
22.	CatWSPrx.exe	c9e33a2efb7e72ead118747b24731334	2
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: c9e33a2efb7e72ead118747b24731334 Size: 1.46 MB (1462136 bytes) Detections: 2 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
23.	CatWSPrx.exe	14e6b2cf3afb0c3bd517fc8a2a233661	2
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 14e6b2cf3afb0c3bd517fc8a2a233661 Size: 1.46 MB (1463872 bytes) Detections: 2 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
24.	CatWSPrx.exe	f279daa4a7b4fa5fc05dd15b5799fe0f	1
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: f279daa4a7b4fa5fc05dd15b5799fe0f Size: 1.37 MB (1379280 bytes) Detections: 1 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
25.	CatWSPrx.exe	043d24a75c1e76414f76117629866622	1
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: 043d24a75c1e76414f76117629866622 Size: 1.46 MB (1463848 bytes) Detections: 1 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeYum\cat Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016
26.	CatWSPrx.exe	c3f0bbb8053de24dd2604de5628d32be	1
Name: CatWSPrx.exe MD5: c3f0bbb8053de24dd2604de5628d32be Size: 1.46 MB (1463872 bytes) Detections: 1 Type: Executable File Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeParlor\CatWs Group: Malware file Last Updated: March 19, 2016

Registry Details

ArcadeGiant may create the following registry entry or registry entries:

CLSID

{41829420-151B-4920-B8A5-16BE4601B42A}

{4FD3B33A-372C-439E-BB87-017365EC693C}

{62970E2F-A895-4848-B46C-FBD071192995}

{B3B723CD-7242-4775-B10E-74DB7F4CB5A1}

Regexp file mask

%WINDIR%\System32\Tasks\ArcadeGiant Updater

%WINDIR%\Tasks\ArcadeGiant Updater.job

HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}

Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Approved Extensions\{4FD3B33A-372C-439E-BB87-017365EC693C}

Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Low Rights\ElevationPolicy\{1CEB3066-9D5D-42B8-B4C0-0A791297F419}

Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{41829420-151B-4920-B8A5-16BE4601B42A}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}

{BEC0B5A9-4CE8-4873-90E5-345E66A944DB}

Directories

ArcadeGiant may create the following directory or directories:

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ArcadeGiant

%LOCALAPPDATA%\ArcadeGiant

%PROGRAMFILES%\ArcadeGiant

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\ArcadeGiant

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\ArcadeGiant

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ArcadeGiant

Threat Scorecard

EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecard

How PUPs Like ArcadeGiant may Affect a Computer

ArcadeGiant has been Associated with RunDLL Error Messages

Why PUPs Like ArcadeGiant Have Bad Reputations

Aliases

SpyHunter Detects & Remove ArcadeGiant

File System Details

Registry Details

Directories

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