Baseball Start
Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are assessment reports for different malware threats which have been collected and analyzed by our research team. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards evaluate and rank threats using several metrics including real-world and potential risk factors, trends, frequency, prevalence, and persistence. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are updated regularly based on our research data and metrics and are useful for a wide range of computer users, from end users seeking solutions to remove malware from their systems to security experts analyzing threats.
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards display a variety of useful information, including:
Ranking: The ranking of a particular threat in EnigmaSoft’s Threat Database.
Severity Level: The determined severity level of an object, represented numerically, based on our risk modeling process and research, as explained in our Threat Assessment Criteria.
Infected Computers: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected computers as reported by SpyHunter.
See also Threat Assessment Criteria.
| Ranking: | 6,733 |
| Threat Level: | 50 % (Medium) |
| Infected Computers: | 1,052 |
| First Seen: | August 10, 2022 |
| Last Seen: | September 24, 2023 |
| OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
The Baseball Start is a browser extension geared toward baseball fans. The application promises to help fans find relevant and timely baseball-related information and news. The application also displays various links to baseball resources and websites. Although this functionality could indeed be useful for some, it must be emphasized that the Baseball Start also is classified as an intrusive PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) and a browser hijacker.
Indeed, when installed on the device, the Baseball Start will make numerous changes to important browser settings. Like most browser hijackers, the application will substitute the current homepage, new tab page, and default search engine of users' Web browsers with an unfamiliar sponsored address. Whenever the affected browser is launched, a new tab is opened, or an Internet search is initiated via the URL tab, users will be redirected to the promoted site. The site that Baseball Start promotes is nstart.online, a fake search engine.
Fake engines are incapable of providing search results on their own. They take users' search queries and redirect them to other, functional search engines. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that the shown results will be legitimate. Depending on factors, such as their IP address and geolocation, users could be redirected to different sources. For example, Baseball Start has been observed to open onlinesear.ch before taking results from Bing, an authentic search engine. In some instances, the shown results were taken from nearbyme.io instead. Nearbyme.io is a dubious search engine that could deliver low-quality results filled with sponsored advertisements that may not even match the entered search terms.
PUPs, browser hijackers, adware, and other applications of this type also may collect various data while present on the user's device. The intrusive applications may spy on the browsing activities carried out on the system, harvest numerous device details, or attempt to extract sensitive information from the autofill data of the affected Web browser.
