DealTop

Although regarded incorrectly as a virus or Trojan, DealTop is a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) that causes a wide variety of issues on affected computers. It is not surprising that many computers users mistake DealTop for a threat; DealTop may cause countless problems on affected computers, many of which may be associated with threatening programs. However, DealTop is an adware component that is mainly designed to flood Web browsers with high volumes of advertising content. DealTop may affect most of the most popular Web browsers on the market, including Apple's Safari, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox. Many of the advertisements that DealTop displays are associated with known tactics or may try to convince inexperienced computer users to install additional PUPs. This means that DealTop represents a security risk, since DealTop may allow other unwanted components to enter an affected computer.

DealTop Main Task is Deliver Advertisements

DealTop is a Web browser add-on that delivers advertisements that are targeted to the particular computer user that is browsing the Web. There are several reasons why DealTop may pose a risk to computer users. In many cases, DealTop's advertisements may only be targeted by allowing DealTop to have access to the user's data. Malware analysts have expressed concern over the fact that DealTop has access to the computer user's online browsing history, browsing habits, bookmarked Web pages, app data and search history. This data may be used to generate advertisements that are delivered to the computer user. However, the fact that DealTop may track all of this information places it at risk, especially since DealTop may relay it to a third-party for use in marketing research, or for other activities such as identity theft or fraud.

DealTop and the Technique Called Bundling

One problem with DealTop is that it may be bundled with other PUPs and that DealTop may also be associated with threats or possibly threatening content. To remove DealTop, it may be necessary to uninstall more than one program on Windows as well as removing multiple Web browser extensions or plug-ins from affected Web browsers. In many cases, DealTop may be difficult to remove, and the various components associated with DealTop may only be removable in their entirety with the help of a reliable, fully updated anti-malware application. The many unwanted programs that are associated with DealTop may cause other problems aside from the many irritating advertisements. DealTop may be linked with Web browser redirects, decreased connection speed, and performance issues such as slowing down or frequent freezing. Unfortunately, DealTop may also start up automatically when Windows starts up, running in the background and using valuable system resources. If removed incorrectly, DealTop may be reinstalled automatically, meaning that it may be necessary to remove DealTop using a security application capable of detecting and removing PUPs, as well as threats.

Advertising Content that may be Associated with DealTop

The main problem with DealTop is that DealTop tries to generate revenue at the expense of computer users by flooding their computer with advertising content. DealTop and similar PUPs may use numerous kinds of advertising tactics. The main, irritating symptom linked to DealTop is that DealTop may display numerous pop-up windows when computer users connect to the Internet using their Web browser. Pop-up windows associated with DealTop may advertise fake updates for the victim's software that, when clicked, result in additional PUPs being installed. DealTop may also insert its own advertisements into websites viewed on the affected Web browser. Websites that would normally be advertisements-free (such as Wikipedia or Google's homepage) may suddenly contain advertisements, often labeled 'Brought to you by DealTop' or 'advertisements by DealTop.' DealTop may also change words on Web pages into links leading to unwanted content.